Hohlbein unlocked the door to the trailer and entered. The three girls followed him.
'I wonder if I should ask him for some hot water?' Ranma wondered. 'Nah, perhaps later...'
The inside of the room was stuffed with shelves, chests and boxes. Many funny-looking costumes were hanging in an old wardrobe. A big assortment of circus hats was lying inside a big box.
The ringmaster walked to the end of the room and knelt down. He pulled a big, dusty coffer from under the shelves.
"In here in all of the old stuff of my uncle," he explained. "Why don't you look in there, I'll see if there's something in the shelves."
The three Japanese girls nodded, and Ranma and Akane knelt down next to the coffer, while Ami helped Mr. Hohlbein searching in the shelves.
She picked up an old photograph. It showed Gerd Hohlbein in his younger days, and he was holding a lion cub with a pink bow on its tail. "Awwww, what a cute little cub," Ami gushed.
Hohlbein smiled and took a look at the picture. "Yes, that's the old Lina when she was still a baby. My uncle raised her by himself, she was all the world to him."
"Hey!" Ranma suddenly shouted while rummaging through the chest. "I think I saw something shiny..."
"Maybe it's the amulet," Akane said excitedly and reached inside. But when she pulled the small object out...
"Awww man, just a shiny jacket button," she said.
"Strange," Ami said. "Why is it attached to a string?"
Akane blinked. Ami was right. She tried pulling out the string of the bundle of clothes, but it was stuck somewhere.
Something clicked.
"What was that?" Akane wondered.
"Look there!" Ami pointed to the bottom of the coffer. "I think you activated a secret mechanism."
"A secret drawer," Hohlbein said in amazement. "I didn't know about that. Girls, you truly are something..."
Ranma pulled out the object that was lying inside the drawer that came out of the coffer's bottom. "A book?" She opened it. "Hey, I can't read that stuff!"
"Of course not, Ranma," Akane groaned. "It's in German."
Hohlbein took the book and took a look at it. "It's my uncle's diary," he said with a surprised voice. "I always wondered where it would be."
"Perhaps he wrote the hiding place of the amulet into this book." Ami was excited.
----
A small figure was clinging to the trailer's window and peered inside. "Ranma is always so lucky," Happosai grumbled. "Not only has he two beautiful travel companions, he finds a clue how to find the amulet... I have to get that diary, somehow..."
He jumped to the ground and pondered. "What I need... is a small distraction..." His gaze wandered over to the cages.
He smiled. Perfect!
----
"Listen to that," Hohlbein said. "Here, my grandfather describes how he's preparing for his performance with the lions." The ringmaster sounded like a child that found a candy bar. He seemed very happy that they found the diary.
"Yeah, that's all very interesting, but we really need to know about the amulet," Ranma said impatiently.
"Ranma, don't be rude," Akane scolded him.
Suddenly, loud screaming could be heard from outside. Several people shouted something in German, then a man's voice yelled: "Hagen! Samba ist ausgebrochen!"
The ringmaster cursed in German as he ran out of the trailer. "Stay here," he ordered.
"Oh no," Ranma decided. "It's a martial artist's duty to protect the weak." And she followed him. Akane sighed, exchanged a look with Ami, and they ran after them.
When Ranma followed Hohlbein around the corner, she could hear a deep growling. She tried to stop herself in time, but by that time, she already was past the corner and saw the reason for the panic:
"C-c-c-caaaat..."
"Ranma, stay back," the ringmaster shouted. "It's too dangerous. Samba is very upset."
One of the tigers was outside of his cage, and he seemed pretty angry for some reason. Hohlbein was pulling a whip out of his belt and grabbed a long stick that was leaning against one of the cages.
Ranma gulped. That tiger was bigger than the others he saw earlier... and it looked so scary... and hungry... and...
"Meeeeoooooww..."
Startled, Hohlbein looked around. The tiger Samba growled, and quickly, he returned his attention to the nervous animal.
Ranma was crouching down on all fours, a strange glaze in his eyes.
Ami and Akane appeared. "Oh no," Akane gasped. "He entered the Neko-ken..."
With a loud snarl, Ranma prepared to jump. But Akane stepped in his way. "Ami, help Hohlbein! I'll take care of Ranma!"
Ami nodded and hid behind the trailer.
Neko-Ranma was hissing. Akane nervously took a step closer. "Ranma, calm down..."
And instantly, Ranma's hissing stopped. He sat down on the ground and looked at Akane curiously.
Behind her, the ringmaster's whip cracked, followed by a roar, but Akane didn't pay attention to what happened. She was beginning to understand what her powers could do...
"Ranma, lay down and close your eyes!"
Ranma obeyed right away. Akane was astonished. She never managed to calm Ranma down that quickly. Perhaps... her powers didn't only give her the ability to control normal felines, but also victims of the Neko-ken...
"Ranma, snap out of it," she commanded.
Ranma blinked. "Akane?" he asked. "Why am I lying on the floor? What happened?"
"Never mind that, come with me..." she pulled him off the ground and shoved him behind the trailer. "Stay here and don't look at the tiger."
Ranma gulped and nodded.
Meanwhile, Ami had already transformed into Sailor Mercury.
Samba roared as his master cracked the whip again. For some reason, Hohlbein didn't manage to calm him down. Something must have really angered him...
Suddenly, Mercury appeared on the top of a cage. She quickly analyzed the situation, then nodded.
"MERCURY AQUA RHAPSODY!"
Aiming carefully, she controlled the jets of water so they spun around the tiger without hurting him. Quickly, she shouted: "Shabon Spray Freezing!"
The water froze into solid ice, and the tiger was captured within a solid cage of ice.
Akane came back, looked at the captured tiger and gasped.
Hohlbein looked like he was in shock. "Wie... wie... du... du..."
Sailor Mercury smiled at him. "If you're in trouble again, call Sailor Mercury!" She jumped up and was gone.
Akane hurried over to the gaping ringmaster. "Are you all right?" she asked. Hohlbein shook his head. "Was ist... I mean... What happened just now?"
Akane smirked. "You just met one of Japan's heroes: Sailor Mercury, Senshi of Water and Ice."
She looked back at the tiger. "What's wrong with him?"
Hohlbein shook his head. "I don't know... Normally, he's a very quiet animal. I don't know what has angered him that much..."
Akane walked closer to the cage. "Be careful," Hohlbein warned her. She smiled. "Don't worry! I know what I'm doing."
She knelt down in front of the tiger. She was really nervous, but if her powers could even stop the Neko-ken...
"Hey there, Samba," she called in a soothing voice. "It's all right now, okay? Don't be angry! Everything is fine."
The tiger growled one last time, then he sat down on the grass and just looked at her.
Akane smiled. "See? That's a good boy!" She stood up and turned back around. "I think you can safely take him back into his cage now," she smiled.
Hagen Hohlbein shook his head. He was an experienced animal tamer and ringmaster, but... he had never seen anything like that before. Just with one single sentence... she managed to calm the wild tiger down. Amazing!
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Tue, 29 Aug 2006 11:38)
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