A Surviving Mau Chapter 5 (Chapter Finished)

[KonokoHasano]

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.


“Speech”

‘Thoughts’

/cat talk/

//Signs//

+Chinese+

Chapter 5


The Jusenkyou Guide woke up early the next morning to the sounds of people outside of his cabin. Sitting up in his bed, he began an attempt to work the sleep out of his eyes. With that finished, he proceeded to slide out of his bed and looked around. He noticed that the three people who came yesterday weren’t there, but their items still were. This meant that the noise he was hearing was coming from them outside. Grumbling a little about noisy guests, he made his way out of his home and glanced around for any sign of the cursed victims.

When he spotted the individuals, he had to blink and rub his eyes for a second to see if what was in front of him was real. Checking again, he noted that it was indeed happening. At the closest tree to the portly man’s cabin were the customers to the springs. The father was currently in human form with his arms crossed. The kitten was in her human form, but she was tied with a rope so she couldn’t move. The last of the three was the son who was currently in boy form. The six-year-old was hanging from the tree by his wrists via a rope, and he seemed to be in pain. Upon further inspection, the guide discovered that the pain was due to a weight tied to the end of the young boy’s tail, and he guessed it weighed possibly 15lbs or so. There were also several other weights of various sizes on the ground next to them.

“Use the muscles in your tail to pull the weight up, boy! Why do you insist on acting like such a baby bout this?” Apparently the father was trying to strengthen the child’s tail by putting it through a rigorous test, and it must REALLY be painful to have that much weight tied to an appendage like that.

“How would you like if you had tail and weight tied to yours?!” Miki shouted in utter annoyance. She found that when she woke up this morning, her ability to talk seemed a little better. “You probably yell head off if you in same position.”

Genma glanced in her direction. “No pain is too great to prevent one from bettering themselves, girl.” Maybe he should have turned the pink-haired child back into a cat before doing this. Then he wouldn’t have to listen to her mouth. “If you’re really serious about doing martial arts,” he slightly scoffed at the idea of Miki being able to do it, “then you have to put up with pain.”

“I’m trying, but the weight is too heavy!” Ranma shouted as he pulled his tail up, lowered it, and repeated as best he could. At least his father didn’t put fire under him like three days ago. ‘He gets too carried away with this stuff.’ The pony-tailed boy thought to himself with a frown as he struggled to pull his tail up some more.

“We shall do this until we Growf!” A small rain shower had started at that moment and turned the older Saotome into his panda form. The same shower took the time to transform the hanging cat-boy into a hanging cat-girl.

Said hanging child gave off a small sigh. ‘Saved from listening to him by the rain. Now how do I get down from here?’ Looking around for a solution to her problem, the redhead noted that Miki had somehow wiggled out of the ropes that had bound her and was creeping slowly towards the large panda. With a quick motion, the young girl had managed to land a kick to the man turned panda’s back that sent him headfirst into the tree. This effectively knocked Genma unconscious. “Thanks Miki. Now, could you please untie me?”

“Be right there, Ranma.” The now freed blue-eyed former cat stated as she walked up to the tree and began to climb it. Making her way to the branch her friend was tied to, she crawled onto it and began untying one of the ropes. As soon as one of Ranma’s hands were free, the young Saotome used a finger to cut the rope that trapped her other hand. The boy turned girl then fell to the ground onto her feet and began to take the weight off her tail.

“Papa really needs to learn when to quit.” The redhead grumbled to herself as she removed the weight and looked towards her father. She then turned her head and watched as Miki jumped out of the tree and landed next to her. “You’re getting better with moving on two legs, Miki-nya.”

“Thanks Ranma.” The pink-haired girl stated back with a smile as they proceeded back to the Jusenkyou Guide’s cabin. “I noticed some weird things since waking up.” Her companion looked at her questioningly. “For some reason, my head,” she put her hands on the opposite sides of the top of her had, “and just above my butt,” this time her hand went to the area, “feel warm for some reason. I don’t really know what it means-nya.”

Ranma tilted her head to try and figure it out. “I don’t know.” She finally said after not being able to figure anything out. Her blue eyes suddenly began to widen. “Could it mean you’re getting ears and a tail?” When she thought about the areas, she noticed they were spots were her own ears and tail were.

“But I’m currently human. I still have some cat-like senses and movement, but I’m still human right now.” It really would be nice if she could have ears and a tail in this form. “Oh wait, then your father might want to train MY tail-nya!” The cat turned child announced with fearful eyes. “There needs to be a better way, Ranma.”

The young Saotome tilted her head for a moment. “Maybe there is a way somewhere.” She didn’t know what could be a better way, but she was sure it didn’t have to involve all the pain she had to put her tail through. “Come on, let’s get out of this rain before it gets heavy.”

“What about your father?” Should they just leave him there lying face-down on the ground?

Two pairs of blue eyes looked towards the direction of where the man turned panda lay. Ranma thought for a brief moment before waving her hand. “I’m sure he’ll wake up soon. Just let him sleep.” The two children laughed as they followed the Jusenkyou guide back into his cabin.

As the two neo-girls made themselves comfortable, the portly man prepared to make some tea to enjoy. The September morning seemed to have become a little on the cool side, and a little hot tea would be a good thing to enjoy for the occasion. It was at that moment in which there was a knock at the front door. The Guide was curious as to who it was at this early time and went to see if it was another customer.

Upon opening the door, he took a glance outside and immediately brightened at seeing who the person was. +Che Ri, I’m so glad to see you! Come on in and make yourself comfy.+ He moved out of the way and allowed the visitor to enter his small home. Both Ranma and Miki glanced to see who it was and were quite amazed at seeing a beautiful woman in her mid to late 20’s with long dark hair and red eyes. +How was your visit to the hospital to see why you were feeling so ill?+

The woman gave a kind smile to the large man. +It went well, husband.+ She gave a wry smile. +Am I to guess that the panda passed out near the tree out there, and the two young girls sitting here in your cabin are cursed spring victims.+ At the man in green’s nod, she gave a small shake to her head. +They never seem to listen.+

+What did the doctors say about your current illness, Che Ri?+ The man of the springs asked in slight worry. His wife seemed to have gotten ill all of a sudden, and he was the one who suggested she go to the hospital in the nearest town.

The dark-haired woman gave a kind smile and laid a hand on her stomach. +It seems as if we could be expecting a little one soon, dear.+ She was shocked when her husband picked her up and started twirling around before grabbing her in a large hug.

This action caused the two neo-girls to look at each other in confusion. “What’s going on?” They asked in unison. They didn’t understand a word of Chinese, and they were curious as to why the guide had suddenly become so happy and began twirling the woman around like that.

Hearing the two ask the question in Japanese, the woman cast a smile their way. “My husband is just excited because we are going to have a baby.” She grew a little contemplative. “Oh I do hope it will be a girl. I think Plum would be a good a good name for her.”

Ranma looked towards her cat turned human friend. “Where do babies come from, Miki?” She had actually wondered that, but never bothered to ask.

Miki’s blue eyes blinked for a second before she began to scratch the back of her head. “Sorry Ranma, but I have no clue myself.” It was an interesting thing to try and figure out. Genma-panda chose that moment to walk through the door of the cabin with his fur dripping wet. The two children looked at each other and shrugged. “Hey panda-man, we want to know something.”

“Yeah Papa, we want to know where babies come from.” Surely her pandafied could provide them with the answer to their question. “The Guide’s wife is going to have a baby, and we want to know where they come from-nya.”

The older Saotome sweat-dropped at the double onslaught and raised a sign. He didn’t want to have to explain the stuff to children, and he didn’t want to explain the inevitable ‘birds and bees’. //I’ll tell you when you’re older. You don’t need to know right now.// The answer was quick and should have left no room for anything else.

“Oh come on, Papa. We want to know. Can you please let us know?” The redheaded cat-girl whined out in an attempt to get her father to open up about it and answer her. “Pretty please?” She asked again while bringing out the dreaded ‘puppy-dog attack’. This had been doubled in intensity due to her pink-haired companion doing the same thing.

The panda made a wince at seeing the double attack, but he miraculously managed to hold his ground. //For the last time, no!// The glaring panda watched as the two children crossed their arms and pouted. //It is not something little children should know.// He didn’t care that the two had become disappointed over it.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Genma had to put up with a little more begging from the two until he finally got fed up and poured hot water over Miki and turned her back into a normal cat. This of course caused Ranma to get angry at him, hop up onto his shoulders, and then beat him upside his pandafied head with her small fists. After about a minute of this, he finally got fed up and re-activated the young kitten’s curse. This made the young redhead happy as the two cursed children proceeded to play a few games of rock, paper, and scissors.

Relief came when the rain outside stopped and the guide -- along with his wife -- decided to show them around the area a little. This would mostly involve visits to mostly small Amazon villages as Joketsuzoku and Yaokaicun. The closest village of them all happened to be the former, and that was where they would be headed first. Che Ri went on to mention that the Joketsuzoku had a more warrior-centric population that could possibly teach the two children a few things. The elders may have some problem with teaching outsiders, but they had a soft spot for children who showed great interest and potential in martial arts.

Yaokaicun on the other hand didn’t have as many warriors, and the town was most famous for its herbalists who could whip up poisons, potions, and antidotes like pros. Genma scoffed at the thought of people relying on such a useless trade and mentioned that the Joketsuzoku had to be the better village. Ranma and Miki, on the other hand, listened and absorbed it all with interest. Both places sounded enjoyable, but the young Saotome couldn’t wait to meet these people who could teach martial arts.

They had all walked for about 25 minutes when the Guide mentioned that they were getting closer to their destination. The two younger members of the group were more interested in the wildlife they saw while on the trek. An example being the boar and its children they saw a few minutes ago. They had started laughing when the pandafied Saotome had somehow accidentally angered the parent of the boar and caused it to chase him around. It ended with Genma getting pierced on his bottom by the creature’s tusks. Ranma and Miki could almost have sworn that the swine had laughed after it did it.

It had stalled the journey a little, but they were back on foot with the older Saotome rubbing his butt while giving a final glare to the boar. After about five more minutes, the group finally saw the tops of building structures in the distance. That meant it would be a smooth walk from here on out, or so they thought.

“What’s that noise?” The young redhead asked as her ears twitched to the sound of screaming and yelling. Next to her, the pink-haired neo-child was straining her ears to listen. She couldn’t hear as well as her friend, but she still had cat-like senses. The three older people looked at them in confusion before the cat-girl pointed ahead at something that they could all see. “There’s something attacking that village, and it’s holding onto something.” Ranma ran up a little for a closer look. “I can’t see very well, but it looks like a kid.” She didn’t know what was going on, but something told her it wasn’t good.

Miki watched her friend and had noticed what she was about to do. Her blue eyes glanced back at the three older people before returning to the cat-girl. “Ranma, you aren’t thinking of--” The cat turned human didn’t get to finish before the redhead took off in a sprint.

“Mau Planet Power, Make-up!” The six-year-old never thought to question why the ending of the phrase changed from ‘henshin’ to ‘make-up’ as tendrils of light and a flash enveloped her running form. If she had paid attention, she would have seen that her outfit had changed from what she usually wore as the Senshi of Mau.

The body-suit was one of the bigger differences. The bottom of the black suit changed from leggings to a skirt that ended just a little above her knees, and the golden vest had changed into a red bow with a golden bell in the center. The normal golden belt had also changed into a red belt, and the top of the body-suit had become sleeve-less.

The cat-gloves had changed from wrist length to shoulder-length, and the cat-boots had also changed from ankle-length to knee length. Her red cat-tail had gained a black bow with a golden bell in the center like the one on her chest, and the red pony-tail on the back of her head had gained a black bow as well. The only things that had remained the same were the silver circlet with a golden sunburst on her forehead, the silver earring with bell on her left cat-ear, and the silver choker with golden bell around her neck.

All these changes had gone un-noticed by the Senshi of Mau as she continued to race towards the village, although she did notice an odd boost in magic that seemed a little odd. There was also the knowledge of a couple more attacks that she had never even heard of when she had last transformed. It seemed weird for some reason, but she had to put it out of her mind as she continued on.

As the cat-girl got closer, she could see that whatever it was that had been causing a ruckus was about ten feet tall, a series of small spikes on its back and shoulders, large claws, and it seemed as if it lacked a mouth. No, correction, it had a mouth, but it was… on its stomach? That was definitely an odd thing to behold. Her attention, however, was focused on the kid it was holding in an outstretched clawed hand with another hand about ready to break the kid’s arm. Ranma could tell that the child was a boy of about her age, and he had long black hair, white robes, and very thick glasses. Around the two were a group of women who wanted to act, but didn’t want the child’s arm to be ripped out or crushed.

‘Looks like I’m going to be fighting a large monster.’ The Senshi thought with a slight bit of apprehension. The sight of the creature had almost made her pause in fright, but the fact that there was someone in need fueled her with enough confidence. Pushing some energy into her legs, she took off in a leap to make her move.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (A few moments earlier)

Mu Tzu was sitting on a small rock with a sigh. Just a few moments ago he had attempted to show his affection for the love of his life again. It seemed that no matter what he did, the girl who he had known since they were toddlers always rejected him. Many times she claimed that he was weak, and that his handicap was a true nuisance and danger to anyone around him. ‘Someday I’ll show her that I’m not weak, and someday she will return my love.’ Not even training in his family’s school of Hidden Weapons seemed to help in his quest for her. He just couldn’t bring himself to scratch her at least a little.

He gave a small sigh as he thought about his purple-haired mini-goddess. In his mind, she was strong, smart, brave, honorable, and so many other things that he couldn’t think of at the moment. If he could, he would move heaven and earth to save her if she ever got into trouble, and he was sure she’d do the same. ‘An Amazon does not turn their back on their fellow Amazons.’ He thought to himself. It was an ideal drilled into their heads since infancy. Even if the Amazon in trouble is an ‘inferior male’, they are still part of the village and should be helped if they truly need it.

Xian Pu always seemed reluctant at time to help him, but would always come through in the end. They may not always see eye-to-eye, but they used to be inseparable friends. That seemed to fall apart a little when he started trying to defeat her for her hand, but he just couldn’t help it. The girl seemed to have all the qualities that made her special, and he’d do anything for her. He’d even take on a large and menacing monster if it had taken her hostage.

A loud roar and shouting had interrupted his thoughts. Looking around, he wondered what the commotion was all about. He could hear people shouting something about ‘a monster’, ‘attacking’, and ‘a foolish girl’. The myopic child had also made out the name of the girl in trouble. ‘XIAN PU!’ He shouted in his mind as he took off towards the area where the warriors were running. Everyone was too pre-occupied to even notice him heading towards the danger.

When he had finally got to the area, his eyes widened in horror at the sight of a large and menacing monster holding the girl of his dreams hostage in a large and clawed hand. She looked terrified as the creature smiled ON ITS STOMACH at her and revealed rows of sharp, crimson teeth. Mu Tzu felt his legs go numb as he looked onto the scene, but seeing Xian Pu held hostage like that caused his eyes to narrow. +Let Xian Pu go you freakish thing!+ He shouted as he decided to see how much his training had prepared him. Giving a small leap, he shot his sleeve forward and sent a dagger flying for the vile fiend.

The dagger hit the thing in the shoulder and caused it to give a small roar in pain and drop its purple-haired captive. The raven-haired child leapt forward and caught the young girl before she hit the ground. +Xian Pu, are you alright?+ He asked as his eyes -- hidden by his glasses -- looked on with fear.

+Of course I am. I’m an Amazon, Mu Tzu.+ The six-year-old girl stated with a small bit of annoyance. How could she have been so foolish as to be captured, and how could she be rescued by him of all people. The annoyance turned into shock when said boy was suddenly picked up by the monster that had her just a moment ago. +Mu Tzu!+ She shouted in her own fear.

+Xian Pu, help!+ The long-haired boy shouted as one of his arms had suddenly been grabbed in an almost bone-crushing hold. The tongue on the creature’s stomach-mouth licked its ‘lips’. The young Amazon boy watched as the girl he cherished to an almost obsession seemed to almost stand there with her entire body frozen. ‘What’s wrong, Xian Pu? I tried to help you even though I knew I couldn’t stand a chance.’

His heart nearly stopped when he watched her start to shiver, back up a few feet, turn around, and then run off. ‘Sh-- she left me. She didn’t even try to help.’ How could his brave, strong, and honorable mini-goddess just flee like a coward and leave him behind? ‘Coward…’ the word seemed to echo in his thoughts for almost forever as he just hung there in the creature’s grip. He felt it squeeze his arm some more in hopes of breaking it. It probably meant the thing was furious at him, and would introduce him to complete pain before devouring his very being. He didn’t care though as he thought about the event that just happened.

‘Please… just let it end quickly.’ He thought to himself as he waited for his end. His virtual mini-goddess had shown her true colors, and his whole world and view had seemed to start crashing down before him into a large fiery mess. ‘I can’t believe I ever had feelings for a coward.’ He thought as he closed his eyes.

As he waited for the monster to just finish him off, there came a loud and piercing yowl that sounded almost like a cat. It hurt his ears, but it seemed as if the blunt of the yowl had been directed at the creature. The thing roared in pain as it went to grab its ears. In the progress, he dropped the myopic six-year-old who began to fall towards the ground. At the last moment, a red and black blur landed on the ground, scooped him up, and jumped away from the creature. The Amazons didn’t know what happened, but once noticing that the child was no longer in danger, they charged forward and started to stab their weapons into the distracted monster.

Mu Tzu opened his eyes to see that he had been saved and was in the arms of a redhead who seemed to be his age. The first things he noticed were the crimson ears and tail on the girl. “Are you alright?” She asked in what he knew was Japanese. He had actually taken up learning a little Japanese after his father had visited that country and returned. He didn’t know too much of it, but he knew some.

“Yeah,” he answered as he looked at the girl. She had saved him from the monster, and she seemed to be nice. To him, it seemed as if she was braver than Xian Pu ever was. She had also managed to save him from death, and she seemed cuter and stronger than Xian Pu could over hope to be. No sound came out of his mouth for a few moments as the cat-girl set him onto his feet. Finally, he found his voice. “I like you.”

The girl seemed to blink in confusion for a moment as if trying to figure out the meaning behind it. It then seemed as if she had figured her way out of the confusion and gave a smile of her own. “Thanks, and I think I like you to.” She held out a gloved hand. “I’m Sailor Mau, would you like to be friends-nya?”

Mu Tzu smiled at the thought of a friend like her and nodded. “Sure, and I’m Mousse.” Of course his name sounded odd in Japanese though. He didn’t care as he accepted the hand and shook it. He then proceeded to confuse and shock the redhead a little by giving her a small kiss. “You’re brave, strong, nice, and cute.”

Ranma had become completely confused at what just happened, and so she had no clue what in the world to do. Why would someone who didn’t know her kiss her? She was about to speak when a purple blur rushed into the bespectacled boy. +Mu Tzu, you’re all right! I’m so glad! I thought you were going to die.+

The young boy closed his eyes and sighed. +Xian Pu, let go of me and get away.+ That statement had caused the girl to blink and look at him in shock.

+But Mu Tzu, aren’t we friends?+ She hated how he constantly tried to get her to fall in love, but they were still friends who had known each other since they were babies. +What’s wrong, Mu Tzu?+

+I risked my life to save you from that monster, and what do you do? You run away like a coward. Xian Pu, you are nothing but a weak coward, and I hate you.+ Those words hit the purple-haired girl like a two-ton boulder.

+I-- I’m sorry Mu Tzu, but I was just scared. You can’t blame a kid for being scared. You were just stupid and foolish for trying to--+ She didn’t get to finish before a quick slap had hit her across her face. With shock in her eyes, she looked towards her friend who had his glasses off. She could see sadness in his eyes.

+I loved you, Xian Pu. I thought you were brave, strong, and would do anything for someone. You didn’t even try to help me like I helped you. You are nothing but a weak coward.+ That was the second time he said that, and the second time had hurt Xian Pu the most, and she didn’t no why. All she could do was cry and run back towards the village.

Ranma didn’t know what was going on as she watched the scene before her. She felt sorry for the girl, but the boy seemed equally sad for some reason. “Ranma!” She winced at her real name being said and turned around to see Miki stop right in front of her try to catch her breath. “You-- shouldn’t have-- went Sailor Mau-- like that.” She managed to finish. “Your father-- saw you transform, but I-- don’t know what he’s-- thinking.” Looking up, she noticed the raven-haired boy standing next to her friend and put her hands to her mouth. “I let it slip, didn’t I-nya?” At the redhead’s nod, she began to bow like crazy. “Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorrysorry!!”

The cat-girl gave a small shrug. She didn’t want people to find out, but if it couldn’t be helped. “That’s ok, Miki.” She said before de-transforming back into her normal gi.

“What going on?” Mu Tzu asked curiously after seeing the girl in front of him change clothes quickly. “What were those clothes?”

The young Saotome scratched the back of her head nervously. “Well, I’m a super hero.” That caused the young Amazon boy’s eyes to widen as big as saucers. It was then that something else occurred to him.

“I was wondering,” he began, “what is with ears and tail?” They made her cute, but he was curios to know how she got them.

Ranma decided to use the excuse that always seemed to work. “I got them from something called the Neko-ken.” It has always worked, and there was no reason it shouldn’t this time, right?

An old voice made itself known from behind her. “I don’t believe the Neko-ken would give cat-ears and a tail, child.” The two neo-girls nearly jumped at the voice. Turning around, their eyes caught sight of shriveled and diminutive old woman.

“IT’S A MUMMY!” Both shouted before a quick hit upside both of their heads with the staff the small woman with white hair carried. “Ow… why’d you do that-nya?” They both asked at the same time before the cat-girl shook her head. “I WAS trained in the Neko-ken though.”

The old woman’s eyes widened in complete horror for a moment before narrowing in anger. “What fool put you through that torture, child?” Whoever would even think of putting a young girl like the one in front of her through that would receive a ‘talk’. She then looked towards Mu Tzu. +Mu Tzu, go back to the village while to talk to these young girls.+ The myopic child was about to refuse when he received a glare.

Ranma watched the boy leave before responding. “My father did it.” The cat-girl simply stated before waving her hand to Miki. “Miki was one of the kittens in the pit.” That statement shocked the old woman for a moment before a thought crossed her.

“You traveled to Jusenkyou, didn’t you?”

The redhead nodded. “Miki fell into the same drowned girl spring I did, and papa fell into spring of drowned panda.” Her blue eyes spotted the panda form of her father getting closer. “There’s papa right now-nya!” She watched as the old woman turned to see a panda trotting quickly towards the village with The Jusenkyou Guide and wife in tow. The neo-girl had become confused when the aforementioned old woman ran up towards her father and pressed a spot somewhere behind him that knocked him out. The woman then started yelling orders to other women around the area.

“What’s going on, Ranma-nya?” Miki asked in confusion as she watched people drag the pandafied man into the village. She actually liked the scene that was happening to the idiot, but she still wanted to know.

Ranma put a finger to her mouth. “I think I got papa in trouble again.” She simply stated with a blush. It seemed like she always managed to do that. It wasn’t her fault that her father seemed to always cause trouble. “Come on; let’s go make sure papa is alright.” The boy turned girl stated as she took off running.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Um… what are you doing to papa?” The young Saotome asked the diminutive white-haired woman as her unconscious pandafied father was being dragged along. “He didn’t do anything bad, did he?”

Khu Lon glanced at the redheaded girl -- possibly a boy if what she said about falling into the spring of drowned girl was accurate -- and wondered if she might have actually been part of the Musk Dynasty. The cat features would make it a dead ringer, but there hadn’t been a Musk sighting in over 20 years. Many around here thought that they had possibly died out. “Teaching the Neko-ken to a young child such as yourself is considered a severe crime to the Joketsuzoku. Most likely he’ll receive a severe punishment, but nothing TOO extreme.” The matriarch found her arm being grabbed by a pair of hands.

“Please don’t hurt papa too much. He’s not that bad of a guy. He does cause trouble sometimes, but he promised me he won’t do anything bad again, and the Neko-ken was almost two or more months ago.” The elder’s eyes twitched at the puppy-dog pout attack the six-year-old was making. An emphasis had also been made with her ears flattened on top of her head and her tail drooping to the ground behind her. “I believe what he said about not causing bad problems again, so please don’t hurt him.”

A sigh escaped the diminutive woman. “Child, the punishment won’t be too severe, but he will have to be punished for what he did.” She couldn’t believe that it had been around two months when this young one was subjected to that torture, and yet still seems to trust her father dearly. “Tell me, how did you come about your cat appendages? I know those can’t be from the Neko-ken, and I can feel an odd and strong aura of magic about you.” Khu Lon could tell the redhead was trying to figure out if she should tell or not.

Ranma inspected the woman beside her for a few moments. Her senses felt that the elder next to her could be trusted. “A cat-lady alien.” That statement had been beyond what the Joketsuzoku elder was expecting. “One night during the Neko-ken, papa was sleeping and I was staring at the stars. Then out of nowhere, a cat-lady alien appeared in the grass. She had a hole in her chest and leg and was bleeding. I was scared because she had cat-features.” There was a small shiver at the thought of the event. “She told me that her planet had been attacked, and the people killed. She gave me her transformation ring and sent a beam from her head to mine. I gained her powers and memories, but those memories only appear sometimes. When I first changed into my hero form, I guess I became a Mau.” She obtained a small bit of info about the Mau about two weeks ago. Noticing the confusion of the term on the old woman’s face, she explained. “A Mau is an alien who can turn between a human and cat.”

Khu Lon gave a small nod. “And you lost your fear of cats when you transformed?” A frown appeared when the girl shook her head. “You don’t still have the fear, do you?” To turn into a cat while having a fear of cats couldn’t be good.

“I still have a small problem around cats, but I’m getting over it.” The redhead motioned to Miki. “Miki has helped me with it. When I first met her, I was completely scared of her. When I found out she had no idea where her home was due to papa, I was able to get over my fear when it came to her.” She said with a smile. “Miki is like a sister to me, and don’t want to be afraid of a sister-nya.”

The pink-haired girl gave a smile before glomping onto her friend. “And you’re like a...” She looked at the neo-girl and tried to figure out what to say. “Brother-sister-nya!” A frown appeared on her face though. “I don’t want to refer to Genma as ‘papa’ though.” She said with a shiver. This caused the two to laugh for a few moments.

As they continued to walk, Ranma’s eyes caught sight of someone from earlier. “Hey Mousse!” She announced with a smile as she walked up to the raven-haired boy. The aforementioned boy gave his own smile at seeing her. He decided that he wasn’t going to act the way he did with Xian Pu. If he remembered what the pink-haired girl said, the redhead’s name was Ranma.

“Hi again, Ranma.” He greeted back as he gave the young Saotome a hug instead of some glomp that he usually tried on you-know-who. Letting go, he gave a small blush. “So-- how are you doing from earlier?”

Khu Lon noticed this reaction and frowned. If the situation didn’t get resolved, someone was going to get really hurt. “Mousse, how much do you know about the Cursed Springs of Jusenkyou?” She hoped he would be able to take this well.

The boy looked towards the diminutive woman and thought for a second. “The springs completely turn a person into whatever drowned there last with cold water. Hot water turns them back.” Why was she asking him this question?

“It seems as if Ranma, her friend Miki, and her father fell into the springs. Her father fell into the panda spring, and he’s being carried to a cell right now.’ She pointed to the retreating people carrying to unconscious panda. “Ranma and Miki both fell into the same spring: Spring of Drowned Girl.”

The six-year-old myopic boy attempted to put two and two together as he looked towards the redhead. ‘The Spring of Drowned Girl shouldn’t have did anything to her unless…’ His eyes widened as the thought came to him. His face broke out into a full blush of embarrassment at the thought of actually kissing a boy, although said boy was a girl at the time. Still, it is completely embarrassing. “You mean I kissed…” At the matriarch’s nod, he fell to his knees. After several moments of silence, he looked back up towards the boy turned girl. “S-- sorry for what I did earlier.” Just what the hell was he thinking? Oh right, Ranma’s girl form is cute and all.

The cat-girl blinked in confusion and tried to figure out what was wrong. “Why are you saying your sorry?” Sure he kissed her, but was there any real harm in that? Ukyo had kissed ‘him’ on the cheek before. “It was only a kiss, right?” She asked the three people around her. Miki looked at her before giggling, Mu Tzu blinked in complete surprise, and Khu Lon had started cackling.

“Ranma,” Miki began, “I think he kissed you because he liked you. Am I right, Mousse-nya?” The pink-haired girl asked as she looked towards the young boy on his knees.

The Joketsuzoku boy gave a reluctant nod. “I thought you were so strong, brave, nice, and cute, Ranma.” Well, she was still possibly all those things, but she was really a boy. It was a huge bummer.

“What’s wrong with him liking me-nya?” Ranma asked with a tilt to her head and her tail actually bent into a question mark. Was she missing something in all of this? That question caused the three people to stare at her again before Miki collapsed onto the ground in a fit of giggles. “W-- what?”

The cat turned human shook her head. “I think it’s the kind of like between a boy and girl.”

“Oh,” the cat-girl merely stated as she stood there in silence. “Ooohhh, now I get it.” She walked up to Mu Tzu and held a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry about this.” She said in sincerity. “You must feel bad that I’m not a true girl.” At the boy’s sad nod, she smiled. “Hey, but we’re still friends, right?” She asked as she began poking him in the shoulder.

The raven-haired boy was silent for a few moments before a smile came to him. “Yeah, I guess we are.” He said as he stood up. “Sorry again for the kiss I gave you.” Ranma was a girl at the time, so it shouldn’t be THAT embarrassing, right?

A laugh escaped the cat-girl as she patted him on the shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry about it. It was a small mistake done is all.” As the pony-tailed Saotome continued to talk with her new friend, somebody in hiding looked at her with a little hatred. Nodding, the figure moved from the shadowed and charged for the target. With a small leap, the figure jumped into the redhead and knocked her down.

+You’ve turned my friend against me you stupid outsider!+ Xian Pu yelled as she beat her fists against the girl’s head. +IhateyouIhateyouIhateyou!!+ She continued to scream with some tears in her eyes.

+Xian Pu, stop this instant!+ Khu Lon yelled as the three began to reach for the purple-haired child. They stopped when Ranma’s tail snaked up and gripped a part of the girl’s shirt and tossed her to the ground. The Saotome then stood up and sent a glare towards the other girl.

“I’m not sure what I did, but you didn’t have to be so rough.” The two six-year-olds glared at each other for a few moments before Xian Pu jumped and tried to tackle the ‘friend stealer’. The cat-girl jumped up and landed on the head of the passing girl and used it as a springboard to jump a few feet away before turning. She watched as the young Amazon got up from her visit to the ground and turned.

Without speaking another word, the angered girl charged forward and sent a series of kicks and punches aimed for the cat-girl’s stomach and head. The Saotome managed to dodge a few, but a couple got through and hit her. With a small growl, Ranma flexed her hands before throwing a claw swipe that ripped a series of gashes in her opponent’s clothing. This didn’t stop the purple-haired girl as she charged forward and knocked the redhead to the ground.

Khu Lon ran up to the grounded girls and managed to pull them apart. They were still glaring at each other, and Ranma’s ears were flattened on her head as she hissed. Obvious cat-like and sharp fangs could be seen. ‘Just like a cat. She can be cute and innocent one moments, and ferocious and scary the next.’ Seeing as how the two children weren’t going to calm down by themselves, the matriarch took it upon herself to smack their heads against each other. ‘Now, if only Xian Pu understood Japanese.’ She thought with a sigh.

+Xian Pu, apologize to Ranma at once for that childishness.+ “Ranma, apologize to Shampoo at once for your childishness as well.” Maybe the redhead was slightly in the right here, but she did compete in the scuffle. Her aged eyes watched as the two children glared at each other for a few moments until they finally bowed to each other. +Now Xian Pu, I want you to go home to your father and stay there until I get back.+ The purple-haired girl looked at her for a few moments before turning around sharply and walking off. Turning her attention back to the neo-girl, she began. “I apologize for my great-granddaughter’s actions, Ranma. I also think you lost a little control back there as well.” The child really did have an equivalent to the Neko-ken with those claws there, and someone could have been really hurt. “Do you realize how dangerous those claws of yours could have been? You could have seriously hurt my great-granddaughter.”

Khu Lon had actually expected the blue-eyed girl to get a defiant attitude like Xian Pu did, but she had actually dropped her head a little and twiddled her fingers. “Sorry about that.” She said after a few moments. “That girl just angered me somehow.”

Another sigh escaped from the elder. “What I really want to know is what was that about? What did she mean by ‘you’ve stolen my friend’?” Her eyes watched as Mu Tzu seemed to get a nervous look about him. “Mousse--”

“My fault,” he stated. “Felt betrayed when Shampoo run away instead of help when I was captured by monster. When we met up after Ranma saved me, I told Shampoo that she was a coward and I hated her. I… then slapped her.” He received a large whack upside the head from the gnarled staff.

‘Children!’ The white-haired woman thought to herself in exasperation before leveling a glare at the boy. “I expect you to apologize to her as soon as you can, and I don’t appreciate you slapping her. Go home to your mother and I’ll inform this of her later.” With a gulp and a nod, the myopic boy proceeded to run home. Khu Lon then looked towards Ranma and Miki and gave a sigh. “And today started out so calm and peaceful.” Shaking her head, she motioned for the two to follow her. “Shampoo probably won’t be happy, but I’m bringing you to our place for the moment. Your traveling packs that were being carried by your father are there as well.”

“What are you going to do to my father?” The redhead asked curiously

“For the meantime he’ll be locked in a cell, but he won’t be in there for too long.”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The first thing that had happened as soon as they had arrived at Khu Lon’s house was Ranma and Xian Pu getting into a glaring match. The diminutive woman didn’t mind this as long as they didn’t make a move towards each other. She noticed that Miki was the one who tried to defuse the situation before anything happened, and she succeeded in getting them to at least ignore each other. ‘Stubborn little children.’ The elder thought to herself as she tried to figure out how to get about this with the language barrier. +Xian Pu, I’d like you to meet Ranma and Miki. They will be staying for a little while, and I would like you to try and get along.+ “Ranma, Miki, I’d like you to meet my great-granddaughter, Shampoo. Please try and get along with each other.” The matriarch decided that the two guests would have to learn at least some Chinese. It would make it easier.

The purple-haired girl glanced at both of the neo-girls. She gave a smile to Miki, but a glare towards Ranma. +Why does the stupid outsider girl have to be around me?+

+Xian Pu, this is currently the best place for them to currently be while Ranma’s father is being held. You did see the panda earlier, right?+ At the young girl’s nod, she continued. +That’s actually the father. These three had visited Jusenkyou. The father fell into the panda spring, and these two fell into the girl spring. Miki was originally a cat, and Ranma was--+

+A boy, right?+ At the nod, the girl stuck up her nose. +I don’t care if she’s a girl or boy. She’s still a stupid outsider who turned my friend against me.+ To emphasis this, she stuck her tongue out at the redhead. +Stupid!+

Khu Lon hesitated before translating what was said to the cat-girl. Said cat-girl returned the glare towards Xian Pu. “I guess we have the same feelings for each other… stupid head!” She shouted as she stuck out her tongue as well. The matriarch and Miki shared a sweat-drop as they watched the two trying to outdo each other in glares and sticking their tongue out. With a sigh, the old woman gave both children a whack upside the head. She proceeded to tell both of them that such childishness was not needed, and that she’d put them to work doing things together until they got along.

+But great-grandmother, that’s no fair!+ The same thing had roughly been echoed by Ranma at the same time. The two gave another glare towards each other before the Saotome walked over, grabbed Miki, and walked over to the traveling packs.

“I’ve never seen you dislike someone this much, Ranma.” Not even that boy at that false tournament had enticed this much displeasure. “Come on, she can’t be that bad of a person. She’s only angry because that Mousse boy is angry at her-nya.” If the two Amazon’s patched things up, then maybe the purple-haired girl would be nicer.

“She’s a stupid head.” Ranma answered with her arms crossed. “I didn’t do anything to her and she attacked me.” She didn’t understand why, but the negative emotions that rolled around Xian Pu when they were directed towards her seemed to affect her incredibly. “I’ll never be friends with someone like that.” She added as she gave a side punch to the traveling pack her father usually carried. Two pairs of blue eyes watched as the pack fell over to the ground and lose a few items. With a sigh, the two walked over and proceeded to pick up the stuff that fell out.

As the cat turned human was putting a couple of the things away, she noticed something. Glancing at it, she noticed that it was some kind of address, and there was a picture included with it. The small photo consisted of a kindly looking woman with reddish-brown hair. ‘She looks sort of like Ranma.’ Glancing at the address, she saw that it said the name Nodoka Saotome. Blinking, she looked towards her friend. “Ranma, do you know a lady named Nodoka Saotome?” At the neo-girl’s blank look, she provided the picture. Upon looking, a small memory in the back of Ranma’s mind flickered.

“Th-- that’s my mama-nya!!” She shouted as her ears stood straight up and her tail seemed to move around erratically. This shout caused Khu Lon to pogo up to the two. “I think this is where she lives. Maybe I could write to her!” Her ears and tail suddenly drooped. “I don’t know how to write well, though.” She finally had a connection to her mom, but there wasn’t a thing she could do about it.

The Joketsuzoku matriarch watched the scene for a moment before responding. “Maybe I could help you construct a letter for her, child.” The redhead seemed to almost blur as she stood up onto her feet and faced the elder with the greatest kitten-style puppy-dog look that anyone had ever seen.

“R-- really-nya?” Ranma asked while not believing what she was hearing. At the older woman’s nod, the six-year-old gave a shout of joy and grabbed the white-haired Amazon in an incredible glomp. “Thank you Cologne-baasan-nya!” The elder blinked at the ‘baasan’ part, but then she gave a small smile.

“How about we work on that letter right now?” The redhead in front of her gave a vigorous nod that caused the old woman to wonder how her neck didn’t even snap off. Perhaps having these two here would be more amusing than she thought.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After helping Ranma create the letter addressed to the Saotome matriarch which would be sent next week when the mail deliverer arrived again. Khu Lon then decided to test the two newcomers’ martial arts skills and help them learn a little Chinese. She had become pleasantly surprised at the potential that the Saotome child seemed to possess, and even though Miki only had a basic grasp, it seemed as if she had some potential herself. There was a lot of work to do for the pink-haired girl though, but it seemed her friend could handle it.

The redhead didn’t appreciate the thought of having to stick around with Xian Pu most of the time though. It seemed the two always managed to get under each other’s skin, and the young Amazon didn’t care if the other was in boy form or girl form. She still thought of the child as a nuisance, and Khu Lon had to break up many a scuffle the two managed to get in. It seemed that the two were forming an intense rivalry with each other that spurred one to try and outdo the other. The Saotome had mentioned that it seemed that the negative feelings that other gave off seemed to be the cause of her equally negative feelings for the girl, and it didn’t seem like it would mend anytime soon.

The negativity was still there even after Mu Tzu gave his apologies to Xian Pu and re-mended their friendship. The purple-haired girl was as stubborn as hell, and it seemed Ranma was equally as stubborn. Ah well, at least it spurred them to get things done quicker so they didn’t have to spend as much time with each other. Chores seemed to get done at record time when both had to do them.

The myopic boy had even gotten permission from his mother to teach his new friend how to do the Hidden Weapons style. He may have still been learning himself, but he was able to teach what he knew to his pony-tailed friend. At a certain point, they were even able to train with each other in trying to figure out how to advance in the Hidden Weapons together. Xian Pu -- not wanting to be outdone by an outsider and having said outsider spending more time with her friend -- had attempted to learn as well. The only problem was that she seemed to not be able to get the basics of it down. So instead, she decided to just help with Miki. She seemed to get along nicely with the pink-haired girl for some odd reason.

Khu Lon also wanted to figure out a few things about Ranma’s Senshi form. The six-year-old had been reluctant, but decided that there would be no harm in it. First she had the Saotome transform into male Senshi mode. The elder proceeded to dump some water on him to see what happened. As she predicted, the cat-child changed into female Senshi mode. It seemed as if the outfit and magic would change according to the gender.

The magic part also intrigued the elder. It was interesting that the Saotome’s magic seemed to be stronger while in female Senshi form than in male, and the white-haired woman had a vague understanding of why. The Amazons actually had old text that had been leftover from an ancient kingdom from thousands of years ago. The text talked about other Senshi who were female, and Khu Lon guessed that the reason for Ranma’s female form being stronger was due to something along those lines. That something being that the female form is more open and sensitive to the magical energy connection from the planets that they are bonded with.

That led to a small experiment the elder wanted to try. The magic seemed to be easier to use for a certain spell template that had already been decided, but maybe the Saotome child could do a little more with it. Not too much more, but try and learn a few things. The first thing Khu Lon had Ranma to do was to put her hands together and attempt to bring forth the raw magic that was within her into the area between her hands. This would allow them to see just how much the redhead had at the moment.

The cat-girl nodded and attempted to force out her magical energies into her hands. It was easier said than done, though. It had taken a few minutes and several drops of sweat before Ranma had all of her raw magical energy -- condensed into about the size of a basketball -- between her hands. It didn’t last long before it all dissipated, and -- to everyone’s shock -- the cat-girl had collapsed and turned into her kitten form. After coming to, they found out that she couldn’t transform back into human form at the moment. Khu Lon went on to theorize that it’s possible that after using up all of her magical energy, it weakened her and caused her to change into the form that was suitable for replenishing her magic. Until that magic was replenished, she would be stuck in her kitten form.

The idea had slightly depressed Ranma, but it went away once Miki decided to go back into her original form and spend however time it took as a cat with her friend. It had taken about four days for the Saotome to regain all the raw magic back, but those four days had actually been fun. The cat-child thought it was fun to get to know the kitten form a little more, and appreciated that Miki decided to spend that time back in her kitten form as well.

When they transformed back, it had come as a slight shock to see that Miki had gained cat-ears and a tail of her own in human form. She still transformed into a kitten with water, but it looked like there was a small golden dot growing on her forehead in kitten form. Nobody really knew what was going on, but Khu Lon suggested that maybe some of Ranma had been transferred to Miki somehow, and that the pink-haired cat-girl might be turning into what Ranma was. The neo-cat-girl’s reaction to this had been predictable: glomping onto her friend and joyfully babbling uncontrollably.

It was a little over a week since arriving at the Joketsuzoku, and Ranma and Miki were practicing martial arts with both Xian Pu and Mu Tzu. Khu Lon had drilled the Chinese language into the two cat-girls without rest in hoping the two could learn quickly. To her joy, the two had learned how to roughly speak a little of the language, and could now communicate with Xian Pu. They had also sent the letter to Ranma’s mom a couple days ago.

+You’re not doing the form right, outsider.+ Xian Pu commented with a glare towards the Saotome child. +I guess it makes sense though.+

Ranma -- currently in boy form -- glared at the purple-haired girl. +I do it right, so stupid head shut up-nya!+ He had never met someone who annoyed him this much.

The smirk on the girl’s face aggravated him. +You realize how much of a bimbo you sound like right now? Your ability to talk sucks.+ It was so amusing to annoy the sometimes boy, sometimes girl like that. +You ARE just a stupid outsider though.+

+Purple-haired brat+

+Gender-changing freak+

+Smelly+

+Cat-butt+

+Coward+

Mu Tzu and Miki shared a sweat-drop as they watched their two friends glare at each other with intensity. +I think they have long way to go.+ The pink-haired cat-girl whispered to the myopic boy. Said boy could only nod slowly as he watched the two proceed to stick their tongues out at each other. He then watched as Khu Lon walked up to the two and whacked them on the heads.

+Why can’t you two just get along?+ The matriarch asked with a heavy sigh. The two children pointed towards each other and yelled ‘she/he started it’ at the same time before glaring again. They then had the pleasure of another whack upside their heads. +As much as I can appreciate intense rivalry, you two are taking it to a level of complete immaturity, and I don’t care if you are just children.+

+Sorry great-grandmother/Khu Lon-baasan-nya.+ They both said with heads lowered and tilted away from each other. Both were thinking the exact same thing in their minds. ‘She/he is the one who should be punished.’

Khu Lon was about to say something when a young Amazon rushed to the area. +I’m sorry to interrupt Elder Khu Lon, but we have a big problem.+ The white-haired elderly woman allowed her to continue. +That man who turns into a panda was able to get out somehow and attempted to steal a few valuables. We managed to catch him, but he was able to defeat and injure a few warriors before he was caught.+ Her eyes looked towards the boy that she knew was the child of the man. What she saw was utter shock, horror, and various other emotions playing across his face. ‘Damn, it must be hard to hear that a parent of yours did something terrible.’ The young Amazon thought before she waited for the matriarch to follow.

+Lead the way, Orchid.+ The elderly woman stated with a sigh before looking to the four children. +You four stay here for right no--+ She watched as a shocked Ranma ran towards the direction the Amazon came from. +Damn it.+ Khu Lon said to herself. The boy didn’t need to put up with this right now. That was especially true if the look she saw on his face was any indication. ‘Someone’s going to be hurt the most, and I don’t think it will be the panda foo.’ She thought as she hopped after the direction Ranma went.

This left three children to look at each other. One of them, a neo-cat-girl, gave a small curse. +Damn it, Genma.+ She stated as she looked at the confused looks on her friends’ faces. +Genma already destroy Ranma’s trust. Ranma forgave him and asked not to do more bad things. Genma promised that he wouldn’t do more bad things. Ranma believed him.+

Xian Pu’s face actually gained a frown. +So this will be a very bad thing for Ranma?+ At the pink-haired cat-girl’s nod, the purple-haired girl actually looked a little concerned. +I hope Ranma won’t be too hurt by this.+ She saw the shocked looks. +I may not like Ranma much, but to have your trust destroyed is a bad thing.+ Her eyes drifted towards Mu Tzu. +I destroyed your trust once, and I know how bad it must be.+

The raven-haired boy gave a slow nod at that. They had renewed their friendship, but they still had trouble around each other. +Come on, let’s go make sure Ranma will be ok.+ At the nods of the other two, they proceeded to make there way towards the direction where something was bound to blow up.

xxA.Nxx
Yay, I finished another chapter.

Hmm… so Genma has pulled a stupid and did something terrible, and Ranma found out about it. Reality and truth can be quite a hard thing.

I don’t know about anybody else, but I loved the whole Ranma saving Mousse scene, and I liked the whole Ranma and Shampoo childishly at each other’s throats part as well.

And so a letter from Ranma has been sent to Nodoka. She is sure to learn about the curse, and would have to do a whole lot of soul searching.

[Spokavriel]

“Yeah Papa, we want to know where babies come from.” Surely her pandafied could provide them with the answer to their question.

Looks like you lost a father in this line.

Xian Pu always seemed reluctant at time to help him, but would always come through in the end.

Always implies more than a single time. so making time into times makes this sentence come off a bit better.

Maybe some more time getting to know the village and how things are living with the Amazons while Genma's being punished. Then maybe a training montage could wrap up this chapter and show some passage of time to get ready for the next event you want to have happen. Oh and it would be good if you got Cologne or another Amazon to cover the Birds and the Bees. Plumb's birth could also be an interesting thing to include.

Lots of posibilities but not allot of action.

[KonokoHasano]

Some things I considered doing for the next chapter would be a little training for Ranma and Miki, attempting to patch things up with Shampoo, Genma pulling something REALLY stupid, and another monster that leads Ranma away into an ambush, and she gets saved by certain people.

After the little adventure with the Amazons in China, I have a vague idea of what I want to do. Maybe go back to Japan and bring in the Tokyo Mew Mew aspect.

I think I could include a little of the first sentence into this one.

[borgrabbit]

I just deep down doubt Cologne's altruism unless she is cowed by something overwhelming or by a multi thousand year old prophesy. The amazons could have been influenced by Bast, though. It would be neat to have miki start talking as a cat and have the Mau bald spot. Does Ranma have that as a kitten? If Luna and Artemis run into Ranma, wouldn't they, by default, have to bow to him as their monarch? The sailors were royalty of their worlds, right? How would the Mew Mew villains work into the mix? That is the problem that I'm having with thinking of adding crossovers to my own current project, because some bad guys are much worse than others. I don't think that the Mew Mew villains would necessarily hold up well against some of the sailor moon bad guys, or they might be enslaved.
Ciao,
Wes

[Spokavriel]

In a way that makes it better to run into some of them before the SM Universe baddies start showing up. I mean sure that Monster in the village could have passed for a Youma but it was taken out by the Amazons.

Right now MewMew villains could be just about the right difficulty for training. You know wihtout getting too tough before Sailor V or other Senshi become active.

[KonokoHasano]

borgrabbit: As mentioned in Chapter 2, Ranma's feline form has a bald spot. In fact, I even posted a fan art drawing I did a while ago that shows the 'bald spot'. A small curled tail on top of a small dot.

Miki's change into a true Mau will be a gradual thing. Eventually she will be able to talk in cat form, freely transform, and have cat-ears and a tail.

It would be amusing if Luna and Artemis did have to bow to Ranma. Like you said, the Senshi were leaders/royalty of their own planets, and since Luna and Artemis were originally from Mau...

The villain thing for the Mew Mews is the problem I'm currently having. I could base it on the series and have Ranma pop up there, or I could create a minor enemy for them.

As for Cologne's altruism, let's put it this way. Young children with great potential and the possibility of said children with potential being allies. Treat them like family and fellow Amazons, and you have people willing to help you. Especially if you manage to find out and help a certain cat-child write a letter to a certain Saotome woman. *Of course, when Nodoka does learn of something like the curse, she'd have to do a little more soul searching*

[bissek]

What would Ranma have to do to be a cat among cats?

[Dumbledork]

What would Ranma have to do to be a cat among cats?

Best not to think about it

[WG_Writer]

What would Ranma have to do to be a cat among cats?

attract female cat admirers *cough* Miki *cough*

[borgrabbit]

Oh! I must have missed it, the bald spot. Also, I just wondered where the monster came from that attacked the Amazons. Seems like I remember something like that in Swift's Gulliver's Travels, except that they had no heads at all. The entire face was on the thorax though.
Wes

[KonokoHasano]

O_o Cat among cats, now that sounds wrong on so many levels. *Unless it would mean that he'd have to become the best cat he could become... or something* I don't know how Nodoka would be able to resist Ranma's cute charm in both forms.

borgrabbit: As for the monster that attacked: I didn't want to just do a run-of-the-mill monster that was tall, clawed, fanged, and just ugly. I was going to, but my imagination wouldn't let me.

[KonokoHasano]

The chapter has been finished.

[Dumbledork]

Great addition to the chapter. I hope that Ranma has learnt his lesson and won't follow Genma any longer.

[KonokoHasano]

Great addition to the chapter. I hope that Ranma has learnt his lesson and won't follow Genma any longer.

Or at least not place his faith so much in him and decide to try and become more independant. *With help from Miki*

[Dumbledork]

Don't you think your Ranma is somewhat too optimistic and naive?