Disclaimer: Ranma ½ and all its characters are products of Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Video. This is a nonprofit work purely for the fan’s enjoyment.

Kitten Or Cat

Chapter Two

By Michael Fetter

Downtown Tokyo

The big city was confusing and noisy. Crowded with people and smells she couldn’t readily identify. The sun was shining high in the sky, glass buildings on every street reflected the golden rays and yet there was still darkness.

She hid herself within an alley outside of a street market; vendors peddling various foodstuffs that made her salivate with hunger. There was a smell close by she knew well. It was only a few meters distance, her senses told her, and there was a plentiful supply.

People passed by without seeing her crouching behind the garbage pails, her clothes covered with dirt from the street. The shoes had been lost long ago the first time she changed from a man to a woman. The pants had remained but they fell to her knees and in frustration she relieved herself of the nuisance. Her silk shirt was enough to cover her body to mid-thigh thanks to her small size. She kept it because it kept her warm at nights.

More people passed her, strange bright hair and dark clothing. They rode upon boards with little wheels, rattling noisily on the pavement. Out the door of the building she sat beside two men walked out, cradling a large wooden cabinet between them. The yelp of surprise came too late and the first young boy collided with the cabinet, spilling the two men and skaters onto the ground, boards splintering everywhere.

The noise attracted attention from the many vendors and their customers.

Finding her opening, Neko-Ranma quickly shot around the corner of her hideout, weaving between pedestrians, and leapt onto the yattai of her target. Teeth clamped down over the wet, cold meal and she continued on her way, sprinting through the crowd to lose any pursuers.

There were sounds of screaming from behind her, an old man with a stained white apron ran around his yattai, waving a cleaver in the air, pointing madly at the thieving redhead.

Happily slurping at the juices pouring into her mouth, Neko-Ranma continued to run for a few blocks until she found what she was looking for.

A park closer to the edge of downtown Tokyo and Nerima Ward had the perfect place to eat snapper in peace. Neko-Ranma-chan lounged within one of the many cherry trees bordering the small artificial lake. The grass was turning brown and garbage rolled along the ground, but the trees still held their leaves. Neko-Ranma lay concealed within them as she tore into her meal, fish juice running down her jaw. Excellent hearing picked out the sounds of people walking through the park, all far enough to not be of concern to her.

"Hey guys. Look who it is. Our good friend Tetsuo."

Neko-Ranma looked away from her finished meal to spy a group of boys a dozen meters off. The wind was light and tugged at the branches, giving her a temporary view of the children.

"Where’re you going, punk? Toji is talkin to ya." One of the boys, fairly big with short spiked hair and chains piling over the shoulders of his leather jacket shoved a smaller boy back into the crowd.

Another boy, sharp crew cut hairdo and muscular, ground his right fist into the palm of his left. "Yeah, stick around. It’s only polite."

Neko-Ranma stood up on her perch to get a better view. The victim was maybe eleven. He was carrying a bag of groceries, or was until one of the gang members ripped it out of his hands. The boy screamed something, but was shoved onto the ground when he attempted to retrieve his bag.

Another, smaller than most of the gang members, stepped up and kicked the young boy in the stomach. He laughed and kicked again.

Neko-Ranma was out of the tree and pouncing upon the attacker in a manner of seconds. She landed with his head beneath her hands and smashed against the ground. When he didn’t move, Neko-Ranma forgot him and looked back to the others.

"Holy crap! She just took out Kosijo!" The fourth member exclaimed, taking a fearful step backwards. The others had been similarly startled and forgot Tetsuo as he scrambled to retrieve his groceries.

Toji finally smirked and stepped back up to the redhead who was standing on all fours. "Fuck Kosijo, check this chick out. She’s stacked." He leered at her, a lecherous grin crooking the edge of his mouth.

"Maybe good for a coupla hours, huh?" The fourth member grinned as well, looking the crouching redhead over. Neko-Ranma was dirty and her hair was a bit mussed, but she still looked good with only the oversized shirt and boxers to keep her somewhat decent.

Snorting, the big one kicked a bit of dirt in her direction. "Look at her. She’s fuckin stupid or something."

Taking another step forward, Toji spread his hands, ready to snatch Neko-Ranma-chan up. "Don’t need brains for what I want to do with her."

"C’mere slut. Let’s see whatcha got." The fourth member moved in, mimicking Toji’s movements.

Neko-Ranma looked back and forth between the approaching gang members. She was waiting for them to attack before she decided how hard to go. When the smaller boy pulled out a chair and swung it through the air at her, Neko-Ranma’s choice had been made.

Sidestepping the chain, she rushed the attacker and bounced off his chest, knocking him a couple meters across the park. Toji took the distraction to grab a fistful of her red hair. Neko-Ranma reacted and lashed out with ki-claws to slash across Toji’s hand.

"Ah, shit." Toji pulled back like he’d been near a fire. Blood was pouring from four gashes across the back of his hand. He held his hand by the wrist and continued to swear.

Sneering, Toji forgot the pain and went for the switchblade in his pocket. "Jesus Christ! That was a mistake bitch." He flashed the knife in a fast release movement and started for the redhead again.

"Yeah, cut’er up, Toji!" The big one cheered, finding his bat and smacking it against his palm with big meaty slaps.

Neko-Ranma remained unimpressed. She watched Toji for a moment, then made a quick check for the little boy who’d been accosted. Finding Tetsuo a good distance off, she returned to Toji and growled.

Toji scowled and lunged, attempting to plunge the blade into Neko-Ranma’s eye.

Twisting out of the way easily, Neko-Ranma lunged into Toji’s defenses and straight to his own vulnerable face. Four neat slashes were racked at an angle across Toji’s face, cutting him from forehead to chin.

"Aahhh!" Toji screamed in a shrill cry, dropping the knife in his hand and clutching at his face. Through his finger pieces of solid white fell to the ground. Toji continued to scream as he realized what they must be and began a blind search for the pieces of his eyes with big sweeping motions of his arms.

The color quickly left the faces of the other gang members as they watched their leader roam helplessly over the grass. The big one stared down at the fourth member. "What do we do?"

"Shit," the other exclaimed, throwing down his chain. "I’m not ending up like that! I’m outta here!" He began to run in the opposite direction, a wet stain growing between his legs. The big one looked back once and dropped his bat, hot on the other boy’s heels.

The wind carried the scent of blood and the miserable lamentations of Toji over his lost eyes. The gang leader had curled up on the ground, pressing his hands onto his face.

A shudder sounded from behind and Neko-Ranma turned to see the little boy, clutching at his groceries like they could protect him. Neko-Ranma primped herself a bit then pranced over to the little boy’s side. He stiffened with fright as she nuzzled her head against his arm, smelling the food within his bag.

"G-Good girl." Tetsuo stuttered out, patting Neko-Ranma on the head fearfully. When she did not attack or growl, he calmed and began to breathe again. "Thanks for helping me. I’m Moroso Tetsuo." He smiled down out her and waited. When no reply was forthcoming, Tetsuo shifted the bag in his hands to get a better look at Neko-Ranma-chan. "Do you got a name?"

Confused, Neko-Ranma-chan purred and rubbed her body against the boy’s thigh, hoping affection would earn her some of the food. "Uh, nice kitty. You wanna come home with me?" Tetsuo asked, no longer minding Toji’s shivering body as it had silenced.

With a pat on her head, Tetsuo led Neko-Ranma out of the park, her hands making little bloody prints as she went.

~

Tendou home, Nerima

Akane continued to pace in the living room as she watched the television for any more reports concerning Ranma. A special news report had described a scene where a woman had been saved from being raped by a couple of thugs. The witness claimed a cat-girl with red hair ripped these guys apart with her bare hands. The woman being accosted feinted dead literally after watching such a gruesome thing happen only a few feet away.

Akane had watched with growing concern from the couch with her father and Genma. When the report was over the two men had stood up and left. She had stayed and taken to pacing.

Another hour passed without anything new on the news. Ringing her hands, Akane made her way back up to Nabiki’s room as she had done half a dozen times already. She didn’t bother to knock and opened the door to see her sister on the phone. "Anything yet?"

Nabiki sighed in exasperation and placed the phone against her shoulder after excusing herself with the person on the other end of the line. "Again, no." she answered with a frown.

"Can’t they work any faster?" Akane asked angrily, beginning to pace within Nabiki’s room, her eyes twitching over the many papers spread out on her sister’s desk.

"Tokyo is a big place, Akane." Nabiki replied as she had done each time that Akane had barged into her room that afternoon.

Nodding her head quickly, as she knew this answer well, Akane headed for the door and back down to the living room and the television. "Right. Just tell me whenever they find him."

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Nabiki returned to the phone, her voice coming out a bit tempered with irritation. "Sorry. Yes, it’s true, a boy that turns into a girl." She paused, tapping her pen against the desk as the man on the other side made some comment. "I’ll expect a finder’s fee for this." She stated.

There was a moment of anger as Nabiki slammed the pen onto the desk, jamming the push button. She fiddled with it for a moment, eyeing the metal tip then tossing it into the garbage. "I think a ten million yen is a fair price for proving the existence of magic." Smiling, Nabiki leaned back in her chair. "I’ll be in touch."

She placed the phone back down and stared at her computer monitor, displaying the number of a prosperous biochemistry and physiology research company. As soon as she had Ranma the stock she had invested in IGC would sky rocket in value. One way or another, Ranma was going to make her a very rich woman.

~

Almost two days he’s been gone now.

Akane was in the dojo, a pile of bricks set in one corner as she removed the last to be stacked on the cinder blocks. She’d been in here for four hours or more, running through every kata, drill, and technique she could think of to keep her mind off of Ranma.

It was true what they said, ‘You never know how much something is worth until it is lost’. Ranma lost his mind, or is losing it, and there was nothing she or anyone else could do about it. Cologne had shown her regret and maintained that all she could do was help search for him.

Six bricks high, Akane stared at them, pushing away the troubling thoughts of her mind. See into the bricks, she told herself, and go beyond them.

The dojo was quiet. Nabiki was gone, Kasumi was in the kitchen, and daddy was going through another of his endless games of Shogi with Mr. Saotome.

It was terrible having the dojo this quiet during the day. Around now, Ranma should be bounding around the backyard, avoiding one of his fiancées, or dodging her mallet swings because he said something rude again. A hole should been open in the roof of the dojo, scattering wood chips and roof tiles on the tatami mats.

Her eyes grew moist and she tried to focus again on the bricks. The more she thought about it the harder it became to block the pictures of Ranma in her mind. Her bottom lip quivered as her vision blurred.

"Ranma." She whispered, feeling like a climber caught in an avalanche, the pressing weight of the snow tossing her about, no way to tell which direction is up.

Was this how he felt each time she was lost? Akane blinked, the tears finally pouring onto her cheeks. She had to be strong. Ranma never gave up when it was her. Their roles were reversed now and he needed her to be strong. Ranma was counting on her this time.

Jaw firm, tears dried, mouth tight, Akane stared at the bricks. She’d show him how strong she could be. One time, Ranma was hers to save and he would know, they both would, that their love would see them through anything.

"I’m coming for you Ranma." Akane announced in the quiet room. There was no reply but the gentle wind. "You can count on me! Kyah!"

Her fell to meet the hard stone, knuckles tight and locked as she placed her weight behind them.

Crack.

"Aaah!" Akane fell to the floor, her left hand clutching her right about the wrist. It felt like someone had placed a grinder against her hand and left it running. Like a fire, but these flames didn’t burn.

More tears poured out of her eyes as she bit back the scream she wanted to emit. The pain would subside after a while to something more manageable. Dr. Toufuu could mend her hand, take away the pain entirely, and staunch the bleeding.

The bricks beside her still stood as tall and strong as they had a moment ago. Twin spots of blood of where her knuckles became scraped mocking her, two unblinking eyes that blamed her for everything.

Her voice quavering with pain, Akane forced herself to look at her hand. There was blood, streaming down it, between her fingers, over the hand around her wrist, and onto the off-white floor of the dojo.

Akane sat there, long moments staring at her bloody knuckles, a memory coming to her from almost a week ago. She’d barely thought of it, too absorbed in her worries for Ranma.

"Poor Ryouga." She didn’t cry like she thought she might. Instead she stared at the hand, a hand not her own, but attached to the pig-tailed martial artist, his eyes like a wild animal. Everyone could see the danger of simply being near him when they looked into those eyes.

"No." Akane pulled herself back up whether she wanted to or not. "I have to be strong . . for Ranma. I will be strong."

Akane left the dojo; the stack of bricks stained with blood remained a testament to her first failure.

~

Trailer park, downtown Tokyo

The day was beginning to conclude and Neko-Ranma-chan had found a nice place to rest while being warmed by the last vestiges of the evening sun. She was on the cushions of a narrow couch on one side of a small trailer home. The interior was messy with junk magazines, empty cans of beer, clothing that had been draped over furniture, and a field of stains from kitchen counter to TV tray.

The boy was busy in the kitchen area, set towards the center of the trailer. He had been very nice to her, offering some fish scraps and a small bowl of milk. She could see he didn’t have much to offer so didn’t complain terribly at the small portions. Afterward, he sat down on the couch and pet her, saying how happy he was to have a pet.

She didn’t mind. Not that she was going to stick around for long, but the little boy seemed to need a friend. Neko-Ranma-chan would likely be on the road again the next morning to look for her mate.

There came a rattle from the door of the trailer, thin plastic sheeting sliding against the linoleum floor. A man of about his mid forties stumbled in, half-empty beer bottle in his left hand. He saw the boy at the stove, working on finishing dinner. "Isn’t that done yet?!"

"S-Sorry, dad. Dinner will be done in-"

Slap!

The boy dropped to his knees and held his hand over the reddening cheek. He didn’t cry. The other bruises along his back and arms proved how accustomed he’d come to these beatings. If not for the force, he might have stayed on his feet.

Neko-Ranma-chan continued to sleep as the boy pulled himself back up to his feet and continue his cooking. The father snorted in disgust and pulled another beer from the small fridge.

"Well, well. What’s this then?" The man smiled at the half-naked girl lying on his couch.

"She, uh, saved me from the other boys today. I thought-"

The man smacked him again, knocking the boy into a cabinet. "Shut up. Getting saved by some girl. Ought to beat you for being such a wimp." He sneered at the boy then leered at Neko-Ranma-chan. "But first . . ."

The boy watched for a moment, uncertain of what his father had planned. He watched him step up to his new pet and shake her once. She didn’t wake, but rolled over, snoring lightly. He heard his dad chuckle and the buckle of his belt being undone. Gasping, he stood up against the cabinets.

Smirking, the man grabbed an ankle in each hand and pulled Neko-Ranma-chan closer. "Now, lets see what we really got here."

"No!" the boy rushed his father, tackling the older man about the waist. They didn’t fall to the ground as he had planned. Instead, the father released one of the ankles and struck the boy again, sending him crashing back into the cabinets.

"And stay there!" He growled before turning back to the girl.

Neko-Ranma-chan was awake now. Someone was holding her leg and he had his pants down around his ankles. She was confused as to what might be happening, but as she saw the nice little boy knocked across the trailer, her eyes hardened.

The man had little to no warning before he was on the receiving end of Neko-Ranma’s idea of justice. She pulled her leg in, forcing the man off-balance, and lashing out with a hard sidekick. He hit the door and kept going, landing on the gravel outside.

Without missing a beat, Neko-Ranma jumped through the door, holding back a good measure of her real strength now that she knew how weak most people were. The man was likely already beyond saving as her kick broke his sternum and sent bone fragments into the man’s heart. Still, he was awake and moving so she batted his body about the area, inflicting light lacerations with her ki claws.

"Stop!" From the trailer, the bruised and disoriented little boy stumbled out of the doorway and ran in her direction.

Neko-Ranma waited for the little boy, confused by his sudden anger. Shouldn’t he be happy since she was hurting the bad man? He’d been happy when she hurt the gang of boys.

Skidding to a halt on his knees beside his father, the little boy shoved Neko-Ranma in the side. "Get away from him, you cunt!"

Neko-Ranma cocked her head to the left, unsure of what she should do. He was yelling at her now, more harshly, and she felt like he really didn’t like her. Had she done something wrong? Looking back and forth between the boy and the old man, Neko-Ranma mewled sadly, hoping for some sort of answer.

Tears in his eyes, the boy reached across his father for the beer bottle and lobbed it at her. Neko-Ranma dodged to one side and skipped a little further away as he found some rocks to throw.

Head low, she took a last look at the tearing boy with the purple bruises on his face and the father, blood spittle rolling out of his mouth, and raced out of the gravel pit.

End Chapter Two

* * *

Ja ne.