Ranko smiled as she looked out of the train window.
"C'mon, this is our stop!" she told her two friends.
"Oh my, this is so exciting," Kasumoo the cow-girl said as she took her suitcase. "This is the first time we'll live completely on our own, in a city we've never been to."
"Think of all the cute stuff we're gonna find here," the dog-girl to her left gushed. "Muzusa can't wait!"
"Now calm down there, nya!" Ranko said as the threesome left the train, ignoring the stares the people were giving them. "We are new here and we have to find a place to stay first. Nnyabiki and Nabatty have prrrovided us with some money, that should be sufficient for a while."
The three antropomorphic animal-girls walked out of the station, onto the streets of the small town they have chosen as their new home. For once, they were all wearing casual clothes. Muzusa was wearing a pink, frilly dress her former guardian, Miss Hinako, had bought her as reward for being a good girl. Kasumoo was dressed in a nice sundress that she got from Kasumi, and Ranko was dressed in a nice tank top and jeans shorts combo, a gift from her mother.
Nodoka seemed a bit disappointed that Ranko turned out to be a tomboy, but her glee to finally have a daughter made up for that.
After having lived in Nerima for three months, Ranko and Kasumoo had decided to find a nice place to live for themselves, as the Tendo household was getting a bit too cramped. Their friends Nabatty and Apane were still living there, but Nabiki decided that they could not live forever like that.
So Ranko surprised everyone by announcing that she was gonna find a place to live, along with a nice job to make some money on her own. After a while, Kasumoo exclaimed that she liked the idea and decided to come along.
A third member for the flat-sharing community they were planning was quickly present: Muzusa, the dog-girl and half-double of Azusa Shiratori. After three months of strict supervision by Miss Hinako, she had managed to deal with her kleptomaniac problems... mostly. And she was ready to prove that she was able to start anew as well.
At first, Nodoka and Ranma were a little sad to let their daughter/sister just go like this, but Ranko promised to visit them often, as soon as she found a place to stay.
And now, the three of them were here, in the middle of a small town outside of Tokyo, where not too many people were living.
At first, they simply strolled along the street, doing a little sightseeing. The town had a little library, a cinema and a big market where they would be able to buy anything they would need. Also, a small river was flowing through town.
"Well, this really looks like a nice place to stay," Kasumoo commented as they crossed the river on a bridge.
But anytime, every sightseeing tour comes to its end. And the end the three animal-girls were now reaching was a small street at the edge of town.
Tall trees were aligning the street, and not many cars were driving here. Finally, they reached the end of the street and took a good look at the house standing in front of them.
It was a two-storied mansion, with a big garden. A small path behind the garden gate led to the front door.
A small sign was attached to the iron fence that surrounded the compound. Kasumoo read: "For rent! For additional information, please contact Mitsuo Yamaki!"
Ranko opened the garden gate and looked around the garden.
"Shall we take a look?" she asked her friends.
They walked up to the front door of the house. Muzusa carefully tried pushing down the door latch... and the door opened.
Ranko shrugged. "Well, if it's open, it can't hurt to go in, right?"
They entered a long hallway with various doors. A big mirror was hanging on the wall. Very important for cats, Ranko decided.
On the left, they found the bathroom, the main bedroom and a small storage room. On the right: The kitchen, the living room and a small chamber with a nice piano. The living room and the piano room were connected with another door, and from the kitchen, they could reach the pantry and the terrace.
From the hallway, some stairs were leading down into the cellar, and some others up to the second floor. Strangely enough, all of the rooms on the first floor were stuffed with shoe boxes, which all contained old felt slippers.
"Well, I guess the first floor will be enough for the three of us," Ranko spoke up. The others nodded.
And above the second floor, there was an attic.
Ranko looked out of the second floor window and saw the neighbor's house. And a lovely meadow, just where the garden ended. And behind the meadow, some woods.
Ranko grinned. "I don't know about you, but I think I'm gonna LOVE living here!"
----
During midday, the three girls decided to pack out the lunch boxes Kasumi gave them and have lunch.
Kasumoo looked outside and smiled. "It's such a nice, warm day... Why don't we have our lunch outside, on the terrace?"
"Sounds good," Muzusa said. They fetched a few lawn chairs from the storage room and put them down on the terrace. Afterwards, they ate their lunch.
But just as they were eating, they heard something: Someone was coming through the garden gate. Then they heard footsteps coming around the house, through the garden. And then, their visitor stepped onto the terrace.
It was a tall, quite attractive man with blonde hair. He was wearing a pair of sunglasses and an expensive business suit.
The man seemed pretty surprised to see the three animal-girls sitting there, as he came to a stop abruptly.
He then frowned and muttered something that the three friends could not understand. He then walked up to them and looked at them sternly.
"I suppose I should call the police, as it seems very clear to me that you broke into my house."
"Your house?" Ranko asked in confusion. "Mrrr, sorry, but the front door was open. We could easily go in."
That didn't seem to calm the stranger down. "So, you simply walk into other people's houses, just because someone let the door open? What are you doing here?"
"We're trying it out," Kasumoo said and smiled.
"Beg your pardon?"
"We're trying out the house. And I must say, we really like it. I can't speak for my friends, but I'm sure that we want to rent it."
Suddenly the man got much more friendlier.
"Well, why didn't you say so earlier?" he smiled, got a chair out of the kitchen and sat down next to the three girls.
"My name is Mitsuo Yamaki," he introduced himself. "This house has been in my family's possession for some generations now. Actually, it is the house where I spent my childhood."
"Meow! Nice to meet you," Ranko replied. "I am Ranko, and these are my friends, Kasumoo and Muzusa."
"Pleased to meet you!" Yamaki nodded. "I admit, I was taken aback by your... appearance, but after everything I have seen in my life, I'm not too surprised."
"That's okay," Ranko said. "You're not the first to be surprised."
And then they started talking about the house.
"Well, I see that I don't have to give you a tour of the house anymore... But I hope that you don't mind the many boxes of slippers on the second floor. My grandfather has been a shoemaker, and his specialty were those felt slippers." He shook his head. "I just wasn't able to sell them, so I had no choice but to leave them here, in the house."
"No problem at all!" Ranko grinned. "The first floor's big enough."
She then remembered what Nabiki and Nabatty reminded her to ask. "Oh, I almost forgot: How much is the rent for this house?"
"1.000.000 yen!" Yamaki said.
"That much?" Kasumoo frowned. "I don't know... isn't that a bit... steep?"
"It's furnished! And has a music room! Okay, let's say 500.000 yen."
"That's better," Muzusa said thoughtfully. "But... we always have to consider that it's half full with felt slippers."
"300.000 yen! And that's my final offer!" Yamaki said and stood up.
Ranko grinned. "Okay!"
"Well, then I ask you to transfer the money to my bank account every month. I'll contact you later about everything. Here, my card, if any questions arise."
He handed Kasumoo a small business card. "And if you excuse me, I'm in a hurry. It was a pleasure, and... have fun with the house!"
Back on the street, Yamaki looked back at the house and shook his head. "Now THAT was unusual. Lucky thing I left. Who knows, maybe in the end, they asked me to let them live her for FREE."
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(Posted Sat, 24 Mar 2007 16:59)
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