Ranma 1/2
Altered Destinies: A scary thought
A few quick notes before we startup. A thank you to aqualens for the quick pointer on the reviews. And yes, you will notice some basic similarities between AST and Jim Bader's AVST. Jim based his starter concept on the earlier chapters of this story with permission from me, but he is a VASTLY faster writer than me.
Chapter 6
Nabiki pinched the front of her nightdress between two fingers and fluttered it in an attempt to cool her overheated body, pulling it away from her sweat soaked breasts and allowing the marginally cooler night air to wash over them. The weather was hot and humid, and after two hours of tossing and turning Nabiki had given up on sleep. Now she sat beside her bedroom window looking out over the rear garden. She was outlined by the bright moonlight that flooded in through the window, dividing her room into areas of silvery light and black shadows, her mind wondering idly from subject to subject.
She kept coming back to one particular subject, one particular aggravation that had caused her to loose her normally detached attitude time after time, and had thrown her tightly controlled emotions into a constant state of turmoil. Suddenly the sound of her bedroom door opening broke her train of thought. Turning she faced the door as it opened, revealing a figure that meshed so thoroughly with the thoughts she had just been having that it took her a minute to separate the present reality from her thoughts of seconds before.
She ran her eyes over the figure standing in the shadows, not needing to see him clearly. Every one of his features was indelibly etched into her mind, and she had no need of light to picture the strong jaw, the soft brown eyes that she had found herself lost in far too often recently, the broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist, the small hips, the tight... Nabiki gave herself a shake and brought her mind back to the present, something she found herself having to do far too often lately. She forced herself to push all emotions out of her mind and addressed her late night visitor.
"What can I do for you...sister?"
"It's time to stop the lies, Nabiki."
Nabiki sat up straight. This was not a statement she would have expected to hear from her normally deferential sibling. "What ever could you be talking about?"
"Don't play coy Nabiki. I've seen those looks you throw my way when you don't think anyone is watching. And, then of course, there are these little bits of artwork."
Lifting a folder in his hand he pulled out several photographs then, dropping the folder to the floor, he fanned the pictures in his hand. As soon as Nabiki had seen the folder she had known, and she now found herself in the unusual and uncomfortable position of being intensely embarrassed. The embarrassment rapidly changed to anger. "Those are mine. They were in my room. You had no right to go through my things." All the while a little voice in her head was saying in a panicked tone, she knows, she knows.
Kasumi's face, still lost in the shadows, twisted into what would no doubt have been a sardonic expression if Nabiki had been able to see it. There was no need to see his face, however. His voice carried more than enough clues as to his attitude. "Yours? I suppose they are, but then the subject matter does, you must admit, justify at least a little vested interest on my part." He held up the pictures in his hand and looked them over before turning them over so that they faced Nabiki.
The pictures were too far away, and too lost in the shadows to be seen clearly. Nabiki had no need, however, to see them clearly. The slight details visible from where she was were all that was necessary. Her mind supplied all the details that were not visible to her unaided eyes. Various pictures of Kasumi in a selection of candid shots, all in his male form, all somewhat more revealing then what you would find in a family album. Plus, just as the images were ingrained in her mind, her own person was ingrained in them in the form of much handling. The edges were wrinkled and stained from contact with a sweaty grip that was not always as careful as it should have been while handling photos.
Ignoring or denying to herself most of Kasumi's words she focused on the matter of the pictures. "Okay sis, you've caught me, but you can't blame a girl for trying to make a little money can you. You are a very popular item among the girls at school after all. It would be very bad for business not to have a product when there is such a good market available." The words tripped off of Nabiki's tongue with no need to think. She had been justifying her little collection to herself for so long after all. She only hoped Kasumi was more gullible than she was. Somehow she could not seem to fool herself in this matter, but she kept trying.
"Really? These are for sale? I'm surprised to see someone of your reputation... selling such shoddy merchandise."
Kasumi stepped into the moonlight that flooded in through the bedroom window and Nabiki found her heartbeat increasing as the silver light washed over Kasumi's form, casting all his features into highlight, the plains of his face, his broad... Nabiki drew in her breath as she saw that Kasumi's shirt was open and his chest glistened in the moonlight that refracted from the sweat beaded across it. For what seemed a timeless eternity, Nabiki found herself unable to tear her gaze from that broad well muscled torso. Then Kasumi's voice cut through the fog that had surrounded Nabiki's mind.
"Let's stop the games, Nabiki!" Kasumi said as he let the pictures in his hand drop. They fluttered and swayed, each one taking a different route to the floor. Nabiki found herself unable to pull her eyes away from them as they slowly fell to the ground.
There, a picture of Kasumi facing down a group of bullies taken just the other day, another slightly older taken shortly after his arrival, of him practicing a kata, lost in his own private world, and totally isolated from the mundane surroundings of the dojo.
Nabiki, once again lost in her own thoughts, was startled to suddenly find Kasumi mere inches from her. Surprised, she found herself backing up, trying to get to a distance where she would not be overwhelmed by the large masculine presence that had suddenly been thrust into her space. She managed a few steps backward and then found herself pressed against the outer wall of her room. Kasumi had moved with her and Nabiki found herself still inches away from the body that had been seriously disturbing her emotional equilibrium ever since Kasumi had shown up after a ten year absence.
"You're such a pretty girl, Nabiki." Kasumi almost purred as he reached forward and ran a finger slowly down the side of Nabiki's face. "Do you think I haven't noticed the glances? Every time I'm in this body you can't pull your eyes off of me. Time after time I feel the pressure of your gaze burning into my back. The heat in your eyes could kindle a flame in a far more fire resistance object than myself."
Nabiki had been shocked by first the touch that seemed to sear her skin and then the words. The tone of Kasumi's voice sent shudders through Nabiki's body but, when the content of those words impinged on her consciousness, she broke free of the paralysis that had frozen her in place. She tried to escape by ducking around her...sister. This is not happening, this can't be happening, she thought. The little voice in the back of her mind laughed at her silent protestation.
She found her escape rout cut off as Kasumi pressed a hand to the wall on either side of her. Swallowing the fear that was rising in her she turned her head to face the person that had trapped her, only to find Kasumi's face almost within touching distance. Twisting her head to the side she whispered with as much intensity as she could muster without raising her voice and attracting unwanted attention to the predicament she found herself in. "For god's sake Kasumi, you're my sister." Nabiki shoved both hands against Kasumi and tried to push him away.
"Sister...does this feel like a sister, Nabiki?" Kasumi purred as he placed his own hand over one of Nabiki's and forced it to stroke across his bare chest, slick with sweat from the heat of the night. Nabiki shuddered as she felt the silky smooth skin overlaying muscles as hard as the wood wall she was backed against, but at the same time unmistakable so very, very human. She felt heat spread through her body, and for a second she wanted with all her being to give into the overwhelming sensations that were flooding through her body. She let herself go limp and she started to sway towards Kasumi. Her arms folded up and she felt herself pressed against her sister...sister! Suddenly, panic stricken, she pushed away with all the strength she could muster. Tossing her head to the side, she whimpered in denial. "Please." Just that one word, all she could seem to squeeze out from a body that seemed not to have enough breath for any other protestation.
"Please...please what little one?" Kasumi asked, his voice hoarse with restrained passion. Catching her chin between the thumb and fore finger of one massive hand he halted Nabiki's thrashing and forced her head back so she was looking into his eyes. "Please what little one?" He repeated. "Maybe this?" Holding her firmly he oh so very slowly lowered his head, slightly parting his lips. Nabiki found herself frozen, caught in the warm depths of his eyes, and, not until his lips gently, so very gently pressed against hers, and the tip of his tongue caressed her own slightly parted lips, did she come to her senses.
"NOOOOOO!" Nabiki screamed, her arms thrusting out as she wildly twisted her head to the side, her cheek brushing against her drool coated pillow... Nabiki blinked her eyes and rolled over in her bed. Sitting up, her eyes darted to every corner of her darkened room. After a moment she flopped back down on her bed, her breath whooshing out of her in a long firm exhalation. "God Nabiki, you are turning into a truly perverted and strange person... Perhaps I should give Kuno-baby a second look. I'm starting to think we might not be so incompatible after all."
At least in the real world I don't have to worry about Kasumi threatening my virtue, Nabiki thought with just the slightest bit of wistfulness underlying her words. Thank god for small miracles. Nabiki composed herself and tried to get some sleep. It was a very long time in coming, and shortly after she fell asleep her face flushed and her breath started to come in quick short gasps as her body twisted in her bedding. She did not reawaken.
XXXXX
C-chan stared down at the floor of her prison. I'm going to die, I'm going to die, she repeatedly thought to herself with a growing sense of hopelessness. She'd never felt so helpless. Well, actually her memories were still highly elusive so maybe she had but she doubted it.
Despite her best efforts over the last few days she could recall little of who she was. She knew she was in fact a human. How she became a cat and how or even if she could change back were still questions left unanswered. She couldn't even remember her real name, just the name the girl had used for her. Where she came from and why she was here were yet more questions without answers.
It was aggravating. She was locked in a pound, just a few short days from being executed. Oh yeah, sure, they had this nice euphemism of being put to sleep but that didn't change the fact that she'd never wake up. She could feel panic well inside her and she fought to keep it under control.
"Just stay calm." Artemis whispered to her and she shot him a look showing just what she thought of his advice. He stumbled backwards in his cage as if the look was a physical blow. "Okay, okay, maybe my escape plans haven't been so hot." She maintained her angry glare. "All right, lousy, but I'm trying. Tonight for sure."
C-chan relented and turned her look back to the ground, her anger being quickly replaced with her fear. He was trying, she had to give him that, and she was grateful but she was still here. She couldn't die, not like this, but in this body she had no means of defense. Despair assaulted her as she renewed her mental chant, I'm going to die. I'm going to die...
XXXXX
"Where are we going Akane?" Nabiki asked as she tried to rub the sleepiness out of her eyes while following Akane down a street.
"I just want to check on C-chan." Akane responded then looked back at her sister who was falling behind. "Didn't you get any sleep last night?"
Nabiki gave Akane a brief glance then looked off to the side. "No, I had a totally gross nightmare."
"Oh?" Akane looked at Nabiki questioning but got no response. She shrugged and returned her attention to the road ahead.
Nabiki looked off at nothing, trying desperately to banish the dream from her memory. Unfortunately, her attempts served only to strengthen the images. "Where is Kasumi?" Nabiki suddenly asked. She needed to blow off some steam or she was going to go crazy.
"She had to go see the vice-principle this morning so she left early. I think he's impressed with her work." Akane replied then looked back at Nabiki. "Why?"
"It's nothing, nothing." Nabiki answered defensively. That last thing she needed was for someone to figure out what was going through her head. She wasn't so sure she could live down that kind of embarrassment.
Akane continued to examine Nabiki for some hint of an answer. She knew something weird was going on between those two. Maybe Nabiki was jealous that she wasn't the oldest anymore. Maybe she hated that fact that Kasumi had a job already. After all, Nabiki didn't like to be shown up, especially when it came to money.
Akane dismissed her questions and looked ahead. They walked on for a few more minutes until they arrived at the animal shelter. "I'll just be a minute," Akane said as she entered, leaving Nabiki standing outside to think.
XXXXX
Even before the door finished closing behind her, the girl at the reception desk was shaking her head. "I'm sorry Akane, no one has taken her yet." Akane's shoulders slumped and she turned to go back outside. "Akane?"
Turning Akane looked back at the girl. "Why?" She asked. "C-chan is such a pretty cat. Why won't anyone adopt her?"
"There just haven't been any people in this week that are looking for cats, I'm afraid," the girl replied. She hesitated for a second and then continued. "Akane, I need to clean her cage. Would you like to come back and hold her while I do that?"
Akane's face lit up at this but then she frowned. "I thought your boss had a rule not to let non-staff back there."
The girl gave her a wink. "Old Cruella's not here at the moment. If you promise not to tell I will too."
"Thank you, I would love to see C-chan." Akane replied politely. Then she smiled and said, "I take it you don't have a very high opinion of your boss."
"Let's just say she's a little too much a pencil pusher and not enough of an animal lover. I took this job because I love animals. She took it because it meant a weekly pay check."
Gathering up some cleaning supplies from a nearby closet the girl who introduced herself as Mai to Akane led them into the kennel area of the shelter. As soon as she spotted C-chan Akane hurried over to her cage. C-chan stood on her hind legs and braced her front legs against the door of her prison, she let out a loud Meow of entreaty. "Well," Mai exclaimed as she watched this, "if she would show that much emotion when other people visited she might have been gone by now. She sure seems to be fond of you."
"I know," Akane replied, "and I don't know why. After all, if it was not for me she would never have been injured or ended up in here." Akane wiped a tear away from her eye. "She should hate me, instead she seems to love me." Her voice firmed and she continued. "I'm not going to let her die! I don't care what it takes. I Am Not Going To Let Her Die!"
"No need to shout, dear, I believe you," Mai said.
"Sorry, I just feel so bad about this."
"It wasn't your fault, dear. From what you told me when you brought her in I don't see how you had much choice. You were startled when you hit her, and then your sister's allergy made it impossible to keep her. Life sometimes just does not play fair."
Mai had put the cleaning supplies down and reached up to an upper shelf where she recovered the master key for the cages. "Why do you have key locks on the cages?" Akane asked. "I would have thought a simple lift latch would have been all you needed."
"For the animals, yes." Mai replied. "Unfortunately, there is a certain brown haired nutcase in this neighborhood who would be delighted to take all of the animals home with her, and is not to good at filling out forms."
"I don't understand. I thought you wanted people to adopt. Why can't you just help her fill out the forms? Maybe she would give C-chan a good home." Akane said with rising hope.
"A home, yes. Good, no," Mai replied. "Pheasant under glass might be good, cat or puppy on the other hand most definitely is not."
Akane looked shocked. "You mean she cooks them?"
"No, no!" Mai exclaimed. "I mean she treats all her cute things the same. It might be all right to put a bow tie or a doll under a glass dome, but it is not good for living animals. Just trust me on this, you do not want Azusa anywhere near an animal you love. Now, if she were to take a fancy to the boss... Anyway let's get your little friend out of her cage before she passes out from the smell." C-chan looked so offended at this last comment Akane could almost believe she understood what was being said instead of merely being impatient to be let out of her cage.
"Whoops!" Mai exclaimed. "Almost forgot." She picked up a long pole with a hook on the end and pulled shut the window that was supplying fresh air to the room.
"What do you need to do that for?" Akane asked. "You afraid she's going to make a run for it?"
"You'd be surprised. Two days ago that white Tom next to your friend almost made his escape through there. If he hadn't tripped on a turned over bottle he would have gotten clean away." Akane and Mai missed the dirty look C-chan turned on Artemis. He, however, did not and his white fur became slightly red tinged.
Unlocking the cage Mai reached in and extracted C-chan who she handed to Akane. "You two get reacquainted while I do a little house cleaning here."
Akane carried C-chan over to a nearby stool and sat down. Softly stoking her Akane murmured into her ear. "I don't care what it takes, I'm going to get you out of this. Those walls are made of the same bricks I break every day. If I can't get you out the front door I'll just make a back one." Akane was a bit surprised at the loud purr C-chan made as she said this. "I guess even Ranma can be right once in a while. Animals might not know what the words mean but they can understand what you mean by your tone." She sat there stroking C-chan for another few minutes and then all too soon it was time for her to go back into her cage.
"Thank you, Mai," Akane said. "I'll be back tomorrow to take her out of here." At Mai's look of surprise she continued. "I don't care how, and I don't know either but some way, somehow C-chan is out of here tomorrow... Mai?" When Akane saw she had Mai's full attention she looked her straight in the eye. "Don't let anything happen to her until after tomorrow, please... I will be back." Then, back straight and with a measured stride, Akane left the kennel. As soon as she was out of sight of Mai, however, her stride faltered and she ran a hand through her hair. "Now all I have to do is figure out just how I'm going to convince Aunt Nodoka."
XXXXX
Nabiki leaned against the wall and collected her thoughts. You're sick Nabiki, sicksicksick, Nabiki thought to herself. Why couldn't she dream about someone more reasonable, like Ranma? No, she had to dream about... Kasumi! She knew it was wrong but apparently her sub-conscious didn't give a damn. It didn't care that Kasumi was her sister. Oh no, it just cared that he was the most gorgeous hunk of a guy she had ever... Nabiki cut off the thought as it started to form a mental image of the person in question. She needed a distraction, now!
She hunted through her school bag, coming up with her math text. That would do. Nothing more dry and unexciting than math. She began leafing through the pages, rereading the section they just covered in class. Her mind had almost reached a relaxed state when she turned a page and something fell to the ground. She looked down at it, trying to place it in her still sleepy mind.
At that moment Akane walked out of the animal shelter, a look of extreme guilt and sadness of her face. She walked over to Nabiki who looked up at her in surprise. "Drop something?" Akane asked as she looked down and spotted what looked like a photo. "What's this?" She asked and began to pick it up.
Nabiki's mind final clicked with a panic. Before Akane managed to touch the photograph Nabiki snatched it up. "Nothing important!" She blurted out as she hid it inside her uniform. Akane gave her a questioning, confused look. "Ahh, so, how's the cat?" Nabiki asked, frantic to change the subject.
"She's still there." Akane replied with sorrow and began to walk off. Nabiki breathed a sigh of relief and chased after her sister. "She's only got one day left, Nabiki!"
"So, what do you want me to do about it?"
"I don't know! Suggest something! I don't want to let them put her to sleep." Akane exclaimed in frustration.
Now this is something Nabiki needed, a challenge. She set her mind to work on the problem as they walked to school. "Do any of your friends want a cat?"
"A few but they can't have one, I already asked. Think of something else." Nabiki pressed her mind for ideas as Akane waited. "Well?" Akane asked impatiently.
"Look, give me a minute would ya! I'm running on about 2 hours of sleep. I'm a little slow today."
"Anything!"
"Okay, okay... You could always break her out."
"If I did that Aunt Nodoka would never let me keep her."
Nabiki noticed Akane didn't rule out the break out idea, just that she would not be able to keep C-chan if she did that. So, something that would get the cat out and let Akane keep her. "Hmmm. Not much point in talking to Aunt Nodoka about it..." Nabiki mumbled as she tried to come up with a solution.
Suddenly Akane's eyes brightened with an idea. "Wait! If I get Kasumi to let the cat stay I'm sure Aunt Nodoka will let me have her."
"That won't-"
"Sure it will. I'm sure I can talk Kasumi into it." Akane said, feeling a sense of hope.
Nabiki just shook her head. "We won't have much of a home left."
XXXXX
"Hello Kasumi. Sit down." The vice-principle greeted Kasumi as she walked into his office.
"Hello Sir. You wanted to see me?" Kasumi replied pleasantly as she took a seat.
"Yes. You've been doing some fine work here. Half the district is talking about the way you've handled the situation." The vice-principle said with a proud smile as he examined some papers. "Over just the last week incident reports have dropped by more than 80%. Even Kuno has gone relatively quiet. That is absolutely amazing."
"Thank you Sir."
"No, thank you. You wouldn't believe the headaches this place once caused me." He said as he looked at her. "What would you say to a slight increase in duties, and pay of course?"
"Why, that's very kind of you but I've haven't been here that long-"
"Oh nonsense. I judge people on ability, not seniority. Besides, to be honest, I don't think anyone else would want the position I'm offering you. You see, some of the other schools around have some rather problematic kids of their own. After hearing about what you did here they were hoping that maybe you could help them out. What we planned to do is get these students together, here at Furinkan. You'd be their home room supervisor. I know it sounds a bit daunting but-"
"Oh no, I would be glad to be of assistance." Kasumi responded a bit too quickly for her own liking.
"Wonderful, wonderful. Now, don't worry too much. We're also bringing in an assistant for you. She's shown some real promise herself in dealing with problem students. She'll be here in a few weeks. So, everything sound okay to you?'
Kasumi took some time to think this time. This new job would certainly give her something new and constructive to do, and with an assistant it shouldn't be that much more difficult. "Yes, I think this sounds acceptable."
"Great. Oh, I guess we should also discuss a new student we have here. She just signed in a couple days ago." The vice-principle said as he handed Kasumi a folder. "I hear you already know her."
Kasumi opened the folder and looked at the name, Ukyo Kuonji. "Yes." Kasumi replied simply.
"Yes, well, I've heard she's been a slight problem and her file says she has been having some difficulty in school."
Kasumi nodded as looked down at the reports. Inattentive, moody, prone to violent outbursts... So this is what had become of Ukyo, and this was before the curse. Kasumi consoled herself with the few good points also noted: fairly good grades, does volunteer work and generally helpful to lower level students. At least she hadn't completely deteriorated.
"She won't be a problem?" The vice-principle asked.
"I'll do my best Sir." Kasumi replied. It was all she could promise.
"Okay then. We're still getting things together so I'll send a list of your students along as soon as we compile it. Good luck to you."
"Thank you Sir." Kasumi replied with a friendly smile as she got up to leave.
XXXXX
Kasumi stood outside Ukyo's classroom, waiting for her to arrive. Ukyo was still out to get her revenge; she had made that abundantly clear. However, over the last several days Ukyo had gone quiet and that had been worrying Kasumi. Finding out she was coming here to Furinkan only added to her worry.
Kasumi really didn't know why she was here. Talking seemed to be utterly useless. However, her other options were very unappealing. If only she could make Ukyo see that what happened at Jusenkyo was an accident, but that wasn't likely. Unfortunately, when Kasumi put herself in Ukyo's position she came to the uncomfortable conclusion that Ukyo had every right to be incensed.
"Hello... teach." Ukyo said as she walked up. She smiled but her expression made it clear she was not glad to see Kasumi. "Something I can do for you?"
"Hello." Kasumi replied as pleasantly as she could manage being the object of Ukyo's anger. "I was hoping to avoid a confrontation."
"Hey, does it look like I'm trying to rip of your face off at the moment?" Ukyo replied with a patently false friendly smile but dropped her act and went to an angry frown. "Let's just dispense with the garbage," Ukyo said, her voice low so only Kasumi could hear. "Make no mistake, I don't like you, I hate you, and I'm going to make sure you're revealed for what you really are. However, I'm not here to fight you. I have wasted a great deal of my time and money chasing you down. I figured I better get my act together and try to rebuild something of what you took from me. Going back to school seemed like a logical place to start, I just get the added bonus of keeping an eye on you."
"I see." Kasumi replied soberly. "So, you plan on staying with Ranma?"
"For now, but don't worry your little head. I plan on telling him about my curse. I just needed to think of the proper way."
Kasumi nodded and, having nothing else she could think to say, turned and left. Ukyo watched her walk away then entered her classroom. She took her seat and let the seething anger that had built up inside her drain off as she drummed her fingers on the desktop. The urge to punch Kasumi's lights out, or at the very least just launch into a verbal assault had been great but she had managed to keep it in control. Fights were getting her nowhere and to tear at someone verbally was just low class, something Kasumi might try but not her. Still, Ukyo was damned mad.
Besides getting enrolled here she had spent the last few days doing several things. One was recovering from her visit with the vet. How humiliating! Even today sitting down without wincing was difficult. Ukyo consoled herself with the knowledge that she changed to a wolf and not a dog. Learning that information had more than made up for the pain of her shots. Two, she had been thinking of a way to talk to Ranma. Lastly, she had been making plans on how to deal with Kasumi.
Thinking of Ranma made Ukyo smile and formed a sense of peace inside her. He was so kind to her, so loving. She felt better than she had in years in his company. She couldn't remember the last time she had such a close relationship. She wasn't even sure she ever had one. Ever since Kasumi had left her life in ruins Ukyo had been unwilling to let anyone get close to her. It probably was a mistake but she feared a repeat of Kasumi, letting someone get close to her and then having that person steal away her life. With Ranma she had realized all that she had missed. Sure, he thought of her as a pet but was that love so different from a human relationship. Once she told him she was sure she could build something.
This train of thought lead to Kasumi and Ranma's engagement. How unfair! Kasumi would use him, chew him up and spit out the leftovers. Ranma deserved so much more than that. Ukyo would see to it he got it. Unfortunately, her plans were still in the preliminaries. She needed some more time to properly set them up.
Ukyo was brought out of her intense thoughts by the class leaving for lunch. She scolded herself for missing half the day but Kasumi remained on her mind. She headed off to eat her own lunch, all the time considering this situation. Once outside she spotted Ranma sitting alone by the soccer field and started to walk over. Unluckily, Akane and Kasumi joined him before she arrived. Ukyo frowned then sat down on the grass so she could watch the group from a distance and think.
By the time she finished her lunch she had abandoned any hope of doing any serious damage today. Her plans simply weren't ready. However, she still felt like making Kasumi's life at least more complicated. One possible avenue for this type of attack was Kasumi's fear of cats, but what to do with that knowledge. She had already dismissed an up front attack, it would reflect badly on her. No, what she needed was a middle man, someone she could drop this tidbit of information with that would use it well.
Suddenly, as Ukyo was pondering this, she felt a presence behind her. She turned her head to see a small male figure dressed in ninja garbs using her as cover. He looked up at her and put his finger to his lips, signaling for her to be quiet. Ukyo complied, more out of confusion than real courtesy, and watched him as he peaked around her. She followed his gaze back to the same group she had been so intent on the last half hour or so.
Ukyo scowled when she realized this little man was spying on the group Ranma was in, and turned to speak with him, using a forceful but quiet whisper. "All right, just what do you think you're doing?"
The little man looked at Ukyo with a slight bit of surprise then resumed watching the others. "Keeping a look out for a man," he whispered back.
"And what man would that be?"
"A foul sorcerer who kidnapped the lady Kasumi about a week ago. Master Kuno wishes for me to inform him the moment this man reappears."
Ukyo took a second to process the data and came to one conclusion. The man he was searching for must actually be Kasumi herself, just in her alternate form. Ukyo let out a small laugh but managed to contain her amusement to just that.
"What's so funny?" The little man asked.
Ukyo opened her mouth to tell him then stopped. This was an opportunity. She remembered this Kuno fellow, one of the older students who seemed to have an interest in Kasumi. It seems he also had a dislike of Kasumi's male side and didn't know about the curse. She had needed a middle man and it looked like she just found him.
"Nothing." Ukyo responded as she considered how best to pitch her story. "So, you're looking for that guy huh? Yeah, I hear he's really dangerous."
"No, Master Kuno says he is a foul sorcerer and a coward, but if he could merely bring him to bay he would smite him. Master Kuno merely seeks some means of separating the fiend from his cowardly magics."
Right, Ukyo thought and then after a second of thinking replied. "I'm sure you'd love to take him down yourself, wouldn't you?"
"Oh, that would please master Kuno greatly..." The little man answered as he went off into a brief daydream but then shook himself back to reality. "Unfortunately, I am but a humble ninja and only the master could defeat a man like this one."
"Oh, I don't know about that." Ukyo replied and noticed she had the ninja's undivided attention. "I hear he has a little weakness."
"Weakness?" The ninja asked anxiously, almost shaking with excitement. "What kind of weakness?"
This is too easy, Ukyo thought to herself then started to explain.
XXXXX
Akane had bided her time and worked up her courage the whole day. Despite her earlier enthusiasm about asking Kasumi to let C-chan stay, Akane knew that Kasumi wouldn't be pleased with the idea. Even the mere mention of 'cat' sent her into a frantic search to ensure none were close by. For her to live in the same house as one might be just too much to ask. Akane dearly hoped not because it was her only option at the moment and she didn't have time to think up another one. She had tried to ask her at lunch but the presence of Ranma there had prevented her. She knew she would have to plead and she wanted to avoid doing that in front of witnesses if at all possible.
The day's classes came to end forcing Akane to finally hunt Kasumi down and ask. She found her sister inside the main school office. "Kasumi, can I talk to you?" Akane asked from the doorway.
Kasumi finished up with some last minute paper work and joined Akane. "Of course, I'm done. What did you want?" Kasumi asked as they started heading down the hall.
"Well, ummm, you remember that... C...A...T we found-"
"C...Cat?" Kasumi exclaimed, suddenly shivering and looking around in fear.
"Nono, it's not here." Akane quickly added causing Kasumi to calm just slightly. "I just... you see, I took it to the animal shelter, but it... hasn't been adopted yet and-"
Kasumi saw where this was heading immediately and gave Akane a look, pleading her not to ask. "Akane... please..."
Unfortunately, Akane's pleading look was equally powerful. "Oh please Kasumi. I'll keep her away from you, I promise. You won't even know she's there."
"I'll know, trust me."
"They're going to put her to sleep Kasumi. I've tried everything else I can think of, and I really liked her and... and..." Akane fought desperately for more points to her argument.
Kasumi looked at Akane and found her will crack. "All right, all right." She relented. "But, this a great deal to ask of me, Akane."
"I know, I know. Thank you Kasumi, you won't regret it. I promise." Akane said as she began to race off. "Could you tell Ranma I'm going to the animal shelter?" Akane called out over her shoulder.
"Okay." Kasumi replied and watched Akane leave, a happy smile on her face that somewhat comforted Kasumi. At least someone was happy about this. Kasumi headed off to meet Ranma at his locker.
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Ukyo looked around the corner at Ranma. She felt an intense nervousness about what she was about to do, tell Ranma. It was a dangerous step. He could react so badly yet she had hopes for the best.
She closed her eyes and gathered her inner strength and prepared to move. However, just as she opened her eyes she let out a low growl upon noticing Kasumi walk up to Ranma.
"Hi Kasumi. Where's Akane?" Ranma asked as he dumped some books in his locker.
"She went to the animal shelter to get that c...c...ca...ca..."
"Cat?" Ranma said as he looked at Kasumi in surprise. "Why's she doing that? She's not allowed."
"I let her keep it." Kasumi replied then sighed.
"Oh great, this will be fun." Ranma said as he imagined the state of the house after a week: junked, half burned and only standing because of some unstable looking repairs.
Ukyo watched this with growing anger. Here she goes again, Ukyo thought to herself in frustration, playing at being the nice giving soul again, trying to get close to Ranma no doubt. Ukyo looked off to the side angrily and notice a bucket of water left from some student's hall punishment, and smiled.
"I'm hoping to avoid the trouble that happened-" Kasumi started to explain then suddenly got hit with cold water. Kasumi, now a man, turned to notice Ukyo who dropped the bucket and marched up, glaring at Kasumi all the while.
Kasumi looked at Ukyo tensely, Ukyo looked at Kasumi angrily and Ranma looked confused, surprised that Ukyo had not started a fight immediately. "Ukyo, haven't seen you in a while. Where you been?" Ranma asked, hoping to diffuse the situation before he got caught in the middle of an all out war.
Ukyo started, and glanced over at the source of the voice, suddenly remembering Ranma was there. "Ah Ranma... Well, I ... ah... um, I was kind of... ah..." Ukyo paused and tried to collect her thoughts. Come on Ukyo, damn it, get a hold of yourself, Ukyo thought to herself, this is no time to panic.
Ranma stared at Ukyo in confusion. Why was she so nervous all of a sudden? "You okay?"
"Fine, fine." Ukyo quickly responded but she couldn't seem to calm her nerves.
Ranma looked between Ukyo and Kasumi and seeing that Ukyo seemed temporarily distracted returned to his locker with hopes of gathering his stuff and getting clear of any impending clashes. As he grabbed up some books he found a folded piece of paper. He looked it over, opened it and read the message written inside.
Ukyo finally controlled herself enough to give Kasumi another angry glare but before anything happened, Ranma started laughing. "What is it Ranma?" Kasumi asked.
Ranma stifled his laughter and smiled at Kasumi. "Oh nothing, it just seems you left me a note saying you have been kidnapped by villains and I should get you to come rescue you."
"Pardon? It must be some kind of joke." Kasumi finally said as he took the letter and started reading it.
"Yeah, a joke called Sasuke Sarugakure. The guy is a real moron who works for Kuno. No doubt he's trying to set some trap for your male side."
"Oh, well, I guess I should go talk with him." Kasumi replied and started to walk off while Ukyo bowed her head and shook it in complete disbelief. Ranma shook his own head and chased after Kasumi and after a second Ukyo followed as well.
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"You should just ignore it Kasumi," Ranma said as they entered the gymnasium. All three looked around the darkened room and soon noticed the small ninja, disguised poorly in a Kasumi costume and supposedly tied up, sitting on the stage.
"Help me! Help me! Oh please save me! I'm going to die!" Sasuke called out in a falsetto voice from the stage, supposedly struggling in his bonds.
Ukyo had a look of disbelief on her face while Ranma just shook his head. "That's just plain pathetic, even for him." Ranma said as he moved ahead of the others and jumped up on the stage. "Give it up Sasuke. None of us are in the least fooled."
"Nono, I'm Kasumi, not Sasuke." Sasuke said as the others joined them on the stage.
"Yeah, right, suuurrre you are."
Sasuke threw aside his disguise, ropes and all, and stood up. "Indeed, you have discovered my deception, but too late! I have you, you villainous magician!" Sasuke pronounce then jumped up and pulled a cord opening a trap door directly below Ukyo and Ranma.
"IDIOT!" Ukyo yelled out angrily as she and Ranma fell.
Sasuke scratched his head as Kasumi walked up next to him. "That's funny, I thought that was more to the front."
"Are you two all right down there?" Kasumi asked.
"I'm fine," Ranma answered.
"I'll be fine as soon as I ring that little twit's neck!" Ukyo answered furiously.
"Were you trying to trap me down there?" Kasumi asked Sasuke.
"Ah, well..." Sasuke began to respond then jumped up and pulled another cord. "Hehehe-" SMASH!
Kasumi blinked in surprise as a giant statue of a bear slammed into Sasuke and knocked him into the room below. He then jumped down to join the others, the trapdoor closing a few seconds later.
"You moron! Were you born this stupid or did you suffer recent brain damage?" Ukyo yelled out as she throttled the unconscious Sasuke.
"Born I believe." Ranma said as he attempted to examine their surroundings through the darkness. "Why the hell did he trap us in here?"
Frustrated, Ukyo dropped Sasuke to the floor and began looking around herself. "How should I know?" She replied.
Kasumi leaned down to examine Sasuke. "We should find a way out and take him to the nurse's office."
"A nurse can't cure what ails him Kasumi." Ranma replied as he started to make his way to what appeared to be a door. He managed about two steps then noticed that the floor seemed to move. "What the... The floor's moving!"
"What?" Kasumi and Ukyo asked. They got their answer in the form of several low 'meows' and a variety of other cat sounds. Kasumi's reaction was immediate; he jumped into Ukyo's arms, holding her with teeth chattering in fear.
"Kasumi, if you want to live through the day, let... me... go!"
"Don't panic Kasumi." Ranma said as he walked back over to Ukyo. "We'll get you out of here."
"Panic? Panic? I'm not panicking!" Kasumi responded unconvincingly as he continued to hold Ukyo.
"We better get him out of here before he totally freaks."
Ukyo opened her mouth to respond but then thought about it and remembered the incident back at the house. Not wanting to be run down by the Kasumi express train again Ukyo nodded in agreement. Ranma waded his way through the cats to the door.
"I think this door leads back stage." Ranma said as he opened the door. To his surprise he got a face full of fur. "Now what?" Ranma asked as he pulled back and looked at what he had run into. Despite every effort to keep his calm a shuddering "yipe" escaped from his lips as he looked into the eyes of an uncomfortably large tiger. He stumbled backwards and ended up next to Ukyo and Kasumi as the tiger slowly approached. "So much for that. Any ideas?" Ranma asked desperately as he tried to keep up a brave face.
"I'm a cook, not a lion tamer." Ukyo answered then threw Kasumi off and hid behind Ranma. Kasumi quickly did likewise. "You're the one that got us into this mess, you get us out." Ukyo said as she pushed Kasumi in front, right into the tiger.
"Nice kitty. Nice Kitty!" Kasumi sputtered but got only a threatening growl in response. He tried desperately to back up but tripped over some the tiger's smaller cousins that were trying to hide behind him, and fell to the floor. The tiger closed the gap even more, now hovering over Kasumi with a hungry look in its eyes.
His every muscle was seized with fear, paralyzing him. All he could do is look into the eyes of his death. He had only one possible escape, become one with his fears. "Reoowwwrr!"
"That don't sound good," Ranma said as Kasumi rolled backwards, landed on all fours and faced off with the tiger.
End Chapter 6