Neko
by Mark Doherty (mdoherty@mailbox.uq.edu.au)

Chapter 3: Hey, _I'm_ not cursed!


Characters are the property of Takahashi Rumiko. I deserve to be thrown in
the spring of drowned ferret for even thinking of using them. Please
don't sue me, I am but a poor and penniless student.

Anyone who has read any of my previous alternifics should know that I never
change just one curse, so read on at your discretion...

C&C's are welcome, wanted and not wasted on me.


My conventions explained:

- The suffix -kun is used to denote a character's cursed male form. No
  suffix indicates that the person isn't in their cursed form. If someone
  turns up with a girl curse, they'll get the -chan suffix. Animal curses
  are denoted by the name of the animal as a suffix. After a couple of
  times, animal suffixes will probably usually be shortened to the first
  letter. For example, Henry-Mockingbird, or Henry-M after the first couple
  of times the name is used in a scene.

- Just to be REALLY annoying, a cat curse will be denoted by a -Neko suffix.
  So, Ralf-Neko for example.

- <> Denotes Chinese.

- [] Denotes thoughts.

- ** Is animal speak when used without quotes, and is sound effects within
  quotes. For example: *Hello.* the duck quacked. And: "*sigh*" she sighed.

- {} Are Panda signs.


"Cruel, but composed and bland,
 Dumb, inscrutable and grand,
 So Tiberius might have sat,
 Had Tiberius been a cat."
                - Poor Matthias by Matthew Arnold.

*********************

Two birds chirped, as the male bird, a beautiful little blue-feathered avian,
offered his sweetheart a sprig of grass that he had collected with his
beak. Nearby, children's laughter could be heard as the younger people of
this Neriman neighbourhood played in the puddles that the recent light
shower had brought. Two old women chatted over things inconsequential to all
but them. It was as if a life-affirming peace had settled over this quiet
city.

It was enough to make any but the most bright-eyed optimist sweat in worry.
You just knew that something horrible was about to happen. It was as
inevitable as the tides.

From a property where there lay both an house and what appeared to be a small
dojo came the faint sounds of conversation.

"So if that was Mr Saotome..." a young woman's voice drifted out, "...then
where's Ranma?"

"Why, he's right here." came a deep voiced man's reply.

There was a pause, and then another male voice piped up with "Hi there..."

There was another pause, slightly longer, before some loud shouts boomed out
of the house. "Ranma! After all this time what have you got to say for
yourself!!!"

There were several booms, cracks, and thuds, before there was silence again.

After a short while, the deep man's voice boomed out. "So... I take it you've
met my son before then..."

*********************

In the dining room of the Tendo abode, things were a bit messier than they
had been a few moments ago. Several small spatulas were stuck into various
fixtures, and a gigantic spatula was wedged into the floor near where Ranma
had been standing.

Ukyou was being held away from Ranma by Genma and Akane. He was doing his
best to struggle out of their grasp. Ranma was in front of Ukyou, in a
defensive posture. He no longer had that slightly woozy expression he had had
when he walked in, adrenaline had probably snapped him out of his funk. He
was looking at Ukyou with surprise on his face.

"Do I know you?" Ranma asked Ukyou.

"Know me!? Why you..." Ukyou snarled as he redoubled his efforts to attack
Ranma.

"What have you gotten yourself into this time, boy?" Genma asked his son as
he kept his hold on Ukyou. He couldn't shake the feeling that this boy was
familiar, but he had seen a lot of people in his time. Perhaps in time it
would come to him...

"I dunno..." Ranma said defensively. "I don't remember him. He's probably mad
because of you anyway, Oyaji. People usually are when they come after us."

Soun lay a hand on Akane, who was starting to wonder if she should
'accidentally' let Ukyou go. After all, she had known that Ukyou wanted to
fight Ranma for some reason, a reason that Ukyou certainly thought was worth
his while. Perhaps they shouldn't be interfering in this. Still, Ukyou's
ferocity had shocked even her, and her instincts had told her to help Genma
hold back Ukyou.

"Akane." Soun said in a low voice. "Control your friend. The Saotomes are
guests in our home too, and I will not have any of our guests fighting each
other in the house. That's what the dojo is for."

Akane sighed. Her father was right, she had to calm Ukyou down. "Ukyou." she
said as the brown haired boy struggled in her grip. "Calm down. You've
waited this long, you can wait to settle your problems where it won't cause
so much damage."

Ukyou looked around at the mess he had caused in trying to hit Ranma. He
stopped struggling, and had the grace to look embarrassed. "I'm sorry." he
said. He looked at Ranma, before he added "I'll settle this when we're alone,
Ranma."

"What? Settle what!?" Ranma half-shouted.

Ukyou snuck a glance at Akane. "That's between us, Ranma. Just between us."

*********************

The Tendos, the Saotomes, and Ukyou were sitting around the table in the
dining room. Akane was sitting next to Ukyou, who was staring intensely at
Ranma. Ranma was across the table from Ukyou, looking back at the other boy.
Ranma was staring at Ukyou with a puzzled look on his face, trying his best
to remember where he'd seen this angry youth before.

Someone, at a wild guess Kasumi, had cleaned up the mess that Ranma and
Ukyou had so recently caused.

"How can I best explain this..." Genma mused. He glanced surreptitiously at
his son, almost as if he was considering using Ranma as a living
demonstration for whatever it was that he was about to say. Genma hesitated,
before he shook his head. [No.] he thought. [Using Ranma to show the curse
might not be wise.]

"Perhaps it would be easiest just to show you all." Genma continued after he
turned his gaze away from Ranma and back to the others. He picked up an handy
bucket of water, and emptied its watery contents over his head. Where he had
sat now lay the panda that Ukyou had knocked out before. Genma-Panda
gruffled, and then held up a sign {See?}

"Oh." Akane and Ukyou said simultaneously. "Jusenkyo."

Everyone turned to look at the two teenagers. {You know about Jusenkyo?}
Genma-Panda signed incredulously.

"Akane..." Soun said hesitantly, "...you only know about that place because
you heard about it, right? You didn't actually _go_ there when you were in
China, did you?"

Genma-P flipped his sign. {You went to China?}

Akane hesitated in her answer, and seemed grateful when Nabiki cut in.

"What are you people talking about?" Nabiki asked. "How did he turn into a
panda like that? This is some sort of trick, right?"

"No, this is no trick." Soun said as Genma-Panda went off to get some hot
water. "He was explaining it to me before. Apparently there's a place over
in China called Jusenkyo, where there is a set of cursed springs. Anyone who
lands in one of them turns into whatever drowned there. It seems that cold
water activates this curse and hot water changes the person back to their
real form."

"That's right." Genma, back in human form, said as he walked back into the
room. He had quickly ducked into the kitchen and used an handy kettle of hot
water to change back. He sat down next to his son, and took up the story.
"What happened was..."

*********************

Flashback:
(
 Ranma and Genma, both dressed in white gis, are in front of a set of
 springs in a secluded valley. Next to them stood the Guide, who is giving
 out a speech on the springs of Jusenkyo.

 The two martial artists ignored the warnings the Guide was giving them, and
 they jumped onto the tops of two of the bamboo poles that jutted from each
 of the springs.

 After a short but furious mid-air battle between the two, Genma was knocked
 into one of the springs by his son. After his successful attack, Ranma
 landed on one of the poles and waited for his father to surface from the now
 bubbling spring.

 "Are we done?" Ranma asked, starting to worry about the amount of time his
 father had spent under water.

 It was then that Genma, in his new form of a panda, jumped out of the spring
 and landed on a pole so that he was facing Ranma. Things went downhill from
 there, as Ranma's shock at seeing his father turned into a panda effected
 his dodging ability, and an enraged Genma-Panda knocked him into one of the
 surrounding springs.

 Genma-Panda landed next to the Guide, who was standing next to the now
 bubbling spring that Ranma had landed in.

 "Aiya." the Guide said. "Spring of Drowned Cat. Very tragic story." he said.

 There was a ripple in the water as the head of a black cat broke the
 surface. The cat sneezed once, before he did his best to cat-paddle to
 shore.

 Genma-Panda looked at his changed son as the black cat dragged himself out
 of the Neko pool. *Are you ok son?* he tried asking, but since he was now
 a large furry animal all that came out were a series of gruffles and growls.

 Ranma-Neko ignored the panda for the moment as he looked at himself. The cat
 meowed quizzically, and then shook his head. The cat seemed to be having
 trouble accepting what had happened to him.

 *Son?* Genma-Panda gruffled.

 The cat focused his gaze on the panda, before he started to give off a low
 yowl. *Uh... son?* Genma-P asked nervously as he saw the feral gleam in the
 eyes of his transformed cat.

 Ranma-Neko responded by charging at the panda, hissing as he did so. Genma-P
 decided that perhaps a strategic retreat was in order until his son calmed
 down somewhat. In other words, he ran as fast as he could.

 It was only after he was doing his best to escape his enraged son that he
 realised something. If his son was a cat, then what would the effects of a
 certain previous training attempt have on him? Ranma's mind could be in
 deep, deep trouble.

 It was then, at the realisation of what turning into a cat might be doing to
 Ranma, that Genma _really_ began to regret coming to Jusenkyo.
)

*********************

"That's rubbish." Ranma said after his father finished the story. "I don't
have a curse."

"You DO have a curse boy!" Genma shouted at his son. "How many times do I
have to beat it into you?"

"I DO NOT HAVE A CURSE OYAJI!" Ranma shouted back. "Especially not a c...
ca... ca..."

"Cat?" Akane suggested, curious about why Ranma had trouble saying the word.

"Y... yeah." Ranma managed.

"Wait a minute." Ukyou said suddenly. "A cat? Like that cat that watched us
practice? The one that was in the bathroom with me!?"

"That's him, yes." Genma said calmly.

"You... you... pervert!" Ukyou hissed. "Acting like a cat just so you can
get your cheap thrills!?"

"Cheap thrills?" Ranma asked.

"Spying on me in the bath!" Ukyou elaborated.

"I did no such thing!" Ranma protested. "Last thing I remember, I was out on
a street with Oyaji, and then it goes black, and then I'm in the bathtub here
with my father looking on. You weren't there. And why would I spy on a guy!?
I'm not... hey, there is no way I would be like that, man!"

"Guy?" Ukyou whispered so low that no-one heard him. [No, no, no. He couldn't
not know. He must think that I don't want the others to know, and is keeping
it secret. He _must_ know... I have to make sure.] "Come with me." he said as
he stood.

"Why?" Ranma asked.

"I need to talk to you in private. This can't wait any longer." Ukyou
replied.

"Can't this wait?" Genma asked.

"No, no it can't." Ukyou replied.

Ranma sighed. "Alright, fine. Let's go. I've had enough of hearing about how
I'm 'cursed' anyway." He stood, and followed Ukyou out to the dojo.

Genma cleared his throat. "Unfortunately, Ranma doesn't seem to remember his
actions when he is in his cursed form, which makes it hard to get him to
admit that he has a curse."

"Why doesn't he remember what happens in his cursed form?" Nabiki asked.
"You seem to."

Genma sighed. "It is a true tragedy. Ranma has some problems with cats. When
he turned into one, it was too much for him. So he acts like a cat when in
his cat form, and he forces himself to think that he simply blacks out when
he gets hit with cold water. I haven't seen him voluntarily use cold water
since Jusenkyo. To think that a son of mine would refuse to believe such a
simple truth about himself. Have I not taken on my own curse with the stoic
calm of a true martial artist? So should he..."

Akane looked over at the dojo where Ranma and Ukyou had disappeared to. "I
can't blame him for not taking it well." she whispered. "I know I didn't
when it happened to me."

*********************

There was a short pause as Kasumi cleared away some empty glasses. It was
after Kasumi returned from the kitchen that Genma remembered the way Ukyou
and Akane had reacted to seeing the curse for the first time.

"So tell me, Akane isn't it?" Genma began as he looked at Akane. "How do you
and your friend know of Jusenkyo? Even in China not many had heard of it."

Akane looked nervously between Genma, and her father. "Ah... you see..." She
sighed, before she took a glass of water from the table. She poured the cool
water over her head, changing herself to the boy with the strange bluish
brown hair who had been hiding behind the crates in China.

"A... Akane?" Soun asked hesitantly. Genma was looking at Akane-kun in mild
surprise and the other Tendo girls looked shocked.

Akane-kun nodded his head miserably.

Soun responded by fainting.

"Well, he actually took that better than I thought he would." Akane-kun said
after a short pause.

*********************

In the port of a Japanese town, a large cargo vessel lay at dock. The sailors
of this rusty behemoth looked about them nervously as they started the
lengthy task of unloading the ship's containers. They were nervous because...
because the ship was haunted.

Or at least, so they thought. Ever since they had stopped over in China,
strange things had been happening on board. Food disappeared. There were
strange noises from the cargo hold, almost like someone was using the dark
storage area as a place to practice their weaponry skills. And whenever
anyone went down into the cargo hold, they would either find nothing, or they
would be mysteriously knocked unconscious and left where they fell.

The captain, in an attempt to curtail the almost superstitious rumours about
the cargo hold, had ordered the place to be thoroughly searched for
stowaways. None were found, and so the ghost theories surfaced, fed by the
shared loneliness that being on a ship can bring.

If only the sailors had been right, if only the cause of their fear had been
a ghost. But it was not some otherworldly apparition making trouble. It was
a far, far worse being than some insubstantial spirit.

In the darkness of the cargo hold, a shadowed figure stepped from their
hiding place. At last, at long last this horribly dull journey was over. She,
for the outline of her figure indicated that this person was a woman, she was
glad that this ship had finally reached its destination. There were only so
many times you could knock out the weak males who came down here before you
got bored.

The proud warrior skulked her way out of the hold, using stacked crates,
cargo hoists, and her uncanny agility to make her way out of the ship's
belly. With the stealth born of honed talent, she had soon made her way off
the rusted vessel onto the soil of this foreign land.

She looked around her, at this barbarian's land. To have to come here in
order to fulfil the obligations of honour... oh well. At best, this would be
a temporary home. Showing an agility that any, including her peers, would
kill for, the girl used some stacked crates to leapfrog onto the roof of the
dockmaster's office.

With the grace of the tigress, the girl flitted from building top to building
top before she evidently found a roof to her liking, and stopped. She stood
proudly, gazing out from her selected rooftop perch, searching for her prey.

The woman looked at the signs of the stores below her, signs written in
Japanese. Her victim was elusive, to be sure. But she'd find the one she was
looking for sooner or later. There was only one hundred and eighty or so
million people in Japan. Back in China, there had been a lot more people to
sort through, and yet she'd caught up to her prey several times.

After all, how long could it take to find one person when you barely spoke
the language, didn't know the customs, and happened to be an illegal visitor
to these fair shores?

The human predator sighed as she brushed her purple hair out of her eyes.
The hunt had been a long one, and long hunts had their satisfaction. But
every hunt must have its end, and it was time to draw this chase to a close.

With an almost feral smile, the huntress leapt from the building, sailing
gracefully to another nearby rooftop. As soon as she landed, she was running,
running to start her search of this new playground.

Pity the poor animal she was hunting. For she was the cat, and the mouse she
chased had very little time left to play indeed...

*****************************************************************************
*****************************************************************************

Till next time.