The kitty was bouncing around, now in this direction, the next moment in that direction. It didn't really care where it went, and wasn't looking for anything in particular. After all, everything was new, exciting and interesting.
"Arien!"
"Arien!"
The kitty didn't know why it slowed down when it heard that specific two-leg noise. It hadn't bothered with any of the other noises the two-legs made.
"Arien! Ranma! Kitty kitty kitty! Good kitty. Come to Shampoo kitty. See, Shampoo have ramen for kitty. Come kitty. Good kitty. Good kitty."
The kitty made itself more comfortable on the two-leg's lap, purring when it wasn't chewing or swallowing, as the two-leg made itself useful by stroking and feeding it.
****
Shampoo was a bit nervous as Ranma approached. With her grandmother's help, she had worked out how to handle neko-Ranma. This wasn't a fight, however, and if he turned violent, he would be too close for any of her strategies to work.
"Good kitty," she said, as she slowly sat down on the pavement, next to her bicycle, while opening one of her delivery boxes.
When Ranma sniffed her face, she almost flinched. When he climbed onto her lap and butted her right hand imperiously, she gave a small, happy smile. When he started licking the ramen from her left hand and purring, her smile became large and ecstatic.
"Good kitty," she said again as she reached into a delivery box again for another pinch of ramen. Her great grandmother would be annoyed (at best) when she found out that Shampoo hadn't made the deliveries, but at the moment Shampoo didn't care at all.
Nearly forty minutes later, after countless 'looks' from everybody, Shampoo was near the bottom of her last delivery box, despite the fact that she had taken her time and kept the morsels she fed Ranma small. She was also starting to worry a bit. Not about Ranma attacking her. Not about what her great grandmother was going to say. (Although she wasn't looking forward to that at all.) She worried that Ranma would want to get up and leave when the ramen ran out. She knew that she couldn't spend the whole day like this, but she wanted to. Ranma, this close, with her stroking his head, back, sides and butt, it was just… Just so nice!
That was when the fourth most irritating (by her current reckoning) individual in Nerima arrived, ready to spoil her wonderful day.
"You! Chinese person! What have you done with my darling Ranma!"
Her desire to introduce Kodachi to her fists, feet, bonbori and the pavement warred briefly with her desire to stay as she was with Ranma in her lap. All in all, it took less than a second for her to make up her mind.
"Shampoo have no time to explain now. Go and get some food we can feed to Ranma now. Here, one of these shops. Rose girl… Kodachi can watch Shampoo through window, make certain she no run away with Ranma!"
"What kind of trick…"
Shampoo broke in. "Shampoo's ramen is almost finished. Hurry!"
"Very well, but I will have an explanation. And if you try to escape, I will punish you."
****
"…and that what Shampoo know about neko-ken."
Kodachi was speechless. And not because she was busy scratching Ranma behind his ear while he was licking her fingers. That would have caused a good kind of speechlessness. The description of what Ranma had almost certainly gone through caused a bad kind of speechlessness. Even with the scratching and licking.
"You are certain of this?" she asked. She was rather proud of the way she sounded. Calm, without any trace of anger. "There couldn't be another explanation for my darlings actions?"
The waitress… Shampoo, looked annoyed at her for some reason. Probably for questioning her knowledge. But she didn't want it to be true. It was too awful.
"Am sure."
"But that's, that's just wrong! Who would…"
A shout of, "You bastard," and a bucket full of cold, smelly water interrupted her. The way her Ranma changed, the way Shampoo disappeared… That kept her mouth open, and her motionless as the Tendo harridan proceeded to kick her Ranma away.
No, not her Ranma. That red headed hussy. But… But she had been busy stroking Ranma, how could the red head have changed places with him. It couldn't, shouldn't be possible.
A rustling next to her drew her attention. The waitress's clothes, were there, with a cat in them. But how? Where did the cat come from? What happened to the waitress?
"This… It's… What, what happened?" Kodachi asked the world at large, bewilderment clear in her tone. As the world didn't seem ready to answer, she tried to answer herself, speaking aloud. "Ranma disappeared, that waitress disappeared and they were replaced by the red head and a cat. But the red head was wearing… And the cat… Almost as if by…"
"No! No. There's no such thing. Magic doesn't exist. It's just another part of my brothers ravings."
"Isn't it?"
****
She wasn't jealous. She wasn't angry. She wasn't concerned at all. She was just going to see whether Nabiki was right. It wasn't as if she cared that much about Ranma. It wasn't as if she felt guilty for hitting him when he chose to share Ukyo's lunch rather than the one she…
No. She wasn't going to think about that. Not now. She was just going to see whether he was busy making a spectacle of himself with Shampoo and Kodachi. That was all. Nothing else. No jealousy. No anger.
Maybe. Maybe he needed help. Maybe those psycho's were busy doing something to him. Maybe Ranma had been hurt. By something after she had hit him through the roof. Something else. Maybe he couldn't protect himself. Maybe…
The sight of Ranma sitting in Shampoo's lap, licking one of Kodachi's hands while the two girls stroked him, froze Akane in her tracks. The fact that he didn't appear to be either hurt or restrained caused her to clench her fists and draw her lips back. That alone would have been enough to make Akane want to hurt all three of them. The fact that both the girls and Ranma were apparently enjoying themselves made Akane need to hurt someone.
Akane didn't know where she got the bucket full of water as she charged Ranma and his sluts. (Hooked to a ladder and used to clean the stores window. The ladder and cleaner were both flat on the ground by some incredible coincidence.) Throwing the water at them she screamed, "You bastard," and kicked Ranma out of sight, before glaring down at the cat and girl bucket raised to strike.
Shampoo's eyes stopped her. They weren't afraid. Those eyes made Akane remember the two fights she had had with Shampoo. It made her recall why she… No, not feared. She wasn't afraid. Not of that bimbo. Respected. That was better. As she slowly lowered the bucket and backed away from the pretty little cat, she told herself that that was all it was. She didn't do anything because she respected the sluts fighting abilities. And her great grandmother. If she did what Shampoo deserved, her great grandmother would… That would be bad.
"... Tendo, I think... what happened... Furinkan... girls these days... And the cat... fiancée… Akane…. Kuno…. Gymnast… curse… don't know…"
Ignoring the murmurs of the crowd and Kodachi's mumblings, Akane Tendo turned around and headed for home.
****
Nabiki smiled, while sorting her newest photos. Today had been a good day. Both Kodachi and Shampoo would want copies of these photos, while Ranma would be quite anxious to keep anybody from seeing them. Add to that the fact that she had even done her little sister a good turn, putting Akane in her debt, and anybody would admit that the day had been profitable.
Amusing too, with the way Ranma behaved. She would have to mention how cute he looked on Shampoo's lap, preferably while he was eating. She smiled again, picturing his probable expression.
Shampoo and Kodachi had enjoyed the day as well, she thought, looking at the pictures again. At the moment they were each probably wishing for their own Neko-Ranma.
Thinking that wiped the smile from Nabiki's face. A handsome guy who acted like a cat. That could be worth quite a bit to the correct buyer. Same went for a pretty girl. Some buyers would really pay if they could get both in one package. The problem would be training Ranma to service his, or perhaps her, owner. That and prevent him from recovering his mind.
Thinking about command words, money, fetishes, money, perverts and most of all money, Nabiki left to find some books about hypnotism and cat training.
That so nice of her.
Isn’t it?
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(Posted Sun, 31 Aug 2003 20:21)
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