A Surviving Mau
Ranma ½ and Sailor Moon are owned by their respectful owners. I do not own anything about them at all.
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
/cat talk/
Chapter 2
In a misty and spacious area located within the space of the fourth dimension, the Guardian of Time was currently doing something that nobody who had ever -- or would ever -- met her would dream that she would do. Sailor Pluto was actually sleeping while standing up with her Time Staff being used to keep her from falling. If anybody had been around her, they would see that the woman was actually snoring with a small snot bubble coming out of her nose. Of course, if Pluto knew anybody had seen her like that, she would have Dead Screamed their ass until they swore to forget it.
"Beware evil eggplant monsters," she began with a snore, "the guardian of the underworld shall destroy you. You shall never plague me with your gross appearance again." It was a few moments later in which a satisfied smirk appeared on her features. "The world is now safe."
It was at that moment in which a slight change in the temporal stream knocked her out of sleep and onto her butt and gave her a slight headache. Something like that always occurred when something big happened when whatever it was went against how the stream of time originally planned it to go. "With as long as I've been stationed here, you'd think I would have gotten used to small occurrences like this!" She announced to herself in slight annoyance as she stood back up and sighed. "Great, now I'm starting to talk to myself. Good one Pluto."
Nobody except for the green-haired Senshi understood the branching off in the time streams. She had to go through it many times, but the feeling was getting better. She no longer always suffered from a headache for hours at a time now. The last time something like that had happened was when that guy -- Vlad III Dracula if she remembered correctly -- was supposed to have died by the hands of his enemies. It didn't happen as it was originally supposed to, and the guy had become a vampire. Now he was residing somewhere in England and working for some organization dedicated to killing monsters that needlessly threatened human lives.
More often than not, small occurrences like the event that had just occurred were mostly harmless, although they could end up growing out of hand. Since she was only a guardian of the Time Gates and couldn't leave her post, she could only observe things that went on and would only intervene if whatever it was happened to be a direct threat to time and the Gates. Sometimes she really hated this job.
A small noise from a little ways away from her had distracted her thoughts. Turning her head towards the location, she watched a door suddenly appear and begin to open. Casting her senses, she had been able to tell by the time signature that it was from the 30th century. Who she saw walking through the door caused her to kneel. "I am pleased to meet you, Small Lady."
The girl who entered appeared to physically be around seven or eight years old, and her pink hair was done up in a twin odango style with ponytails. Her crimson eyes blinked on in confusion as she held a small toy in her arms that looked like a kitten head. "You know who I am?"
Sailor Pluto gave a small smile and extended a hand towards the young and nervous girl. It wasn't that often when she got visitors. "I am Sailor Pluto, Small Lady."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Boy, what's with that small kitten in your arms?" Genma asked gruffly as he looked towards his son. In the young Saotome's slightly trembling arms was a little feline. Its fur had a very pale pinkish tint to it, and its paws and the tip of its ears were black. Its large and shiny lamp-like eyes were a deep azure as it looked towards the large man with a slight fearful look. He had noticed the kitten following them a couple hours earlier, and dismissed it from his mind. It had been a moment ago when he noticed the kitten again.
"Her name's Miki, papa." Ranma stated as he held the tiny kitten close. He was still shaky when it came to being near felines, but he felt a little attached to the little thing. "She won't leave me alone, and she thinks of me as her savior. She's one of the cats that you starved and kept trapped in that pit." He finished with an intense glare towards the large man.
"Well leave it behind." The bespectacled man ordered with a slight glare. "We have no need for some useless little pet to slow us down." Reaching forward, the older Saotome attempted to grab the small creature out of his son's arms. He suddenly pulled his hand back when his son began to actually hiss at him. It had been an even greater shock when a pair of black cat ears popped out of his head. Said ears flattened on the top of his head, and the fur on his tail seemed to have started to stand on end.
"Don't you dare touch Miki, papa. She's a friend, and not a useless pet. She can't remember where her home was because of you stealing her away, and she kept asking to come along with me." The pinkish kitten gave a small little 'mew' and a nod. "I promised that I'd protect her, and I won't let you do any bad things to her." To emphasis this, the raven-haired boy flexed his hands like they were claws.
A small gulp escaped from Genma when he noticed how serious his son was about it. "Fine, she can stay. However, if your martial arts training starts to slack, she will be out of here." The balding man stated the last part with a growl of authority. He didn't like the decision one bit. That cat would probably end up making his son weak, but he would have to wait and see.
The man then became slightly confused when the six-year-old started chatting away with the feline in a series of meows. He wondered what they were talking about, but decided that it wasn't important. What WAS important was to slightly tweak their training regiment. Since the boy had mastered the Neko-ken, he felt there were other places they should start heading to that would better suit the boy. He just had to figure out what places first.
It was at that moment when the overweight man's nose caught a whiff of something delicious. 'What's that smell?' He asked to himself as he kept sniffing. 'It smells almost like okonomiyaki.' Looking around the area, Genma noticed that they were actually on the outskirts of a large city. Pulling out a small map he kept in his traveling pack, he began to study it for a few moments. 'It looks like we're in Osaka.' His mind then traveled back to the okonomiyaki he had smelled. "Hey boy, how about some okono--" He didn't get to finish what he had about to say due to his son not being there. 'Where the hell did he get to?'
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
/What's that smell, Ranma?/ Miki asked curiously as she and raven-haired boy poked their heads out of the bushes. What they saw in front of them was a large park with people enjoying the day. /It smells so good./
/I think it's okonomiyaki./ Her companion finished back. It was something that he hadn't had in a long while, but he recognized the smell from anywhere. The fact that his sense of smell had become a little more sensitive made it even more mouth watering. Looking around the area for a few moments, his eyes finally spotted a yattai with steam coming from it. Behind the cart was a large man who appeared to be flipping the food for waiting customers. Next to the man was a young child who Ranma guessed was his child.
The delicious smell getting the better of Miki and him, the six-year-old had begun to silently creep up to the cart to get a better smell. Maybe the guy would even be nice enough to give them a little okonomiyaki. Both of their stomachs felt hungry, and it would be great if they could have something.
As he crept closer and closer to the smell, he hid his ears and tucked his tail around his waste so he didn't stand out too much. The pony-tailed boy and companion were almost at their destination when a small spatula careened towards him and imbedded itself into the ground. This action surprised him enough to lose control of his ears and cause them to pop out. "Just who are ya, and why are ya sneaking around here?" The voice -- there was a slight hint of Kansai dialect behind it -- demanded.
Looking up, Ranma saw the brown-haired child from a few moments ago looking at him with wide eyes. The child -- Ranma was unsure if said child was a girl or boy right now -- walked up slowly in his direction until he/she was just a few inches away. Miki gave a small sniff in the child's direction and looked towards her companion. /Smells like a human girl./ The pinkish cat simply said.
The newly revealed girl had long dark brown hair in a long loose pony-tail, and in her hands were a few miniature spatulas. Her dark eyes looked towards the younger Saotome's direction in shock for several moments. She then made her move by pulling on the boy's furry ears. "Well I'll be, they're as real as an okonomiyaki." The girl broke out into a giggle when the cat-boy gave a small pout at her pulling his ears. "Hey, do ya have a tail as well?" Moving quickly, the brown-haired girl ran behind him and spotted the long and furry black tail as it moved around slowly.
A small shiver traveled up the blue-eyed boy's spine when the strange girl grabbed hold of the tail. "Hey, quit it. My tail and ears are sensitive!" He shouted with a small glare. This caused the girl to step back and wave her hands.
"Sorry about that. I was just a little bit curious." She then held out her right hand. "You know what? I like you. My name is Ukyo Kuonji, and I'm heir to the Kuonji School of Okonomiyaki Martial Arts and soon to be the best okonomiyaki cook ever."
Ranma gave a smile as he accepted the hand. "I'm Ranma Saotome. Heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts." Hey, maybe this meant he had made his first HUMAN friend. "And this," he started as he showed off the small creature in his arm. "This is Miki." As if on cue, the small kitten gave a mew. It was also at that moment in which the stomachs of the two feline companions started to grumble.
Ukyo stared at both for a moment before giggling. "Hey, maybe I can get you two an okonomiyaki from my father. He's given a few free ones out to some of my school friends before, and I bet he'll be happy to give you one." With a smile, she helped the raven-haired boy to his feet and led him and Miki over to the yattai.
Glancing towards his daughter, the big bearded okonomiyaki chef gave a small chuckle. "I suppose you would like me to give a little free food to this boy, Ukyo?" He actually had no problems with giving a free one to a friend of his daughter's every now and then. The man gave off a louder chuckle when he saw the slight trail of drool and watery eyes coming from the boy and his cat. What really caused him to look, though, were the cat-ears and tail the boy obviously had. As he handed a plate to the child and cat, he decided to ask the question. "So young man, where did you get those cat-ears and tail at?"
Ranma had rehearsed in his head on what to say to people if they should ask about it. "It's from a martial arts technique my papa trained me in this week. It's called the Neko-ken, and a trainee has ta be wrapped in smelly fish products and tossed into a dark pit of starving cats. It took a little while of being pushed into the pit to finally work." After finishing his explanation, he saw the looks on the faces of Ukyo, her father, and a few people who wanted to purchase okonomiyaki. Giving a small smile, the six-year-old held up Miki. "Miki was one of the cats my papa starved and stuck in the deep and dark pit. I was able to rescue them all last night, and Miki hasn't left my side since. She said she can't remember where she lived before papa took her away."
"Wait a second Ranma," Ukyo began with wide eyes, "what do you mean by 'Miki said'?" The little kitten wasn't able to talk, was she?
"Oh, I can now talk with cats." Ranma announced with a bright smile. "It's so interesting to know about their likes and dislikes. I still need to get over the small fear I have of cats from being attacked by them during the training though." His azure eyes danced a little as he watched people react a little more to the whole Neko-ken thing. 'Papa's going to be in so much trouble.' The young Saotome thought a little deviously.
"There you are boy!" Genma shouted as he made his way out of the bushes. "I've been looking for you. Haven't I told you not to run off on your own, Ranma?" He asked gruffly. His eyes then noticed the looks that were being sent in his direction. "Err-- what's everyone staring at me for?"
His answer came from a young woman who seemed to be in her early 20's. "Your son here mentioned an interesting story about being tossed to into a pit of starving cats repeatedly, and how you had also starved that poor little kitten over there." The overweight martial artist gave a sweat-drop at the evil glares he was receiving.
Reaching into his gi, he pulled out a small manual and showed it to the assembled people. "Now see here," he began in a bit of annoyance, "the Neko-ken is a true training exercise that can be taught to a person." Ukyo's father took the pamphlet in his hands and began to read it. "You see, I did everything right. My son also has no ill side-effects from the trai--"
"This training has been banned due to causing the trainee severe psychological trauma." The okonomiyaki maker read aloud as he pulled apart two stuck pages. "It's a wee bit irresponsible on your part as a parent, even though you are training him martial arts."
Genma gave a nervous laugh as he scratched the back of his head. "Well it's too bad that I never read the page. It worked out wonders though." Nobody could deny that, could they?
Ranma had become slightly confused about something. "What does psychologi-- psycho-- that word mean?" It was a big word that he had never heard before. "Is it a kind of food that's tasty?" He finally asked with big eyes, ears twitching in confusion, and tail swishing behind him. It was at that moment in which he was grabbed in a hug by a group of young women.
"Oh, he's so adorable!" They shouted in unison. There was just something about a completely innocent six-year-old with cute little twitching cat features that just screamed out 'huggable'. "How could an evil and mean man like that be your father?" One of them asked. That question caused another sweat-drop to appear on the overweight Saotome's head.
"He's not that bad." Ranma answered, which caused Genma to give a smile. "He's lazy, greedy, a lot of other things," his father face-faulted against the ground. "But he's also a great martial artist and the only family I have right now." The raven-haired boy finished while twiddling his thumbs as his ears flattened a little on his head and his eyes gained a slightly sad look to them. He really did wonder where his mom was.
That very action caused even more people to gush over how adorable he was. Several even did the same thing with Miki as well. There were even a couple who actually decided to buy an okonomiyaki for the cute little boy and kitten. The scene had actually sent Genma's mind onto an idea he couple probably use later. If Ranma and Miki had that much effect on people, then there would probably be a way to milk it.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"So you're on a long training journey with your father?" Ukyo asked curiously as Ranma and she sat near a fountain in the park. The young raven-haired boy was holding a sleeping Miki in his arms as he gave a nod to the question. "I don't think I could ever imagine living out in the wild." The girl finished with a small smirk.
Her companion gave a small shrug. "It's not that bad. It's kind of fun to lay awake at night and watch the stars. There's also being able to see many places as well." The pony-tailed boy scrunched up his face a bit. "We have stayed the night at a few temples before, but we had to leave for some reason. Papa would always grab me and run out with a few people yelling at him about things. I think they've called him a thief before."
The brown-haired girl next to him gave a small frown. "Well that's no good." She stated with arms crossed. "If your father's a thief and taking things that don't belong to him, then it means he's a bad man." She watched as her friend's eyes grew wide.
"Papa has always told me it was just a small game, and if you managed to get whatever it was, then it was yours." Had it really been a bad thing for them to take some of those things? That meant if he was going to be a hero, then he shouldn't do things like that. His azure eyes narrowed in determination. "Then it's my job to prevent papa from doing things like that again."
A smile came to his new friend's lips. "That's right, teach that jackass of a father how to do things right." Ukyo had then become contemplative. "Ranma, we're friends, right?" At the boy's nod, she smiled again. "Then how about I call ya Ranchan?"
"As long as I can call you Ucchan." Ranma answered back with a small smile. Maybe they could also spar sometime. She did say she was a martial artist, and he was interested in what this okonomiyaki martial arts was about. In his arms, Miki lifted her head and gave a few mews.
"What did she say?" The brown-haired girl asked curiously. It was so exciting how the boy could communicate with cats.
"She said that maybe you could call her Michan." The two friends shared a small laugh as their father's walked up towards them.
"Alright Ranma," Genma began with a point towards Ukyo's father. "He convinced me to have us stick around a little while longer since you two seem to be good friends." There was also the promise to give him some free okonomiyaki, and the guy also said that he wouldn't turn the overweight Saotome over to the police for what he did to Ranma if the boy could stay a little longer and play with Ukyo. Of course, he could always just leave, but the promise of food had been the big deciding factor.
The younger Kuonji gave a small squeal of joy before she latched on and hugged the raven-haired boy with almost enough force to cause him to turn blue. There was just something about him that she liked, and she figured it had to be the cat features and him being nice. "Hey Ranchan, how about we test my Okonomiyaki Martial Arts and your Anything Goes?" She actually just wanted to show off her skill to her new friend.
Ranma gave a nod. He wanted to see how good she was, and this could also be a little fun. Getting up from their seat at the fountain -- Miki decided to stay there -- the two walked towards a more spacious area of grass. Ukyo had asked her dad to bring a few of her mini spatulas and some other things. "I'm actually curious to see how well your training has prepared you, Ukyo." Her father stated before he started to walk to the sidelines.
Facing off against each other, the young okonomiyaki chef-in-training gave a bright smile. "Not gonna go easy on ya just because you're my friend, Ranchan." Around her was a small bandolier with a few items and mini spatulas. The girl had wished she was able to wield the large combat spatula, but it was too big for her to carry.
"And I won't go easy against you either, Ucchan." The pony-tailed boy stated with a smirk as he got into a ready stance. Both children stared at each other for a few moments before taking off in a run. With a swipe of her arm, Ukyo tossed one of the small spatulas with all her strength. The utensil flew straight ahead, but at a slight wobble. Ranma saw it coming and jumped over the spatula.
Continuing on, he made it to his friend and attempted to do a palm strike to her chest. The young Kuonji brought out another small spatula and used it to block the strike before it connected. The blue-eyed boy's next move had been to do a small leg sweep that knocked his opponent off her feet. The cat-boy blinked when his friend tossed something at him as she fell. The thing exploded in a small cloud of flour and caused him to cough a little as the smokescreen obscured his vision.
Ukyo gave a small smirk as she charged into the flour to give a smack to her friend with a mini spatula. She had become a little shocked when the boy managed to move out of the way, and she couldn't figure out how he knew where she was coming from. Her answer came when the smokescreen cleared to show Ranma with his cat ears poked out and twitching. "I guess it makes sense that your hearing would be great, Ranchan."
The six-year-old boy gave a nod. "Your smoke bomb was interesting as well, Ucchan." If he didn't have his enhanced hearing, he would have been a sitting duck. Ending the small chat, he ran up to the girl again and attempted another palm strike. His friend dodged and sent a strike of her own that the young Saotome managed to block with his own hand. He then proceeded to do another leg sweep, and ended it by pinning the girl to the ground. "Do you give up, Ucchan?"
The brown-haired girl was reluctant to admit defeat, but understood that there was nothing she could do. "Alright Ranchan, I give up." As the boy helped her up, she pointed a spatula towards him and smirked. "I'll beat ya next time though."
Ranma playfully stuck out his tongue. "You were right about being good Ucchan." He held out a hand to shake hers. He couldn't understand why his father had stated that girls were weaker and needed protecting. Ukyo seemed to be strong enough to handle herself.
"I think ya were holding back on me a little though." The young Kuonji stated with a slight frown before shaking her head. "It was fun like that though. I'll reach ya sometime, Ranchan." She figured if he didn't hold back, she would have been done in the first few seconds. If anything, she found a kind of rival in her friend. Maybe he was what she needed to grow better in her art.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Ranma glanced around their camp site for any signs of movement. His father had decided on pitching up the site in a small grassy area that was very close to the park they were in earlier. Ukyo and her father had already gone to their home about three hours ago. The pony-tailed boy was ecstatic that his father had actually agreed to stay around the area for a few more days.
Looking down at Miki, the raven-haired boy gave a slight smile. His father was sound asleep and snoring up a storm again. This meant that it was the perfect opportunity to test out a little more to his powers. "I wonder what I should try and figure out first." He stated in curiosity.
/You said to me earlier this morning that this all came from an alien, right?/ At the young Saotome's nod, she continued. /There's a small legend thingie that us cats know. It's about a group of aliens who can transform between human and cat. Do you think you became one of them when you got your powers?/
That caused the boy to blink. "Me, turn into a cat? Would that even be true?" At his kitten-friend's shrug, he continued to think about it. "Well, I gain cat-ears and a tail, so why wouldn't that be possible?" Closing his eyes, Ranma began to try and concentrate on it. He didn't know what he was supposed to be looking for, but figured that he would find whatever it was. Maybe it actually had to do something with him THINKING about being a cat.
'Turn into a cat, turn into a cat.' He kept thinking to himself. After a few seconds, he was about ready to give up when his body suddenly started to feel warm and tingle. The sensation felt really weird, and it was almost like his whole body had started to re-arrange itself. This went on for several moments before it had finally come to an abrupt stop. Opening his eyes, he noticed that he was now looking at everything from a whole different angle.
/Wow, that's so cool./ Miki announced with wide eyes as she looked upon her friend's new form. The boy had turned into a small kitten with raven-black fur, and on his forehead was a small golden symbol that looked like a curled cat tail in front of a small circular dot. /Funny little bald spot./ The pinkish kitten stated with a catty giggle.
"Wow, this is so weird." Ranma stated before his eyes went wide. "I can still talk like a human." Maybe it had something to do with the alien stuff or something. Giving a slight shrug to the idea, he began to move around. The only problem with that was that he fell on his face with one step. "I don't know how to walk yet in this form." The now kitten stated with a frown.
/Try to use your tail as a balance until you get used to it. Also, start out by putting one foot in front of the other slowly until you can figure it out./ Miki wanted to start laughing at the sight, but she didn't want to get her friend angry at her. She watched as the raven-furred kitten started out slow and wobbly, but managed to gain speed as he went. Before long, the boy turned kitten was running and jumping around on all fours.
"This is so cool." The young Saotome stated before something else came to mind. "I wonder…" He said as he pushed off his front paws and wobbled around on his back feet. His pinkish-furred friend watched in fascination as he began to gain his balance. The fascination turned to awe when Ranma attempted to actually do a kata in the form of a small kitten.
Anybody would have thought that it was a sight odder than anything else. Standing there in the grassy clearing was a small kitten with raven-black fur and attempting to do human martial arts. It was fully apparent that the aforementioned kitten was slightly clumsy and unbalanced, but the sight was amusing to behold. The long black tail was used to keep the clumsy balance as he went on.
After a little while of getting the hang of his new form, an idea came to the new kitten. "I know exactly how to train this new body." At Miki's questioning look, he smiled. "I think an adventure into the city would be fun. Jumping across rooftops, climbing poles, and a bunch of other things to test out. Want to join me, Miki?"
/I don't know, it could be a little danger--/ It was at that moment in which the sound of an owl filtered through the area. The pinkish kitten eeped in fight and jumped close to Ranma. /I don't want to stay here by myself!/ She shouted with a shiver. The little kitten had heard stories about owls eating small creatures. She knew that if it had to come down to it, her friend could probably slice one of those evil creatures in half.
The raven-furred kitten gave a tilt to his head. 'I wonder if she could learn martial arts.' It really would be something if cats could learn martial arts. Hey, maybe that was something he could file away for later use. "Well let's go then." The young Saotome stated with an excited smile. The two felines slowly made their way out of the camp site and into the vast park. Looking around for anything that could be hostile, they both gradually made their way through the park that had been illuminated by the moon and some park lamps.
"That's so cute!" A girl in her late teens said to a friend as the two felines walked past. She had short dark blue hair and brown eyes. "You think they're brother and sister or something?" She asked as she knelt down in front of them. "They both have vivid blue eyes and have black on them." Her friend gave a small shrug before pointing out something.
"The little black one has an odd bald spot on its forehead, Sakura." The friend -- who had long black hair and green eyes -- picked up Miki to pet while the other girl picked up Ranma.
"But that just makes the little guy so unique, Fujiko." She then proceeded to give the young Saotome turned kitten a small kiss on the nose. "You're just a little adorable thing, aren't you?"
"Do you really think we should be messing with these kittens? What if they need to go home or something?" Fujiko asked in a slightly bored tone. She liked the little kitten she was currently holding, but neither of the felines was theirs.
"But I want to hold him for a little longer." Sakura whined while implementing a puppy-dog pout. "We're both out for a walk, so why don't we just carry them around for a while and then return them here?" She actually wished she could keep the little kitten she was holding, but knew very well she wouldn't be able to. Her mom did have an allergy to cats after-all.
Fujiko gave an exasperated sigh as she finally agreed to take the kittens on the walk with them. Her friend could be such a baby sometimes. The blue eyes of the pinkish creature were a bit on the mesmerizing side though. "Damn you and your cute charm." The raven-haired girl grumbled out at Miki.
This wasn't what Ranma had in mind at all when he thought about exploring the little city, but it was fun none-the-less. It felt nice and comfy to actually be held by somebody while in this form, and he had also been able to test out his senses while in this form. The boy turned kitten could actually hear the beating heart of the girl who was holding him. It almost seemed as if he could also sense her pulse and emotions. The blue-haired girl also had an almost intoxicating smell of lilac about her, and it almost made him want to cuddle closer to her. There was also the fact that the girl was scratching him behind the ear, and it was apparently a spot that nearly caused him to lose all cognitive functions and purr loudly.
Everything had almost started to feel dream-like as he watched the sights go by while in the arms of the woman. He knew it would have to end soon, but he'd be damned if he didn't wish it could go on forever. It became even more enjoyable when the girl -- Sakura he thought her name was -- had actually bought a small bag of blueberries and fed him a few of them. They were so sweet and fresh to his taste buds that he found himself purring out some more. He had been so caught up in it all that he never noticed the girl buy a small golden-colored bow and tie it to his tail.
Ranma had just begun to drift off to sleep when he felt the woman carrying him come to a complete and sudden stop. Opening his azure eyes and looking around, the raven-furred kitten noticed that they were surrounded by a few mean looking gang members. They had apparently been lead to a vacant lot next to a building.
"Alright girlies, hand over all your valuables, and maybe we'll let you go." The other four guys gave a laugh at the last part. "And you know what? I have a couple dogs who might like to have a snack on kitten tonight." He gave an evil smirk towards the two kittens.
"Right boss." One of the thugs stated as he prepared to grab both Miki and the young Saotome. Giving a loud hiss, the boy turned kitten gave a swipe with his paw and left three deep gashes on the guy's face without even really touching him. "AAHH!! You damn cat." The guy, who was now bleeding, grabbed Ranma by the neck and tossed him. This caused Sakura to yell out in worry.
The raven-haired kitten landed on his feet and faced the group. Raising a paw, the blue transformation ring of Mau appeared. The assembled people were shocked to hear the small kitten actually shout out. "Mau Planet Power, Henshin!" They were all then slightly blinded by a flash of light that lasted for about a couple seconds. When it ended, they looked on with wide eyes at seeing a little cat-boy of about six-years-old in a cat-themed black outfit.
"Being a bunch of complete evil and mean jerks and harming a couple of nice ladies is something that I can not look away from. In the name of honor and justice," he made a small pose with his arms near his face and his cat-gloved hands bent forward like claws, "you shall be my scratching posts-nya!"
Ranma's appearance, pose, and speech caused everyone, except Miki, to stand there as stiff as statues with their jaws hanging open. All that once, everyone painfully said one thing very slowly. "So… adorable…" They all stood there for several moments in silence until the leader of the thugs shook his head and pointed towards the boy.
"Oh come on, you're just a little kid. A little kid who was just a small kitten a moment ago, but a little kid none-the-less. What can you hope to accomplish." Of course, if the guy would have paid more attention to anime, manga, TV, and other things, he would have at least had a small idea. Pulling out a small pocket knife, he gave a small smirk. "I'm not going to kill you, kid. I'm just going to show you why you shouldn't be playing with the big boys." After saying that, the thug rushed forward to scare the young wannabe hero.
The raven-haired boy leapt out of the way of the attempted slash and landed on the top of the brick fence. 'I know there's something I should be able to do, but what?' His mind went into overtime for a few moments before a name came to his mind. Holding out his hand, he began to chant. "Mau Yarn-Ball…" a sphere of yellow energy that contained a slight yarn-ball design to it appeared in his hand. Cocking his arm back, he let it fly. When it was almost upon his opponent, he added to the chant. "ENTANGLE!!"
The small yellow sphere seemed to shoot out strands of energy that started to wrap around the thug until he had become tangled from head to toe in yellow yarn. "BOSS!" The thugs yelled out in shock. They then watched as the strange cat-boy jumped off the wall and in front of the larger opponent. A feral smile played across the aforementioned boy's features.
"As I said, you'll be my scratching post-nya!" Raising his gloved hands to his head, Ranma started to chant the name of another attack. "Cat-Scratch…" the claws on the gloves seemed to almost glow blue. "FRENZY!!" The Senshi of Mau's hands seemed to almost blur as he jumped around the tangled up man. After several moments, the young Saotome stopped and jumped back in front of the guy. Bringing his hand up, he snapped his fingers. For a moment, it didn't seem like anything had happened.
The thug was about to gloat that the boy hadn't done anything, but then it happened. The yarn fell to the ground in shreds, then came the guy's clothing, and then finally the guy's hair fell off his head. The boss of the group found himself standing around in his underwear with not even a strand of hair left on his head. The sight had actually caused Ranma to sweat-drop. "I never would have thought someone like you would like pink underwear with unicorns on them-nya."
The thug's whole body took on an interesting shade of red as he gathered up his shredded clothing and ran out of the lot. His followers watched after him and then looked towards the cat-boy who had done that to the guy. They all became a little nervous when the boy gave a slight smile in their direction, and figuring that the smart thing to do would be to run away, they turned and high-tailed it. This left the two girls that Ranma saved to look at him with complete shock.
Miki took this opportunity to jump out of Fujiko's arms and run up to her friend. Giving a small leap, she landed in the raven-haired cat-boy's arms. The young Saotome gave a nod to his friend before looking back to the girls. Holding up a hand, he waved it to them. "Bye-nya!" With a small leap, he jumped onto the brick wall before giving another leap that took him to the top of the building.
Sakura was the first to recover from her shock. As she stood there, her lip began to quiver a small bit. This eventually led to her falling to her knees with her arms pulled in close. "He was so adorable!" She announced with tears streaming down her eyes. "And those little 'nya's' were just so cute as well."
"You realize that nobody is going to believe this, don't you?" Her raven-haired friend stated with a sad tone to her voice. It would have been interesting if they could report it to the newspapers or something. She wouldn't admit it to Sakura, but she had found the cat-boy to be completely adorable as well. 'I wish I was the one who held him.'
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I finally got to test my abilities-nya!" Ranma announced happily as he jumped from roof to roof. He didn't understand why he sometimes felt like saying 'nya' at the end of his sentences, but decided to ignore it. "That Cat-Scratch Frenzy was so fun, but that guy's underwear ruined the moment." The thought had actually sent a shiver down his spine.
/What I want to know,/ Miki began while in his arms/is what was with that slightly corny speech you said when you first transformed./ It had been weird, but it could have been worse. She didn't know how, but it could have.
"I don't know. It just came to me after I transformed." A small pout came to him after a second. "I was having so much fun being held by that lady-nya." It had been a bummer that those thugs had showed up. He wondered, however, what would have happened if he did go to sleep. Would the girl have tried to take him home and keep him as a pet? And what would his father have done?
/Ranma, did you know you have a golden bow on your tail? That lady actually got one and put it on your tail while you were kind of out of it./ The small cat gave a giggle when her friend blinked and looked around. /It does go well with your black and gold color scheme though./
A sweat-drop formed on the young Saotome's head. "I don't think I want people to think I'm even more adorable." He was about to reach over and take it off when his ears caught a loud noise. Looking around, he caught sight of a helicopter coming around the area and heading to what looked like the Shin-Osaka Bullet Train Railway station. Curious as to what was going on, the raven-haired boy made his way to the area and on a roof just across the street from the station. Looking down, he noticed several police cars and officers. There were also a couple helicopters hovering around the area.
His curiosity as to what was going on was answered when one of the officers shouted towards the building. A frown appeared on Ranma's face as he listened to the situation. Apparently some guy had gone postal and had a bomb strapped to him. It was also a greater danger due to the hostages in the place as well. Turning around, he set Miki down on a safe place. "Stay right here, Miki. I won't be long."
Turning back towards the problem at hand, his azure eyes looked for a good way to get over there. He smiled when he spotted a helicopter circling the area. When it got close enough, the Mau Senshi bent his knees and let loose with a jump that allowed him to catch the railing on the bottom. Holding on tight, he transformed into his kitten form so as not to be spotted as easily. As the flying machine hovered past the train station, the blue-eyed kitten let go and landed softly on the top of the building.
Moving quietly across the roof, he spotted a small window that was opened. Sneaking through the opening, he jumped down and around the beams and railings until he landed softly onto the floor. Looking around, his azure eyes spotted several people huddled together, and there were a few children who looked scared. Eyes narrowing, the young Saotome trotted over towards the oddly ragged guy who was standing with something wrapped around his body. In his hand was some kind of object with a button on it. Ranma didn't really know what it was, but figured it must be the bomb or something.
Standing right to the side of the man, he looked up and made his presence known. "Nya!" This caused the ragged man to look in his direction with slight confusion.
"How'd you get here, little guy?" He asked in a kind of soft tone, but the corners of his eye seemed to slightly twitch. Reaching down, the cause for the disruption around the area picked the boy turned kitten up and held him in his arm. "These people think I'm the villain, but I'm not. It's not my fault I messed up so much and got fired. It was the customers' fault for being rude to me so many times. It was the people in the other room next door to my apartment who kept me awake at night. I'm not the one in the wrong here." The guy gave off a nervous chuckle as he pet the raven-furred kitten. "I know you probably don't understand me, but it would be nice if you did."
'This guy seems a little crazy.' The six-year-old turned kitten thought to himself sadly. His senses could tell that the guy wasn't bad, but he was a little on the unhinged side. The kitten sat there for a few moments and tried to figure out what was the best thing he could do. After searching his mind for any solution, there was a small technique that came to him. 'Maybe that'll work.' Looking up towards the man, he gave another 'nya' to get his attention.
"What's the matt--" The guy's eyes suddenly glazed over when a small beam shot out of the symbol on Ranma's forehead. After a moment, the ragged man's eyes started to grow heavy. It wasn't long before they closed and he started to fall backwards. Acting quickly, the boy turned kitten jumped out of his arms, turned into his Senshi form, jumped behind the guy, and prevented him from hitting the ground. He had also caught the handheld object so it didn't hit the ground as well.
As soon as the motion had ended, there was a loud noise as several police began to storm the area and circle around the Mau and downed man. Smiling nervously towards the officers, the raven-haired Saotome handed the little device to one of them. "Please don't be too hard on the man. It seems he's been having a bad time and went a little crazy-nya." Setting his captive down softly, the cat-boy walked a little ways away before turning around and giving a wave. "Bye-nya!"
Before the assembled people could stop the boy, he ran out of the building, over a few cars, and up onto the roof of the building across the street. The cops could only stare for several moments until captain -- a large and muscular serious man -- snapped his fingers. "I want everybody to try and figure out who that little cat-boy is who just saved everyone here. Search the whole country if you have to."
"Err, why is that, sir?" One of the officers asked in confusion. If the boy was anything like the super heroes that usually popped up in places, then there was zero chance they would find him unless he wanted to be found.
"Because," the captain began, "he was adorable." That statement caused everyone who listened intently to face-fault… hard.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It didn't take long for Ranma and Miki to make it back the camp area. As soon as they entered the area, the raven-haired boy de-transformed and sat down. It had been a very exciting day, and he was fully ready to sleep. First thing he had to do though was to take the bow that was on his tail off. Turning around, his eyes blinked when he noticed that the bow had vanished somewhere. "Maybe I lost it somewhere back there." He said to himself with a shrug.
Miki gave a small giggle as she looked upon her friend. /You aren't just a savior to cat-kind, but a savior to human kind as well!/ It was so exciting to be a friend to an honest to goodness hero.
"I made a promise to carry out that cat-lady's last wish, and I'm going to make it true. It's also kind of fun to help people-nya." A sweat-drop escaped him after he said that. "I guess I'll sometimes be saying 'nya'." It's not like it really mattered though.
/Ranma, do you think you could teach me how to do that martial arts stuff? If you could do it in cat form, then I might be able to as well./ If she could learn, then she would be able to protect herself if her friend wasn't there with her at the moment. She actually didn't know if it was even possible, but there was no harm in trying.
"I might be able to do it." The young Saotome said as he grew deep in thought. He gave a small shake to his head for the moment. "How about we go to sleep for now-nya?" He was tired, and he wanted to get enough sleep in before the morning came and his father decided to wake him.
Nodding, Miki followed Ranma and got into the sleeping bag with him. It wasn't long before both were fast asleep.
xxA.N.xx
Chapter two is done, and boy was it a fun one to do. I'm not sure why, but maybe it had to do with doing Ranma's small Sailor Mau and Kitten adventure. Well, whatever the reason, I loved doing this chapter more than anything.
I think I might make a confrontation with the Gambler King in the next chapter. I'll have to plan it out a little bit and get to work on it.
And for a thing of interest, here are Ranma's current abilities that I've thought about.
Mao Yarn-Ball: The skill can do two different things depending on what the end word is. Entangle will wrap the person up so they can't move.
Explosion will create a small explosion that will knock the person back.
Cat-Scratch Frenzy: Jumping around the opponent at quick speeds, Ranma's claws will claw the opponent with lightning quick slashes. This can also be used with his feet.
Hypnotic Beam (Only usable in cat form): A small beam that if directly contacts with the opponent will make them drowsy and ready to fall asleep.
Overly Cute Adorability: It's not really a skill or attack, but it can put people off guard due to him being adorable and cute.