A Surviving Mau
Ranma ½, Sailor Moon, and any other series used in this fanfic are owned by their respectful owners. I do not own anything about them at all.
Thanks to CyberSkaarj and the people of Fukufics for pre-reading.
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
/Chinese/
Chapter 7
The loud sound of clacking wood was common within the walls of the Joketsuzoku Village. For the warriors of the village, it was the unmistakable sound of two people fighting with wooden staves. True to the norm, there were two fighters partaking in this form of sparring through the use of miniature Bo Staves. Various villagers halted in their daily routines to watch the obviously inexperienced duo, waving the long sticks around clumsily. In fact, there were times where they would accidentally hit themselves or become unbalanced due to a very bad swing. It was even harder for the two because they were fighting upon a log suspended above the ground.
The two fighters were easily identifiable to the crowd as Ranma and Shampoo. Their experience of fighting with a staff was small at best. This was because they had started using the staves just a couple of weeks ago, and their lack of experience showed. They -- along with Miki -- had trouble keeping their balance on the log, and the frequent over-extending of their weapons only made it harder. Ranma and Miki had an easier time with balance than Shampoo because of the ability to use their tails.
The three guests, Ranma, Miki, and Genma, had been living within the walls of the Joketsuzoku Village for almost two years. Genma spent most of the time in either confinement or watched closely by some Amazons who were in charge of making sure he didn't do anything stupid. The time they spent with the Amazons was well spent as they grew accustomed to a few small changes.
Miki's newfound Mau structure, which was thought to come about due to the shared dunking both Ranma and she had when they fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl, was progressing splendidly. Hot water only turned her back into a kitten if she soaked in it for too long, and she could now transform into her former birth form by thought. Miki still retained her energetic and curious personality, but she had also learned how to control it if the situation called for one to be serious. Her martial arts ability was well below both Ranma and Shampoo, but that was because she had no prior martial arts knowledge, except for Ranma trying to teach her when she was a kitten. She could hold her own in simple fights, though.
Ranma, who turned eight-years-old after spending almost two years in the village, had a greater deal of improvement in his martial arts ability. He still had trouble using the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken due to how young he was, but he could manage between 50 and 65 punches. It wasn't much when compared to the fact that many of the older fighters could do hundreds of punches, but it was fast enough to grab the chestnuts out of the fire without getting burnt.
In Sailor Mau form while male, Ranma found his abilities gradually increasing. He may have only been able to develop one or two new attacks, but he had discovered that he could modify and improve the ones he already had. While female, Ranma had a larger increase in abilities as a Senshi than in male form. His female form also had a technique or two that he couldn't perform while male. The cat-boy felt a little miffed that his two forms were so different from each other. It wasn't all bad; he seemed to have more physical strength and could withstand more damage as a male Senshi, while his female Senshi form was much faster, had a higher magic reserve, more special abilities, and her magic attacks were significantly more powerful.
Speaking of magic, Ranma had managed to learn a few ways to put the raw magic that he could channel to use. He wasn't able to do too much with it. One thing he could with his raw magic was to create hot and cold air. It wasn't powerful, but if he needed to dry his clothes or quickly cool something, it would do the job. The cat-boy had also learned that from channeling the raw magic, he could also use it to heal. This came about when he accidentally healed a cut on Miki's arm. When it happened, Ranma was molding some magic into his hands, and he forgot to stop it when he touched his friend on her arm. After that moment, Cologne decided to have Ranma check out the extent of it. With just a little molding, small cuts could be healed, but if he poured out a greater amount of healing magic, then he would be able to heal a greater variety of injuries and health issues. This only marked a few possibilities that he could accomplish with the raw magic. He had access to more magic in female form, but it was harder to control and led to Ranma feeling exhausted.
Using this raw magic didn't come without a price, however. Ranma still found out that no matter how many times he tried, he would always end up changing into cat form whenever he used too much. He would then be stuck in said form until he recovered, which was usually three to five days. The odd thing about it was that the backlash of using too much magic while using Senshi attacks didn't seem to cause the same issue. Cologne and a few of the elders theorized a possibility that the raw magic he possessed wasn't meant to be used excessively in its 'unrefined' form, and that it put too much strain on the body. This, in turn, was the cause for his transformation into his cat form -- to rest from the strain and magic exhaustion.
"Ha!" Shampoo shouted as she capitalized on an opening her opponent had revealed. The wide arc swing that she used made contact and started to throw Ranma off balance. Acting on an impulse, the cat-boy grabbed the staff as he fell off the log. This in turn caused his adversary to be pulled off with him. Both children landed on the ground in a heap. Letting out an annoyed growl, Shampoo vented her frustration by slapping Ranma on the back of his head. /I thank you for pulling me off, flea-fur!/
/You're the one who held onto the staff, Xian-Pu!/ Ranma argued back as he pushed the girl off of him and stood up. /And will you stop calling me flea-fur?! It only happened ONCE./ A small blush accompanied that statement. It was about seven months ago when a few fleas attempted to make a home out of Ranma when he was in cat form. It took a week to get rid of them all, and even then he had to wear a flea collar for about a month just to make sure. It was completely embarrassing, and something that Shampoo decided to never let him forget. It was still a mystery as to why Miki never suffered the infestation.
/Once, yes, but you'll always be Flea-Fur to me./ The Amazon 'eeped' and ducked under the attack that Ranma directed at her. /Maybe you should start wearing that collar again. We don't want you to get anymore flea-- OW!/ Shampoo yelped as she nursed the lump on her head that Ranma had given to her via a fist.
/Mocking someone who can kill large and ferocious monsters isn't a good thing, eggplant-head./ Ranma quipped back with his arms crossed as he used one of his own nicknames for the purple-haired girl. His quips about the color of her hair and the shape of her buns annoyed her, and it was an even greater insult whenever Ranma called her 'Mouse Ears' due to one time when Shampoo had tied up her hair buns wrong.
Shampoo gave off an undignified snort of amusement. /There haven't been any monster attacks for several months, Fur-ball. How do we know that you still have what it takes?/ The usual sparring match between the two gradually degenerated into a glaring match as each tried to outdo and cause the other to 'cower under their might'. If anybody were to walk up close to the two, they would have noticed an incredible fluctuation of temperature around them.
Off to the side, Miki gave off a deep sigh as she watched her two friends get under each other's skin for millionth time or so. She wasn't really SURE how many times it was, but was certain that it seemed like a million. As the pink-haired former cat sat there with her tail swishing behind her, she wished that Mousse could have been there with the trio instead of having to spend the day helping his parents and learning a few more styles to the Hidden Weapons art. "Hurry up and finish sparring, Ranma. I want to go do something fun-nya!" Miki whined softly to herself as she glanced around before frowning at the sight of a certain panda attempting to spy on the scene. 'We could also get away from the fat panda too.' The cat-girl thought to herself in disgust as the panda in question continued to watch from his position.
Genma -- who many Amazons of the Joketsuzoku had taken to calling the 'Stupid Panda'-- had made several attempts to escape the village with his son and, reluctantly, Miki. Every attempt at escaping had been stopped by an Amazon, and a battered and bruised Genma would end up having to go back to the drawing board to plan an escape all over again. One thing that he definitely knew was a big 'no-no' was grabbing the tail of either his son or Miki to escape. For some reason, the two of them turned downright hostile whenever someone grabbed their tails. They had never used to, and that was why Genma had made that very mistake during one of his attempts. At the time, he was in so much of a hurry that he merely grabbed the first appendage he could find and pulled. The next thing he knew was a world of pain where almost his entire body ended up covered in deep scratches and bites. Even his gi, bandana, glasses, and what little hair he had left on his head was shredded to hell. Since that incident, Genma made sure that he never grabbed the young cat-children by their tails again.
Genma's biggest reason for trying so hard to escape with Ranma seemed to be due to Nodoka learning of Ranma's curse. It also didn't help that his son and wife would send letters to each other. The older Saotome was certain that Nodoka was just trying to lead them into a false sense of security until she got her hands on them. Once that happened, they'd experience the wonders of watching their intestines fall out of their body right before their heads were cut off. Genma didn't want that, and decided that the best way to prevent it was to keep out of contact with his wife so that she didn't lull his son into the thing called 'motherly love' that she already seemed to be doing. Genma's only thread of safety that he held to was the fact that Nodoka lacked the proper funds to travel to Joketsuzoku. Yes, except for the contact through letters, he was safe from his wife.
Also, unlike what most of the people around the area though of him, Genma wasn't stupid. Slightly ignorant, lazy, and greedy maybe, but stupid he was not. Genma managed to catch on to the fact that his own son had some odd transformation that seemed to increase his abilities, and he also noticed that his son's female form seemed to have a greater ability than Ranma's male form. The very thought of it perturbed the older Saotome greatly. Ranma's female form was better than his male form, he didn't care if he was in female form longer than his natural form, he would often train in said form, and he was in a village where the population had more females than males.
Those issues put together were enough grounds for Genma to worry about both his own head and the future of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. Sure, Ranma could continue to train and be an heir of the school if he was female, but there were certain… reasons for his son to not get too used to this female problem of his. Those were the reasons why Genma felt he should grab Ranma and flee. He felt that he had to undo the damages and show Ranma that his female side was exactly what it was supposed to be: a curse that should be hated and loathed. 'Don't worry boy, I'll set your mind back on track when I get you away from here and those elderly hags trying to influence you!' The pandafied man thought with a look of determination in his eyes.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
/You didn't have to hit us on the heads, Miki./ Ranma pouted as Shampoo, Miki, and he walked away from the practice log. /It hurt-nya./ He finished as he rubbed the spot where he was hit. Next to him, Shampoo was also rubbing her head and grumbling about 'violent cat-people'.
/I'm sorry, Ranma./ Miki answered back as she tapped her index fingers together. /It was the only way I could get you to stop after 10 minutes. When you two start fighting, you don't stop./ The pink-haired cat-girl's demeanor suddenly changed as she tossed her arms around the other two's necks and smiled wide with sparkling eyes. /C'mon! Let's go play! I know, let's go see if we can sneak up on some birds, or chase some mice out of the village-nya!/
Shampoo's right eye began to twitch as she moved Miki's arm from her shoulder. /Ugh-- quit trying to get me to join your catty games. I'm not a cat, and even if I was, I wouldn't do anything so stupid as to chase birds or mice. I'm a proud Amazon warrior and granddaughter of a Joketsuzoku matriarch. I can not be-- GYAH!!/ The purple-haired eight-year-old almost seemed to jump two meters in the air as she leapt away from the duo. Said duo was currently on the ground laughing their tails off. /Shut up-- it's not funny! Licking someone on both cheeks isn't human!/ Her cheeks began to turn red when she noticed that she was gaining a few stares from the people around her. Wiping her cheeks, Shampoo turned a glare towards her two companions and noticed that they were still laughing, but they weren't on the ground. Instead, they were standing with their tails in the usual position: around their waists like belts. /You two aren't human, you know that?/
/Alright, settle down, that'll be enough for now, child. I don't really think that you should say something like that./ An aged voice commented from behind Shampoo. The young Amazon turned around to see her great-grandmother. The elder was staring at her with a look that made the young Amazon shiver.
/B-- but great-grandmother, they licked me on my cheeks, and it was so gross!/
/I'm sure that it was all in harmless fun, Xian Pu./ At this, Shampoo huffed and crossed her arms. This action earned her a tap on the head from Cologne's staff. /There'll be none of that in front of me, young lady./ The matriarch received an apologetic look from great-granddaughter. /Sometimes one would think that you might just be a little jealous that you lack any cat ears or tail./
Shampoo's eyes widened as her face turned slightly pale. /Great-grandmother, how could you ever think of something like that?/
/Just an observation, dear./ Cologne responded with a smirk before turning her attention towards Ranma. /Ranma, I'd like to speak with you for a moment./
Ranma had a curious look as he walked up to the diminutive woman. /Is there something wrong, Elder Khu Lon?/ He asked as he watched the matriarch rummage through one of the pockets in her robes.
/Well, first of all,/ Cologne began as she pulled a few chestnuts out of her pocket/let's get rid of the nosy fool that's trying to listen in./ With a quick flick of her wrist, the Joketsuzoku matriarch sent the chestnuts flying off to the side. The nuts hit their target: Genma Saotome's head. Normally, someone tossing a few chestnuts wouldn't prove a problem. However, since the one tossing these was a martial artist with over 100 years of training and experience, there was enough power behind those nuts to send a large panda flying backwards. As soon as Genma was on his back, a group of Amazons appeared and picked him up. /Take this oaf to his cell on the grounds of attempting to listen in on secret information!/
/Wish I could do something like that./ Ranma mumbled do himself as he watched the spot that his father was being pulled from. That kind of skill would probably be useful later on, and Ranma was intent on learning how.
/Now then,/ Ranma was snapped out of his thoughts by Cologne's voice/back to what I wanted to talk to you about, Ranma./ Reaching into her robes, the elder pulled out a slightly crumpled letter. /I actually received this letter a couple of days ago, but had to think and converse with the other elders about it. It is from your mother in regards to your last letter./
/What did she say?! Can she come and visit?!/ Ranma asked excitedly as his cat-ears popped out. Since first writing to her two years ago, Ranma and Nodoka had sent letters back and forth to each other. It was quite obvious that at first, Nodoka was a little reluctant due to the curse and possibly having to kill her own son. Hell, Cologne still wasn't sure if the Saotome Matriarch had tossed the idea out of her mind or not. They did seem to both enjoy being in contact though, and Nodoka seemed to have taken a liking to Miki as well. The reason for Ranma asking the question that he did was because of his last letter. In the letter, he asked again if his mother could visit.
When Cologne shook her head in a negative fashion, Ranma calmed down as his ears fell forward in disappointment. Miki reached over and gave him a pat on the shoulder. /She stated that she'd LIKE to come, but she wouldn't be able to afford a trip./
If possible, Ranma's ears drooped further. He might have only had a basic understanding of monetary value, but even he knew that if someone couldn't afford something, then it must cost a lot. /And I was hoping to see her again-nya./
Cologne raised an aged eyebrow. /And who said you couldn't?/ The question caused the trio to look at her oddly.
/But great-grandmother, I thought you said that Ranma's mother wouldn't be able to come. You haven't gone old in the head, have you, great-grandmother?/ The comment earned Shampoo a whack upside her head.
/My mind is still young and strong, thank you./ Cologne stated quickly before returning to the subject at hand. /As I stated a few moments ago, Ranma, I talked with the other elders before coming to you. The reason is that -- even though I am a wise matriarch of the Joketsuzoku -- I still needed to obtain the authorization to leave the village and travel somewhere else./ Cologne still noticed three looks of confusion on the faces of the children in front of her. Remembering that she was in the now in the presence of young children and not aged mummies, the diminutive woman gave off a sigh. /Basically, I obtained the permission to take you three and travel to Japan. The official reason that was reached was that getting out in the outside world would allow Xian Pu to grow a little better as an Amazon heir. Having a suitable rival is also key to growing./
/But great-grandmother, who is my rival?/ Shampoo asked with a hint of curiosity. /You can't possibly mean Ranma, can you?/ She added with a quirked eyebrow and a thumb-point towards the raven-haired cat-boy.
/Hey, I can kick your butt, and you know it-nya!/ Ranma responded with a small growl.
Ignoring the quips the two made at each other, Cologne continued. /This trip will be both a learning experience for Xian Pu, and a chance to meet your mother, Ranma. Miki will also be able to meet her as well./ The matriarch was treated to the sight of an eight-year-old cat-boy jumping up and down in joy. 'Ah, what it would be like to be young and impressionable again.' Cologne thought with a slightly wistful look in her eyes.
/Elder Khu Lon,/ Miki suddenly stated with a look of curiosity/isn't Mu Tsu going with us as well-nya?/
/I'm afraid not./
/Why not?!/ All three children asked in disappointment. /Why the heck is he being left out of this?/ Ranma added with a frown.
/His parents refused to let him to leave on such a long trip. They are mostly worried that his eyesight will get him into some sort of trouble. However, they also said that they might change their mind later on./
/That's stupid./ Shampoo grumbled out. /Hopefully they will change their minds later and bring him./
There was a long moment of silence until Ranma finally broke it. /So when are we going?/ The thought of getting back to traveling and actually being able to meet his mother again was giving him an overjoyed feeling.
/We'll be leaving in a little while, after you three get ready and a couple of others join us. We will also have to make another stop for some herbal supplies on the way. I'm out of certain herbs and need to restock./
Ranma and Miki shared a quick glance before the pink-haired cat-girl raised her hand a little. /Um, does that mean that we are going to make a trip to Yaokaicun?/
/Yes, we are going to be traveling to the herbalist village of Yaokaicun./ Cologne answered with a short nod before turning around and leaping off to get ready for the trip.
Both cat-children glanced towards Shampoo to see an evil smile spread across her face at the prospect of visiting the neighboring Amazon village. /Hopefully Pin Ke and Lin Ke won't show up this time./ Ranma whispered to Miki. His friend gave a quick nod in hope. However, no matter what happened, Shampoo always seemed to find the two and trash them before Ranma and Miki could pull her away.
/We could always try to tie her up-nya./ Miki suggested with her head tilted a little. The idea caused Ranma to smirk. Maybe Cologne would allow them to tie her great-granddaughter up so there wouldn't be the usual problem.
/That might work. C'mon, let's go get some rope in case we will need it./ Ranma answered back as the two cat-children left to find some rope. /But what's the worse that could happen? Pin Ke and Lin Ke swearing to kill Xian Pu later on in some weird revenge thing because of issues when they were all kids?/
/That's a weird and funny thought, Ranma./ Miki giggled. Just what kind of person would actually do something like that?
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A village that was situated not too far from Joketsuzoku, Yaokaicun was also a village of Amazons. However, unlike the village of Joketsuzoku, the people of Yaokaicun were mostly herbalists, and the village supplied many surrounding villages with herbs and other plants that were only grown within the area. One would think that the village would be helpless without the warriors that its sister village houses. However, it was far from defenseless. Over the thousands of years that it had been around, the villagers had learnt how to extract and create a wide array of poisons and cures from the various forms of flora that grow around the area. In fact, even the Joketsuzoku and other warrior tribes were reluctant to fight against a place that could kill your entire army with a well-placed narcotic dust in the wind, or a special ingredient inserted into the water and food supply. It was for this reason that Yaokaicun was considered a sort of neutral ground. Of course, that doesn't exactly extend to the children. In many instances, due to having extensive knowledge of herbs obtained from their parents and living in the village, visitors would often find themselves in danger of childish pranks that usually caused them to become poisoned.
/I really hate water sometimes./ Ranma complained as she used a minor amount of raw magic in her hand to heat up and dry her clothing. The changing of forms didn't bug her, but the issue with being a water magnet did. /I want to know why Miki doesn't get wet as much as I do-nya!/
/It does hit me, but not much because I'm already in my 'curse' form, and it takes almost half an hour for hot water to change me back into a kitten now./ The pink-haired cat-girl then playfully stuck out her tongue. /I got the better deal!/ Miki sang happily. She soon found herself sitting in a muddy puddle. /Hey, that wasn't nice-nya!/
/I didn't do a thing./ Ranma replied while trying to repress a smirk. /You just tripped over your own feet-- ack!/ Ranma also ended up falling into the puddle - face first. Sputtering, she turned her head and glared at an innocent-looking Shampoo.
/Oh no,/ Shampoo exclaimed in mock horror with a hand to her cheek/you two are so messy. Now it looks like you'll have to go and lick yourselves clean./ The purple-haired Amazon soon broke out in a giggle-fit as her two friends sat within the puddle and glared right at her. However, she failed to notice the looks Ranma and Miki gave each other. When she did notice, it was too late. /Wait-- no-- stop! Great-grandmother, make them stop!/
/I am sorry, great-granddaughter, but this is a valuable life lesson that you must participate in./ Cologne responded as Shampoo was pushed into the puddle. Turning to the two Amazons traveling with them, Cologne commanded them to follow her, since it seemed the trio could handle themselves just fine.
/It must be Pick on Me day today or something./ Shampoo grumbled as she tried to get the dirt out of her hair. /My clothes are all muddy too!/ The purple-haired Amazon glanced in the direction of her two companions. Miki only had a couple spots of mud on her because she had landed on her ass. Ranma, who should have been the muddiest due to falling face-first into the muddy puddle, only had some mud on her clothing. The reason for the oddity was quite simple: she transformed into Senshi form. Ranma had discovered by accident that transforming into Senshi form automatically cleaned her of dirt on both her skin and her hair. It didn't always work in reverse when she was dirty in Senshi form and de-transformed, though. /That's really unfair./
Ranma just gave Shampoo a shrug before yawning. /I'm bored./ The red-headed cat-girl stated after a few moments. Her tail swished behind her as her ears twitched in an attempt to listen to the area around them. /C'mon, let's spar!/ Ranma would rather be training at the moment anyway than doing nothing. She wanted to increase how many punches she could manage with the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken, practice her balance, and partake of various other training methods.
Before Shampoo or Miki could respond, a couple voices were heard coming towards their direction. /Lin Ke, what kind of mushrooms did mom tell us to get, over?/
/Huagu, Pin Ke. Mom said that this is one of the few times a year that huagu grow in this area, over./ The other voice responded as the two came closer. Ranma and Miki quickly glanced at each other before turning their attention to Shampoo. The evil grin that she had earlier was back, and she was even punching her hand. The trio slowly turned around and watched as Pink and Link walked into view. The twins were both wearing their usual plain cloaks, and they had white hair ornaments on each side of their heads. The only difference was that Link had blue, small spots on her ornaments while Pink had red, larger spots on hers. /We should try and find them so we can hurry and get… back…/ Link trailed off when she caught sight of Shampoo.
/Lin Ke, what's wrong? Why are you-- Xian Pu!/ The more assertive of the two growled out with a hint of worry. Her twin sister slowly backed up and hid behind her at the sight of the girl who seemed to only live for beating their asses into the ground every time she visited. /Leave us alone this time, okay? We are just trying to gather mushrooms for our mom, over./
/I don't know. I think you two still haven't been punished enough./ Shampoo stated as she started stalking towards the twins. She didn't get very far before Ranma and Miki jumped her with some rope in their hands and attempted to restrain the Amazon so that she couldn't lay her hands on Pink and Link. They only managed to tie her arms before Shampoo was able to kick out and knock the pair away. Even though her arms were tied to her side, Shampoo got to her feet and charged for the Yaokaicun twins.. Shampoo then leapt forward and attacked Pink with her knee. The force pushed Pink backwards into Link, and the two were soon flat on their backs. Shampoo proceeded to stomp on them a few times before a couple of fists slammed against the top of her skull. /Owie-- you didn't have to hit me!/ Shampoo shouted at Ranma and Miki -- both of them had snuck up behind the purple-haired Amazon -- as she squatted down and squirmed out of the loosely tied ropes so she could massage her head.
/Well if you'd stop acting like a violent maniac every time you see Pin Ke and Lin Ke, then that wouldn't have happened!/ Ranma growled.
/Well, they deserve it for what they did to me./ Shampoo answered back with a pout.
/That was two years ago!/ Pink and Link shouted in annoyance as they nursed a few bruises. /Besides, Lin Ke didn't even do anything to you, over!/ Pink added after a moment.
/Yeah, I was only giving you the antidote for what my sister did./ Link piped in with a sniff. /Yet you beat me up too, and you keep on doing it every time you visit, over!/
Shampoo crossed her arms and began mumbling. /It's because you two are stupid./
Pink motioned to both Ranma and Miki. /And you two can't even stop her. You all are probably working together!/
/Have you gone crazy in the head or something-nya?/ Ranma asked with a raised eyebrow. /Can't you see that we tried to stop her?/
Miki gave a quick nod. /What you did to Xian Pu happened before we even came to China, and you did it one time. Me and Ranma have no reason to hate you-nya./
/How are we supposed to believe you, over?/ Link asked with uncertainty.
A vein appeared on Ranma's forehead as she walked up to the less assertive twin. /Do you have rice in your head or something?! We try to stop Xian Pu from hurting you two-nya!/
/Y-- you d-- don't have to be s-- so mean about it./ Link said as she started crying. /You're such a meanie, over!/
Pink got up and pushed Ranma out of the way. /Leave my sister alone, Ranma. If you don't, I'll make you pay!/ She held up some Mandragora seeds in a threatening manner. Her lips soon turned into a playful smile. /I wonder what affect these Mandragora would have on someone with cat ears. I'm sure that it would be very painful. Maybe you or Miki would like to-- owie!/ Pink shouted out as Ranma pulled her hand back from slapping the other girl upside the head. /Hey, stop that before I-- ow!/
/Quit threatening us with stupid plants, dummy./ Ranma stated as she crossed her arms. Neither Ranma nor Miki had the honors of experiencing Pink and Link's plants, and so they only had minimal knowledge and didn't know what they could really do. Ranma honestly found the idea to be stupid and pointless.
/It doesn't sound like something to be afraid of./ Miki agreed with a nod. /Unless it's cat-nip. That plant is bad./
/How dare you call our plants stupid?!/ Pink and Link screamed in outrage. /Maybe you'd like to experience Mandragora and THEN tell us it is stupid, over!/
/What is Mandra… Mandragora?/ Miki asked in both confusion and interest. Ranma answered by shrugging her shoulders.
/Maybe it's tasty?/ Ranma supplied after a small bit of thought. /It does seem like they're trying to sell us some strange 'exotic' food like that traveling merchant who appeared in the village last year./ The eight-year-old still didn't understand why the guy thought eggplants would be unknown around the area.
Miki giggled at the idea. /Maybe you're right, Ranma. It really does sound like they are asking us to eat something and tell them that it's good-nya./
Shampoo shook her head and sighed. /How can you think that Mandragora sounds like food? It's not. It's a very evil plant that could kill you with a shriek./
Ranma raised an eyebrow. /Killed by a shrieking plant? How could someone be killed by a stupid plant that yells? Now if the plant was hundreds of feet tall and ate people, then that would make sense-nya./ Miki nodded her head in agreement.
Throughout the discussion, Pink and Link remained silent. Finally, they decided to have their say. /Hey, how dare you say that our plants are stupid?! We're going to show you what happens to people who are mean to plants, over!/ Pink pulled out a watering can and prepared to attack.
/Alright children, it's time to take off./ The group turned their heads to spot Cologne and the two Amazons that tagged along. /You're going to all have to cut your confrontation off for now./ The elder motioned for the trio to follow as she turned around and started to take off with the two Amazon women talking to each other excitedly. Sparing a glance at each other, the trio hurried off and catch up with the older women. Shampoo and Ranma both spared some time to look back and stick out their tongues at Pink and Link as they were running.
Pink and Link just stood there until Pink clenched a fist. /They're going to pay one of these days, over!/
/I can not forgive them for insulting our plants and being so mean, sister. We will teach them a lesson, over./ Link responded with a pout.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
'Blasted backwater savages.' Genma thought to himself as he was finally let out of his cell a few days later. He had no idea why they had to go and lock him up. All he was doing was spying on his son and looking for the right opportunity to snatch him and make a run for it. During his time back in the cell, he was restrained and had a drop of water fall onto his head every three seconds for three hours at a time. He was also forced -- with guards watching closely for any sign of attempted escape -- to do various menial tasks under the threat of having his body turned sensitive to hot water. It was explained that if the method were used, even warm water would feel boiling to his skin. Genma knew that if that were to happen, he'd end up stuck in panda form indefinitely.
Now all Genma wanted to do was to make sure his son was keeping up with his martial arts and not just lounging around. And if his son WAS just lounging around -- perhaps to recover from a rather strenuous training schedule so that he could get back up and do it again, -- then Genma wanted to make sure that his son wasn't in FEMALE form. 'The boy gets enough of it when he's being trained by these women.'
After about an hour of searching, Genma couldn't find a trace of either his son or Miki. Usually the two were close together, and so if he found one, the other was bound to be near. Annoyed at his lack of success at finding his 'ungrateful son', Genma decided to -- reluctantly -- ask someone if they had seen Ranma. He couldn't just ask anybody though. He was sure that most of the women in the village were in cahoots with each other to punish him unfairly, and a lot of the men seemed to take the same side as well for some reason. It was enough to make the entire village almost untrustworthy. Still, he had to ask somebody.
Then again, he could just sneak a peek through the house of that Shampoo girl and her great-grandmother. Ranma was bound to be there, or maybe some clues of some sort. People always leave SOME kind of clue lying around, and a proper thief is supposed to be able to find clues so that they can take whatever they are looking for. 'I suppose I could unseal the forbidden arts just this once for something as important as this.' Genma reasoned as he ducked out of view before cloaking himself in the Umisenken. Carefully, he made his way towards his destination while making sure that he disturbed nothing to give his position away. It didn't take long before he successfully arrived at the house and spotted an open window. Climbing through it, he glanced around for any sign of a person. Making sure nobody from the outside could possibly see him, Genma moved away from the window and dropped the Umisenken. He soon got to work rummaging through belongings.
"Hey, what is stupid panda doing in here without permission?!" A voice asked in both anger and annoyance. The voice was so sudden that it caused Genma to jump a little as he turned around. When he did, Genma saw that the one who caught him was a man of around his age with a thin black mustache, thin beard, round black glasses covering his eyes, and a black Chinese style silk shirt and pants. Genma vaguely remembered him as being that Shampoo girl's father. "How dare you break in and rummage though house that no belong to you!"
Genma cursed his luck at being found out, and so he settled on a decision that would allow him to get out of the place with no problem. Quickly moving forward, Genma made to catch the other man off guard and knock him unconscious. Since coming to this backwater place, he hadn't noticed a single male who trained like the females did, and so he figured that the men in this place were naturally -- and unfairly -- weak. That meant this confrontation would be simple.
It was surprising to him, though, when the other man dodged his punch with little effort and sent a series of fast punches sailing at the older Saotome. Genma managed to dodge a few, but was hit by most of them and was sent flying backwards. He was even more shocked when the other man got into a fighting stance. "I thought these women were the only ones with skill. How were you able to do that?!"
"What? You think only females of village are good martial artists? Females may be easier to train, encouraged to train, and trained more, but doesn't mean males are thought of as unimportant. If they have skill, they be trained to protect village. It be stupid thing to ignore potential fighters just because one gender preferred over other." The father of Shampoo prepared himself as Genma got back to his feet. The fight was interrupted when the door to the house flew open to reveal a couple of Amazons carrying weapons.
/Anming, what is going on? We heard some commotion and-- YOU!/ The Amazon with green hair shouted as she pointed to Genma. /What is he doing here?/
Anming quickly adjusted his glasses. /This fat fool broke into the house and started rummaging through everything until he found the letter from Shampoo's friend's mother. It was then that I discovered him and he attempted to attack me./ The father of Shampoo finished seriously. Genma was at a complete loss for the conversation.
/Elder Khu Lon's orders were to not let that fat panda learn where they had gone. However, now we have to deal with the fact that he broke into the house of an elder and attacked someone./ The other Amazon -- with black hair -- snarled out before pointing her sword at Genma. "You have committed serious crimes, and you will be punished for it!"
A smirk played crossed Genma's lips "You'll have to catch me first!" He then disappeared into the Umisenken and snuck passed the trio.
/What kind of technique was that?!/ The purple-haired Amazon demanded to nobody before turning to her partner. /Quick, inform everyone you can. We can not let that fool escape!/ Her partner nodded as the both of them left the house.
'I probably shouldn't have used the Umisenken again.' Genma thought to himself as he slowly made his way through the streets crowded with Amazons searching for him. 'Still, it is helping me get out of here. Maybe I'll just use it a few more times until I get away from this entire place before I seal it up again.' The older Saotome figured that he was almost free of the place and had nothing to worry about. His plan was to lay low until everything calmed down, and then he'd get back to looking for his son. That was until a bucket of water mysteriously fell from above, transformed him into a panda, and caused him to lose focus of the invisibility technique. As he was pulling the bucket off of his head, Genma heard the distinct sound of drawn steel. What he saw were several blades pointed in his direction with no real escape.
"So, you thought you could cause trouble and escape?" An aged -- but still with a youthful tone -- voice asked as the warriors in front of Genma parted to let a woman through. The woman was old, but she didn't seem to be ancient like several of the other elders. She was around 4' 4" with fading red hair. In her hands was a gnarled staff that some of the other elders also seemed to carry. "You know, you're kind of lucky. Anybody else would have been killed for half of the things that you've done."
Genma gave a nervous growlf as he pulled out some signs from nowhere. "I'm sure we can come to some agreement. All I was doing was trying to find my son!." Genma was really hoping that he could get out of this mostly intact, healthy, and living.
"I'm afraid that you won't find him here. Elder Cologne left several days ago with him to Japan. I believe she mentioned something about taking the child to see his mother." The matriarch loved the look of pure fear on Genma's face. 'You were right when you said he would practically wet himself out of fear.' She thought as she thought back to what the diminutive woman had told her.
Genma nervously pulled out a sign. "Let me go so I can go get my son! You don't know what my wife could possibly do to the boy!"
"I'm sorry, but that's impossible. By breaking into the home of a matriarch, you've finally over-stepped your welcome. I'm afraid that the punishment is death."
"Let's not be too hasty," Genma answered with a quick sign. "I'll do whatever you want. Just don't kill me! After that, I'll leave and never return." The pandafied Saotome was hoping that his luck hadn't run out and that he could be just be stuck doing a bunch of small-time physical tasks. He could then possibly escape when they let their guard down.
The elderly woman in front of him gave him a piercing stare that made the panda nervous. He started sweating when the woman smiled evilly. "You know, I think we CAN reach some sort of agreement." The evil cackle that followed filled Genma with a fear that he hadn't felt since he was under the teachings of his old master.
'Perhaps I made the wrong choice.' Genma thought with a gulp as the Amazons grabbed hold of him and started marching off.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It had taken almost three weeks of travel -- two weeks to reach the sea where they caught a boat, and almost a week after landing on the Japanese shore -- to reach Tokyo, Japan. On their way to Nerima, they had to pass through the Minato and Shibuya wards. They still had the Nakano ward to travel through before they were finally in the Nerima ward.
"Many crowded places here." Shampoo stated reluctantly in Japanese. She wasn't familiar with speaking the language. When her great-grandmother first ordered her to start learning and speaking in Japanese, Ranma and Miki could only laugh while Ranma asked her 'who's the one who can't speak a language NOW?'
"It's not that bad." Ranma replied as he and Miki started jumping around like monkeys. Ranma was glad to be back home in Japan where he could speak normally again. Miki -- even though she was a normal kitten at the time and had no real understanding of the place -- was still excited to be back to the land she was born in.
"I bet all the other cats won't even recognize me!" Miki stated excitedly and ended up earning a few odd stares. Both her and Ranma's tails were coiled around their waists so nobody would notice, and their ears were hidden away as well. "Look at that, look at that-nya!" Miki shouted while pointing to some TVs in a video store window. Everyone turned their heads to look at the TVs to see a news program talking about a group of magical girls. There was something that caused both Ranma and Miki to stare on with wide eyes.
"The one with pink hair has cat-ears and a tail!" Ranma shouted as he looked at the girl in pink. Her cat-ears and tail were both black, and she had a large bell and bow on her tail. "I guess I'm not the only cat-person fighting against evil-nya."
"More cat-persons." Shampoo groaned with a hand to her forehead. "Why there so many? Why also must Shampoo sound so stupid when talk?!"
"Now child, there's no reason to get frustrated." Cologne supplied with amusement. "After-all, didn't Ranma and Miki start off with issues when they learned to speak our language?" That allowed Shampoo to feel a little better. "I'm sure you'll eventually get the hang of it."
"Shampoo guess." The young purple-haired Amazon grumbled under her breath. "We almost there yet?"
Cologne nodded. "We are just now crossing into Nerima, and so we should be arriving at Ranma's mother's house within an hour or two." At that, Ranma appeared to take on an even happier look before he started conversing with Miki. The aged matriarch, however, couldn't feel at ease until she was absolutely sure that Nodoka wouldn't still have thoughts of seppuku in the back of her mind.
"Hey, what's that over there in that park?" Miki asked excitedly as she pointed to said park. "It looks like there are a lot of people, and some are eating stuff."
Ranma followed his friend's gaze and noticed the banner that was hanging near the entrance of the park. "Try out what Café Mew Mew has to offer for your sweet tooth. Cakes, Ice Cream, Pie, and various other sweets; if you are ever in Shibuya, Café Mew Mew will be happy to serve." It took a couple moments after reading it for it to sink in, and when it did, both Ranma and Miki ran off towards the park.
"H-- hey, where you going?" Shampoo asked as she waved an arm. "Great-grandmother, what should we do?"
Cologne scratched her chin before cackling. "I think after our trip, we have earned a little time to sample some sweets. Wouldn't you like to have some delicious cake or ice cream, Shampoo?" Her great-granddaughter nodded her head vigorously. "Well then, let's go and have a little enjoyment." The diminutive woman pogoed away to the park, and the two Amazons that accompanied them entered and split off into different directions. Shampoo's mouth began to water when she noticed some of the cake being eaten, and so she, too, entered the park.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"This is so good-nya!" Ranma shouted as he scarfed down some cake. It had been a long time since he had tasted anything so good. "There are so many things to try too!" The cat-boy reached for another slice of cake as someone joined him. The person was a girl about a couple inches taller than him, and she was wearing an orange and white waitress uniform. She had short blonde hair and dark brown eyes.
"Heya, heya!" The girl shouted hyperactively. "Pudding sees that you are enjoying the sweets made by Café Mew Mew!" The girl -- apparently named Pudding -- clapped Ranma a few times on the shoulders. "You should try the profiterole next! It's very very good." The blonde then put a hand to her mouth. "Oh! Pudding hasn't introduced herself! Pudding is Pudding Fong!"
Ranma -- feeling slightly dizzy at meeting the girl in front of him -- ended up following suit and introducing himself. "I'm Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts."
"Wow! A martial artist! You must be really good at it, huh? Huh?"
Ranma crossed his arms. "I'm the best!"
"So cool! Pudding wants to see some martial arts!" The blonde shouted as she jumped up and down. Of course, she was holding the younger boy's hands and causing him to become a little disoriented.
"Pudding, you're causing him to get dizzy!" Another girl shouted as she ran up. The girl had dark red hair with short pigtails tied up by red ribbons. The color of her eyes was also a chocolate brown. She was wearing a similar outfit to Pudding, but it was red in color. "I think you should let go of him, and where the heck has Mint gone off to?!"
"Pudding thinks Mint is having her afternoon tea somewhere." The blonde answered back joyfully before motioning towards Ranma. "Ichigo, this is Ranma. He is Pudding's new friend! But now Pudding has to go and entertain other people. Bye bye, Ranma!" Pudding shouted as she jumped onto a balancing ball and rolled it away from the area.
"What the heck was that?" Ranma finally asked as he glanced at the girl named Ichigo. "I thought a friend of mine could get hyper, but that was crazy!"
"Pudding has a little too much energy sometimes." Ichigo supplied with a deep sigh. "I can't believe we had to do this today. I was going to spend the day with Masaya, too."
Ranma tilted his head as he started eating some ice cream. "Masaya?" He asked between licks. He was then confused when the girl started to get all flustered about whoever this Masaya person was. Ranma had no clue why she was so embarrassed, but he quickly noticed what seemed to be a cat tail behind the redhead. It was only visible for a second before completely vanishing. Ranma's head soon began to fill with questions. "Hey, are you--"
"Ichigo, quit messing around and do something." A voice commanded from a little ways away. Ichigo soon gained a nicely sized vein on her forehead as she spun around to glare at a girl with short black hair in an odango style. Her outfit was a blue color. "I honestly don't see why you should be able to goof off."
Ichigo's face turned a little red. "Mint, why don't you--"
She didn't manage to get what she wanted to say out as a gentle voice spoke out. "Hey now, let's not get into any fights today." Ranma glanced around until he caught sight of a tall man with dark brown hair in a loose ponytail. His outfit consisted of a white dress shirt, black pants, suspenders, and a black bow tie. His eyes were also a calm gray. "Today is just supposed to be a day where we can have fun while promoting the café. It should be enough to see everyone enjoying the food. Why not go and see if you can help anyone else, Ichigo?"
Ichigo slowly nodded. "I guess I am having a great time today." The redhead then gave Ranma a smile. "I hope you enjoy yourself, Ranma." She said before waving and moving away from the area. The tall man then glanced down at Ranma.
"Ranma, is it? I'm Keiichiro Akasaka." Keiichiro stated with a smile. The man soon turned slightly serious. "Ranma, you didn't happen to see a certain something while talking to Ichigo, did you?"
Ranma tilted his head to try and figure out what the older man was talking about. "Are you talking about her tail?" It was the only thing that he could think about, and he wished he could ask a few questions.
"I thought so." Keiichiro answered back. "I had a feeling that you might have seen it even though it only appeared for a split second." He then got down on a knee and laid a hand on Ranma's shoulder. "Now listen, what you saw is supposed to be a big secret, and nobody else should know about it. If word got out, some bad things could happen to Ichigo, Pudding, and their friends." Ranma's eyes took on a hard look. As a martial artist -- and part time magical hero, -- it was his duty to prevent people from getting into danger. "I would like it if you could keep what you saw a secret. Do you understand?"
"Loud and clear, Akasaka-san. On my honor as a martial artist, I won't reveal what I saw to anybody." Ranma's lips broke out in a catty grin as he unfurled his tail from around his waist a little. "Besides, I have my own hidden things. Hopefully you can keep this just between us-nya?"
Keiichiro was completely floored to see that the young boy in front of him actually had a cat tail. There were only six people injected with animal genes, and only Ichigo and Ryou had cat genes. The question on his mind now was who this boy was. "How?"
Ranma's answer was just a catty grin. "It's a secret. Also, since I'm keeping your friends' secret a secret, then you can keep this secret a secret-nya."
The older man gave off a slight chuckle as he stood up. "I guess that's a fair agreement. So how are you enjoying--" Before Keiichiro could finish, a series of screams sounded throughout the park. Turning their heads, both Ranma and Keiichiro saw a bunch of people being attacked by a group of vicious and strange-looking creatures. The creatures had an appearance of mini dragons with long snouts and two rows of sharp teeth. Their hands and feet contained sharp claws, and a pair of leathery wings protruded out of their back. Their tails were long and bony with a sharp pincer on the end. "Those can't be Chimera Anima." Keiichiro stated before turning his head to look back at Ranma. The young cat-boy was nowhere to be found though. He hoped that the boy had gotten scared and ran away to safety. 'Hopefully the girls will be able to handle these things.' The 22-year-old thought as he went to join his friend, Ryou, in making sure that everyone got away safely.
While this was going on, Ranma -- as Sailor Mau -- was hiding in a nearby tree. He made sure that Miki and Shampoo were hiding, although the latter of the two protested vehemently about not being able to fight. That had changed when she was almost grabbed by one of those creatures. After that, she followed Miki and hid. Cologne and the two Amazons were fighting against a couple of the creatures and seemed to be holding their own just fine. What really caught Ranma's eyes were the girls that he saw earlier on that TV news program.
Four of them wore what appeared to be mini-dresses, but each had a different color. However the fifth one in the group wore what looked like a bikini top and a mini skirt. All five of them also seemed to have animal features of some sort. The one in pink with pink hair was a cat-girl. The one in blue had small bird wings and a tail. The one in yellow had monkey features. The one in purple had wolf features. However, the one in green didn't seem to have any identifiable animal features, and so Ranma didn't know what she could be.
"Reborn Strawberry Check!" The cat-girl shouted as her attack flew from her weapon -- which had the appearance of a pink heart-shaped bell of sorts. The attack flew towards one of the creatures and knocked it backwards. This was followed by cries of 'Reborn Pudding Ring', 'Reborn Mint Echo', 'Reborn Lettuce Rush', and 'Reborn ZaCross Pure'. Each time a creature was knocked down, a few more would appear.
'They can't have all the fun.' Ranma thought as he squatted down on the branch and leapt off of it and out of the tree. "Mau Yarn-Ball Barrage Entangle!" The cat-boy shouted as he started tossing his energy yarn-balls at several of the creatures. Several of them were soon wrapped up within the golden energy strands. As Ranma landed on the ground, he held up his right hand and snapped his fingers. The wrapped up creatures exploded no more than a second later. Within the last two years, Ranma learned that he didn't have to shout 'explode' to ignite the yarn-ball attack. All the had to do was snap his fingers. "Ruining social gatherings and preventing people from sampling delicious food is evil." In a quick motion, Ranma jumped and kicked on of the creatures in its face. "My name is Sailor Mau, and because you're attacking innocent people, you jackasses are going down-nya!"
The Mew Mew's could only stare at the sight of a young boy in black and gold with a tail and cat-ears similar to Ichigo's. Ichigo herself was completely shocked that there was another cat-person, and she wondered if the young boy had some issues similar to her with hiding her cat features when completely nervous or excited. "W-- who are you?" Ichigo asked dumbfounded.
Ranma gave the group a 'V' sign with his fingers. "Sailor Mau; and I'm going to join you in the fun." He received some strange looks for the mention of 'fun', but shrugged them off as he turned to a few remaining creatures. "I'll take these three, and you take the remaining ones-nya." The cat-boy stated with his usual mischievous and catty grin. Turning to his three targets, Ranma held out his hands and started to channel some energy. "Cat Scratch… Frenzy!" He shouted as he rushed forward as the claws on his gloves extended a few inches. Ranma then vanished in a slight blur that began assaulting the trio of creatures. Said creatures cried out in pain as their bodies were scratched for several seconds until Ranma stopped. As soon as he re-appeared, the creatures fell forward and blacked out due to the pain and blood loss.
It didn't take too much longer for the Mew Mews -- and Cologne and the two Amazons -- to finish off the remaining ones. Ranma also sent Cologne and the others a look that said 'I'll join you later'. Acknowledging the gesture, they quickly made haste from the area. "Those didn't seem to be Chimera Anima." The Mew Mew in green noted with a hint of uncertainty. "You think the aliens are trying something new?"
"I don't know, but there were a lot of them." The one in blue with the bird wings answered back with a frown. "And I still wonder who he is." She said as she pointed to Ranma.
"I told you; I'm Sailor Mau." Ranma answered with his arms crossed. "And I think I should be going-nya!" He shouted as he leaped to the top of a nearby roof.
"Hey, wait up! Mew Pudding wants to be friends!" The shorter girl in yellow shouted as she jumped up onto the roof and attempted to follow the cat-boy. When he jumped down into an alley, Pudding followed. She lost all sight of him, however. "Aww, he's gone." Pudding pouted as she turned around and jumped away. Little did she know, Ranma had changed into his cat form and was hiding behind a garbage can.
'I'm glad I have this form.' Ranma thought as he walked out from behind the can and headed for the alleyway entrance. He didn't get far before some water -- poured from a bucket from a side window -- drenched him and turned him female. 'Stupid water,' Ranma thought as she tried to shake herself dry.
"You're so soaking wet, kitty!" A girlish voice shouted out, and before Ranma knew it, she was picked up into the arms of an eight-year-old girl with short blue-ish black hair and dark eyes. "I know, how about I take you home and dry you off?"
"Akane-chan, what are you doing with that kitten?" A woman with dark hair similar to the young girl's asked. "I don't think you should be picking it up."
"But mama, she's all wet and cold. Can we please take her home and dry her off?" Akane asked her mother with a cute little pout.
Her mother caved in almost instantly. "Oh alright, we can take her so you can dry her off. Now come on, we need to hurry up and get home."
"Yay!" Akane shouted as she held Ranma gently in her arms and gave the kitten a small kiss on the head. "Her little bald spot is cute too."
'Now what am I going to do?' Ranma asked herself with a slight frown. 'I always seem to get into these messes.' She hoped that the others wouldn't worry too much, but what about going to visit her mother? 'At least I'll get dried off.'
xxA.Nxx
Yeah, I know Shampoo's father didn't have a name. That's why I gave him one.
Something I've been trying to come to a decision about is what Akane's mother died from. Basically, I'm deciding on whether to have her survive -- due to Ranma intervening -- or not.
As I was writing this chapter, I realized that I couldn't come to a decision on whether I should just insert Ranma into the main Tokyo Mew Mew storyline, or have it happen sometime after -- also have the Mew Mews' genes reactivate -- and create a new enemy. I finally decided to insert Ranma into the main storyline, but include another protagonist trying to muscle in on the current Enemy's plans. The enemy I decided on was an element I decided to use from Tokyo Black Cat Girl -- which happens to be an earlier small work by the creator of Tokyo Mew Mew.