Dialogue in [ ] is in Chinese.
NEKO-PHILIA
by Scott K. Jamison
(Note: Ranma 1/2 and its associated characters created by Rumiko
Takahashi. No infringement intended.)
Part Two
"Whoa, look at the time! Gotta get to bed!" Ranma stood up,
cradling Shampoo in his arms.
"What about Shampoo?" There was a note of anger in Akane's
voice, but then there usually was.
"It's too late to make her go all the way back to the
Nekohanten. She can sleep in my room tonight."
"WHAT? Ranma, are you out of your tiny mind?"
"Hey, you let P-chan sleep with you."
"He's a *pig*!"
"And Shampoo's a cat. Big diff."
Nabiki made a quick hundred yen by producing a bucket for Akane
to use. Shampoo was now being held by female Ranma.
"Uncute excessively violent tomboy..." he began.
"Perverted insensitive jerk..."she raised him.
"K-shew!" sneezed Shampoo. There was a draft in here!
"Oh, you're cold and wet! Let's take a nice hot bath before bed!"
A table collided with Ranma's head.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"If you have to ask, Ranma, you'll never know," quipped Nabiki,
palming her camera. Akane was too angry to speak, which was going some.
The tub was already full, so Ranma rinsed off and jumped right in
with Shampoo.
And jumped right back out when she turned human.
"Shampoo! Where'd you come from?" he asked, as he quickly
wrapped a towel around himself.
"Ranma bring Shampoo to tub, yes?"
Ranma looked away, which made his throwing a towel to her a
little clumsy. "Oh yeah. That slipped my mind for a moment."
"Shampoo glad Ranma want sleep with her. Wife should sleep with
husband." She got out of the tub and embraced him.
"I didn't mean it like that! Get off me, Shampoo!" He grabbed
the cold water sprayer and blasted her with it. Shampoo let go, out of
surprise, and because a cat's legs didn't reach that far.
"Miaow!"
"Hey, Shampoo, we don't want to make Akane any more jealous than
she already is, right? I mean, she may be uncute and violent, but I have
to live in the same house as her." He dried Shampoo off. "Time for bed."
Well, it's better than nothing, thought Shampoo. Every other
time I've slept in the same room with Ranma, it had to be by stealth, and
he's always reacted the wrong way.
Tonight, he folded up a blanket for her to rest on, and fell
asleep stroking her. She soon followed in slumber.
The next morning, the house was busy as usual, and try as she
might, Shampoo couldn't get to hot water. Finally, she walked straight
up to Kasumi and mewed loudly.
"Oh, I'll bet you're hungry. Here's some nice fresh milk."
Kasumi poured a bowl and set it on the floor. Not exactly what Shampoo
had had in mind, but she was hungry...
No sooner had she started to lap at it, than it was snatched away.
"Shoo, you horrid cat! This is P-chan's bowl!" Akane held it up
high.
"Akane, don't be mean. P-chan isn't here, and he's such a
gentleman I'm sure he wouldn't mind sharing his bowl. Besides, I'll wash
it before it gets used again."
"Oh, all right." Akane put down the bowl a little too hard,
slopping much of the milk over the sides. Shampoo licked up only the
remainder in the bowl. She had her pride, after all.
"Oh, there you are Shampoo!" said Ranma, scooping her up. "I
think there's enough room in my knapsack for you."
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Hey, I can't show people I'm not afraid of cats anymore without
a demonstration model, right?"
"Well, if you're in such a hurry to show off, let me help you!"
Akane kicked her fiancee several blocks in the direction of the school.
Fairly used to this sort of thing by now, Ranma hit the ground
running, Shampoo still in his arms. She sighed. What a man!
The other boys seemed suitably impressed by Ranma's new
fearlessness, including Gosunkugi, who crossed off several items in a
notebook with "Curses and Revenge Plans" on the cover. Kunou still had
to be physically defeated, of course, but Shampoo was glad to help.
Great-Grandmother will be so pleased! thought Shampoo. Oh, I
should let her know how I'm doing, she'll be worried about me. And I'm
*not* waiting around in this knapsack all day!
So she slipped out of where Ranma had hidden her for class, and
padded over to the girls' locker room. It seemed forever until someone
came in and turned on a shower. Shampoo dashed in, turned human, stole a
gym outfit, and ran back to the Nekohanten.
A few customers ogled her, as the t-shirt and shorts she'd
grabbed were a size too small, but Shampoo ignored them as always.
"Ah, Shampoo? How goes it, hmm?"
"Shampoo, I was so worried for you!"
[Shut up Mousse. Ranma let me sleep near him last night, and
took me to school with him this morning.]
"Aagh!"*SPLOOSH*"Quack! Quack!" cried Mousse.
[So, you have at last captured son-in-law's heart?]
[I'm still working on that, but I'm closer than ever before! I
just know it!]
[Very good. Now get changed. The customers are neglecting their
ramen.]
It was late afternoon when Shampoo remembered that she'd left her
bike at the Tendou's. Oh well, a good excuse to see Ranma again. She
left Rin Rin and Ran Ran in charge of deliveries and hurried off.
Her bicycle was parked where she had left it, but Ranma was
nowhere to be seen. Kasumi greeted Shampoo with her usual cheerfulness.
"I washed the dishes you brought last night and put them back in
your carrier. Would you like to take all of your clothes home, or shall
I keep a set for you just in case?"
"Ah...so...keep one. Shampoo maybe need."
As she packed the clean laundry away (she hadn't realized how
many outfits she'd left behind at the Dojo!) Ranma came running up.
"Nihao, Ranma!" She tried to hug him, but he held Shampoo at
arm's length.
"Don't *do* that."
"Shampoo loves Ranma. Want to make husband happy!"
"Shampoo, I'm not your husband! And besides, Akane was right
behind me. You know how she gets."
"Who care about stupid violent girl? Ranma not afraid anymore."
"Well, not of cats, anyways."
"Ranma! I thought you were going to study with me tonight for
that math test! But first, you have to pet every cat we meet on the way
home, and now you're fooling around with Shampoo again!"
"It's not like that, Akane, she jumped me, and--"
*SPLOOSH* and it was female Ranma and cat-Shampoo again.
"Ranma you jerk! And as for you, Shampoo..." Akane advanced
with a grim expression on her face.
"Don't you dare hurt this defenseless kitty!" Ranma said, hugging
Shampoo tightly. His breasts made it an interesting, if uncomfortable
feeling.
"Defenseless...kitty? Ranma, this is Shampoo we're talking
about. Shampoo, the human wrecking ball? Shampoo, who on numerous
occasions has tried to kill, drug or enslave you?"
"But she's a cat now! You wouldn't do any of those awful things
now, right, you cuddly-wuddly kitty?"
Shampoo shook her head.
"See, told you so! Let's study now!"
Akane silently mouthed "cuddly-wuddly?" and sighed. "Okay, but
any trouble and she's out on her ear."
It looked to Shampoo like Ranma really wanted to study hard this
time, so she refrained from disturbing him. Besides, just being held was
nice.
If anything, it was Akane who was too distracted to study,
waiting for her hated rival to strike. After an hour, she gave up and
Ranma went to his room with the cat.
He wanted to play "cat" games with her, so Shampoo let him. She
kind of wished he would go back to male though.
"You're my very special kitty-cat, aren't you? You won't run
away like Akane's P-chan always does, right? You're going to stay with
me forever and ever!"
"Meow." The sentiments were what Shampoo had always wanted to
hear from Ranma, but the wording was wrong. And he should be telling
this to her as a human. Shouldn't he?
There was a knock on the door, and Nabiki's voice came, "Are you
decent, Ranma?"
"She must want to sell me something," he told Shampoo.
"Sure," he called. "Come in."
The middle Tendou sister entered, eating an apple. She raised an
eyebrow at the transformed boy holding the transformed girl.
"Soo, does this mean you've definitely decided to marry Shampoo?"
"Don't be silly! I know Akane thinks I'm a pervert, but I'm not
so far gone I'd marry a cat! Even one as cute as Shampoo."
"I mean Shampoo the *girl*, Ranma."
"Oh, right. She can do that. Nah, I'm not going to marry
Shampoo. If I don't want to marry an uncute tomboy, I *sure* don't want
to be saddled with an Amazon."
Shampoo's heart sank. All my hard work, and Ranma still is
playing hard to get? She mewed piteously, and Ranma brought her close.
TO BE CONCLUDED
SKJAM!
"'Ranma, just you wait! I'll crush you yet!' Of course, I'd take Dr.
Hibiki's threats a bit more seriously if he could find his own lab..."
from _Ranma Saotome: Rocket Scientist_
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