Nihao! It's me again! This is probably one of my favorite fan-fics that I've
begun (seeing as I haven't finished any except for the short SMJ fic Electric
Sheep), I was going to send this to the AnimeExpo '99 FanFic contest (even
though I'm probably too young to go to the convention. However, I have not
reached a major conflict yet, *and* I have already exceeded the word limit.
This is a compiled version (this used to be 3 "chapters," can you believe
that?!), so I'm seriously considering either puttint more of my "chapters"
together so they'll be longer (I always make each "chapter" at least 10 Kb, is
that too short?). I also have no more than 80 characters per line in this
particular e-mail. Heh. I hope the word wrapping comes out better after it
gets sent through the FFML. Usually, I let AOL do the word wrapping, but that
always comes out rather badly.
-->Princess Hinomura Runa of the House of Jurai Royal Family
Oujosama to Oyobi! Call me Princess!
LunaHNeko@aol.com
Luna_Hinomura@planetjurai.com
http://fly.to/Luna's
OK, maybe just "Luna" will do... ^_^
The story of Ranma Nibunnoichi and the characters are the sole possession of
the
respected copyright holders, and was all created by the brilliant shojo manga
artist Rumiko Takahashi. The only character I added into the story is "Neko,"
Shampoo's twin sister.
Here Comes Neko!
A Ranma Nibunnoichi Fan Fiction
By Luna Hinomura
Late again. As usual. Couldn't Ranma just get up earlier? He was
constantly making them *both* late for school. If she hadn't have been so
worried that Shampoo would intercept him and try another one of those tricks
of
hers, she'd just go to school by herself, leaving him behind. She turned to
glare at him.
He scowled. "Jeez, Akane, stop looking at me or people'll think we're
goin' out or somethin'," Ranma said. He recoiled as soon as the words were
out
of his mouth, realizing what he'd just done.
"Stare at *you*?! No way, you pervert! I try *not* to look at you!"
Akane screamed back.
If they hadn't begun to argue, Ranma probably would have missed it. As
it
was, he'd turned his head to the left to look at Akane. As his feet
instinctively pounded on the fence, (automatically knowing where every next
step
was), a splash of pinkish-purple hair, blue Chinese silks flashed by. Was
someone standing in the alley? He had opened his mouth to yell an insult
back
at Akane, but his words disappeared. "Was that...Shampoo?" he murmured to
himself instead.
"Shampoo?! Don't tell me you're actually *looking* for her! Ranma, you
jerk! I thought you hated her attention!"
"Don't be stupid, Akane! I just thought..." He backtracked a few
steps, looked into the alley where he had supposedly seen Shampoo.
"Fine! You stay and look for your *darling* Shampoo! I'm not going to
wait around and watch!" Akane left in a huff.
"W-wait, Akane!" Ranma chased after her. "I'm just worried she's
after me again!"
The girl turned to watch them leave. <That boy... He almost see me.
Is that girl call him 'Ranma'? I follow them!> She clenched her spear.
Using
it like a pole vault, she gracefully launched herself high over their heads
and
landed quietly on one of the many large drainage pipes in the ditch. By
ducking down and hopping quietly from one to the other, she was able to
follow
from a safe distance. <They never suspect I down here>, she thought smugly,
<maybe if listen carefully, I find out if he really Ranma, and if Shampoo...>
Stars. Pretty stars. All different shapes and sizes. They flashed
through the girl's mind as a sleek, well-used bike crashed into the back of
her
head, knocking her from her precarious stance. <Aiya!> She landed with a
splash into the cold waters of the ditch.
"Nihao, Ranma!" the bluish-purple haired girl atop the bike said,
pinning him underneath it.
"Shampoo...! So it *was* you!" Ranma growled.
Making sure only her eyes and nose were sticking out of the water, she
scrutinized the newcomer. Upon recognition, she gasped, nearly choking on
the
water. Finally, after so long... *Shampoo*.
"Did you hear a splash?" Akane asked, directing her question to no one in
particular.
Her eyes widened, and she quickly submerged herself under the water with
barely a trace. She watched from underneath until the three blurry figures
left. Then, she turned away and paddled rapidly, quickly swimming away.
* * *
She stood outside the school she'd seen the boy and girl enter. She
looked at the kanji and hiragana written on the sign attached to the wall.
Fu... Rin... Kan... High School? She really needed to work on her
Japanese.
Even though it was pretty hard, she was a quick learner, and she'd only
recently begun to learn. Fu-rin-kan High School, she repeated to herself.
Frustrated, she pounded the butt of her spear on the dirt.
If that *was* Ranma, she would test him. He couldn't possibly be worthy.
Not even that blue haired girl had seemed interested in him! What did
Shampoo
see...
She started as a bell rang four times, all different notes, and all very
clear. Her heart was pounding, but she relaxed when she realized it was only
a
school bell, nothing to be upset about. Students, both male and female began
rushing past her. They were wearing school uniforms, the same kind that the
blue-haired girl had been wearing. It *had* to be this school.
She spotted them. There they were, walking together again. She jumped
onto the wall and watched them pass by, too busy talking to notice her. She
leapt from her position, aiming to touch down in front of them.
Before she landed, she brandished her spear with flair, went through a
few
movements of the Chinese spear form. It was a trick she'd learned from
Shampoo.
To fool or psyche out your opponent, making them think your skills were twice
as
good. Not that she really needed it, her skills alone without all the
fanciness
were enough to scare anybody. Shampoo's other trick, speaking in broken
Japanese, worked better. She could make anybody believe she was not as smart
as
she really was. Of course, the girl's Japanese was so bad she really
couldn't
pass off that one.
"Saotome Ranma! I challenge you!" she called out, pointing her spear
directly at his neck. She'd landed about five feet in front of him, the
distance she had estimated. Perfect.
"Sh-Shampoo!" he (the boy whom she assumed was Ranma) stuttered, "what
the
hell'd you do to your hair?"
"Shampoo, leave us alone!" Akane ordered.
How impertinent. They couldn't even take a challenge seriously. Very
well, then... A few quick movements and Ranma was down on his back, caught
off-
guard. She rammed the spearhead directly at his face, but he anticipated the
move, and her spear dove deep into the dirt, less than an inch from his
temple.
She felt her eyes widen as she realized she'd missed. Not missing a
beat,
she flipped over her spear, simultaneously pulling it out of the circular
hole
she'd made as she descended once more to the ground. Then, she turned back
to
look at the two. Ranma was only starting to get up, still stunned by the
sequence of events.
"You lose. I still standing. You weak, no good for husband. I tell
great-grandmother!" she said, and left in the direction of the NekoHanten,
sometimes running on the ground and sometimes leaping to the building tops.
Such disgrace must be kept out of the family...
* * *
"Did Shampoo just dump you?" Akane said incredulously.
"Don't ask me," Ranma said, rubbing the back of his sore head. That
Shampoo sure could bash people well. And the ground wasn't exactly the
softest
place to go banging your head into. "I just wish she'd go away; back to
China
or somethin'."
Something else smacked him from behind. It knocked him off balance, but
he was able to regain it, and turned around. Then, he was looking into
Shampoo's eyes. Their normal red-violet brightness was gone, and she was
definitely crying. Her mouth twitched into a pout.
"Ranma hate Shampoo that much?" she asked in between sobs.
He involuntarily took a step back and noticed a bonboris lying on the
ground. One of Shampoo's famous Chinese martial arts weapons, the so called
'double hammer.' Well, it was double when she had her other one out. It
must
have been what she'd thrown at him. Something about her was troubling him,
though...
"What's with your hair, Shampoo, and why did you attack me a few minutes
ago?"
"I no attack you, baka! Shampoo just finish delivery, and come visit.
Ranma no appreciate Shampoo, that is why hit you."
"No, no, before that," Ranma said.
"Don't you know how dangerous it is to use a spear? It's a long range
weapon! You could have hurt a bystander!" Akane told her.
"Spear? Shampoo no use spear, is bonboris." She pointed down at it for
added emphasis. Her forehead furrowed for a minute, but then her eyes
widened
much the same way they had before (or so Ranma thought), and she gasped.
"Is pink hair?" she asked Ranma and Akane, gesturing at her own.
"Yeah, your hair was a lot pinker before, now it's a darker purple,"
Ranma
answered.
"And you were wearing blue, not pink," Akane added.
"Shampoo go now," she said curtly, then leapt to the roof of the nearest
building. She was headed in the direction of the NekoHanten.
<Again?> Ranma thought. "Shampoo, wait!" he called, leaping after her.
"Bother. How did I get caught up in this?" Akane muttered to herself,
then began a pursuit by ground.
"Akane, come up here! It's faster!" Ranma called back down to her, after
a quick glance over his shoulder.
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm wearing a dress!" she yelled back.
"So what?"
"So I can't exactly go leaping around! It's called feminine modesty!
You
could stand to learn some!"
<Bah. Why should *I* learn about feminine modesty?> he thought to
himself. "Yeah? Well, no one wants to see your polka-dot panties anyway!"
"That does it!" she screamed, flinging her schoolbag at Ranma.
"Ahh, Tendo Akane, the sweet sound of thy youthful voice denouncing Ranma
is music to mine ears!"
Ranma stopped. He couldn't just leave her there to face Kuno alone. He
turned around and yelled, "Whadda ya think you're doing to Akane, you...!"
but
he stopped and never finished his sentence. The schoolbag hit him in the
face
midway through his next leap. He landed on the ground below Akane. By the
time
he brushed the dirt off his shirt and glanced around, Kuno was already flying
from Akane's kick, most likely to land in the next city.
"As if *you* care," Akane said scornfully. "I can take care of myself!"
"That's fine with me, next time I'll just leave you two alone. I'm going
to figure out this business with Shampoo."
Akane fumed and her face turned a slight shade redder. Somehow, Ranma
thought (ok, *knew*) that it wasn't a blush of embarrassment. "Ooh! Well,
then
I'm coming with you! I'm not letting you run off with Shampoo."
Ranma blinked. Run off with Shampoo? As if! That tomboy. She couldn't
be...jealous? He'd had the same thought many times before, but had brushed
it
off every single time. Yet, each time it resurfaced, the distinction was
greater, his doubt much higher. This time, the feeling was very hard to
fight
off. He was lucky that he was holding her schoolbag. She wouldn't have
anything to hit him with this way. She held out her arm, expecting to get it
back. He sighed and placed the handle in her outstretched hand.
"Thank you," she said. He could practically see icicles dripping from
her
words.
"Let's go, then," he said uncertainly.
* * *
By the time they got to the NekoHanten, Shampoo was out of sight. Of
course, they had been by the NekoHanten so often that Ranma or Akane could
find
it with their eyes closed. Then again, if Ranma happened to be particularly
hungry, he could probably find it with his nose instead of by memory.
Ranma slid open the door to the NekoHanten, a slightly out-of-breath
Akane
behind him. Shampoo was standing just inside, and he nearly crashed into her
in
his haste. Akane almost bumped into him, but when she saw him stop, she
raised
her hands to cushion the collision. Her hands landed on his back, and she
fairly bounced off of Ranma. He didn't seem to notice.
She was about to yell at Ranma, but something stopped her. That instant
her hands connected with back... It was brief, but she could feel the
well developed muscles rippling underneath that Chinese silk shirt of his.
The
fact surprised her, that his muscles were so incredibly toned...
She shook herself out of it. Why weren't Shampoo or Ranma saying
anything? A quick glance inside told her everything.
Shampoo was frozen, her head turned in the direction of a solitary table.
The NekoHanten was vacant, save the two figures sitting at the same table her
gaze fell upon.
Ranma was staring at the table too.
Akane followed their gazes, and saw Cologne and...
<Oh!>
A girl... A girl who looked exactly like Shampoo!
"Nihao, Jie-Jie," the girl said, apparently directing her words to
Shampoo.
"Nihao, Mei-Mei," Shampoo replied.
" 'Jie-Jie?' 'Mei-Mei?' What do those words mean, Shampoo?" Ranma
asked.
Shampoo didn't reply.
Cologne sighed. " 'Jie-Jie' means O-nee-chan, or 'older sister'," she
explained.
"So... 'Mei-Mei' means 'younger sister'?" Ranma guessed.
"Why, what a very smart boy you are, muku-dono," Cologne said, her voice
echoing with pride. She was watching Ranma, so only Shampoo, Ranma, and
Akane
saw the girl's wince and her eyes narrow at the word 'muku-dono'.
Apparently,
she had something against Cologne's maternal nickname for Ranma: 'son-in-law'.
Shampoo seethed with contempt for the girl. "Mao, ni wei shen ma lai de?"
"In Japanese, Great-granddaughter, Japanese!" Cologne scolded.
"Neko, why you come?" Shampoo said instead.
"Neko?" the girl asked.
" 'Neko' shi Mao," Cologne explained to the girl in Chinese. "So your
name is Neko in Japanese."
"Hao," Neko replied.
"Hai," Cologne corrected.
Neko pounded her fist on the table and spewed off Mandarin at a rapid
pace.
"If Neko no can learn Japanese, Neko go home," Shampoo ordered.
"Whoa, talk about sibling rivalry..." Ranma whispered to Akane.
"No kidding..." Akane whispered back.
"Neko learn," the girl vowed.
"Neko no can learn. Is too hard for *weakling*," Shampoo said.
"Neko can learn better than Shampoo!" she retorted.
"Well... Maybe we should be going..." Ranma said, trying to pull Akane
through the door.
"Why? Neko should meet her future brother-in-law," Cologne said.
Neko fumed silently.
"What's going on here?" Ranma heard Mousse say from the hallway before he
entered the restaurant's dining area. Oh, yay. More Chinese greetings.
"M-mao! Why are you here?" Mousse said.
Neko's eyes brightened when she saw Mousse, but then she quickly looked
away. She couldn't let Shampoo see... She *wouldn't* let Shampoo see...
But Cologne hadn't missed it.
"Neko just come from China," Neko explained, "Come see o-nee-chan and
great-grandmother."
"But why?"
"Neko miss family."
Shampoo snorted at the word 'family'. "Ranma, you leave. We stay talk.
No want to you two hear. Is 'family' business."
"Just tell me one thing..." Ranma said. Akane's brow furrowed. What did
Ranma want to ask her?
"Ne?" Shampoo said.
"Is Neko *really* your sister? I mean, after RinRin and RanRan, I'm not
really sure who's related. Maybe you guys *all* look alike."
"Hmph. Not quite, muku-dono," Cologne said, "Neko *is* her sister.
Moreover, she is Shampoo's twin."
"Holy--!" Ranma started.
"We should really get going, Ranma..." Akane hissed.
"Perhaps I was mistaken. It really would be best if you left, muku-dono.
Sibling rivalry is best kept away from outsiders. No offense, of course,"
Cologne said to Ranma.
"None taken," he replied lightly, and the two left.
After they had left, Shampoo turned back to Neko. "Why you really come?
Shampoo no need weakling sister to come ruin wedding with Ranma."
"Luan Ma is no good for Shampoo. Is he who is weakling," Neko stated.
"Aiya, use Japanese, good-for-nothing sister! Is not 'Luan Ma', is
*Ranma*," Shampoo said, exasperated.
"Take it easy on her, Shampoo. Please. Mao--I mean, Neko--hasn't been
in
Japan as long as you have," Mousse said.
"What you care, Mousse?" she replied coldly
"Come, now, Grandchild, don't be so harsh on your sister. She claims to
have trained extra-hard since we left China and the village."
Sister is disgrace to family."
Neko stood up, slamming both her palms down on the table. The sound
shocked both Shampoo and Mousse, but Cologne kept her cool. The table
visibly
bent underneath the pressure, and it almost regained its former shape.
Almost.
It was slightly U-shaped now.
"Is he who is disgrace! Neko fight him. He lose! No can marry such
weak
male, will ruin bloodlines of village!" Neko argued.
"No. Shampoo strongest Amazon of village, Shampoo lose to Ranma.
Shampoo
marry Ranma. Is law."
"Ranma not worthy of Shampoo. Is only one man worthy Shampoo," Neko
replied.
"Is only Ranma!" Shampoo's pink battle aura began to swirl around her.
"Mousse only man worthy Shampoo!" Neko's battle aura began to make itself
seen, but it was purple rather than Shampoo's pink.
"What?!" Shampoo yelled, her ki still growing. "Never! Shampoo beat
Mousse many time!"
"Is true," Neko said. "Mousse can beat Shampoo. Neko know."
"How you know?"
"Mousse never attack Shampoo with full strength. Mousse love Shampoo.
Mousse no can bear to hurt Shampoo. Mousse rather see Shampoo happy with
Ranma
than sad with Mousse."
Mousse's eyes widened behind his thick lenses. What Neko said made
sense.
Though it pained him to see Shampoo in Ranma's arms, it gave him joy to know
Shampoo was happy. Only that bastard Saotome didn't appreciate--*couldn't*
appreciate Shampoo. If only he would open his eyes see what a wonderful
fianc�e
he had, the beautiful, purple-haired goddess...
No.
He would never let Shampoo be won by Ranma. He would rather die a
thousand deaths than see the two of them in love. Letting him near
Shampoo was enough. Letting him see Shampoo, letting him converse with her
as
friends... Even that pushed the line. Never.
"Deep in heart, Mousse no can hurt Shampoo. He not know, Shampoo
not know, but Neko can see. Neko can see!" Neko grabbed her spear, which
had
been lying on an table. "Neko prove Ranma no good for husband!" With that,
she
ran out the door.
"Finally, stupid sister gone," Shampoo snorted, but regretted her words
as
soon as she'd said them. It wasn't that she hated her sister, no... It was
just... Her sister didn't know what it meant to be an Amazon. Argh, she
couldn't even explain it to herself. Her sister just wasn't up to her
standards, that was all...
* * *
Neko raced along the streets of Nerima, tears flowing down her
cheeks.
She'd tried so hard to follow Shampoo here, only to become ostracized by her
family once more. It wasn't like it was so bad to marry Mousse rather than
Ranma, was it? After all, Ranma was an outsider to their village.
She noticed that the ditch she'd been following had expanded, and there
was a grassy bank above the concrete that lined it. A nice place to go and
contemplate what had happened, or to ponder about what she should do next.
She
sat down on the soft grass, her spear next to her. The tears still rolled
down
her cheeks unheeded.
"Neko..." a voice said from behind her. She recognized it.
"Mousse, why you follow?" she replied.
"Neko, why did you follow us here?" he asked instead.
"Answer Neko question first!"
"Does it really matter?"
Neko was silent.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to chide you. I'm not here to pick on you,
either. I was just worried, that's all."
"Why Mousse worry Neko? Mousse love Shampoo."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Neko tried to hold back the tears, willing them to stop. Mousse sat down
next to her.
"You're really trying to help me marry Shampoo?" he asked.
Neko nodded. The tears had finally ceased their endless flow. "Ranma no
good for Shampoo. Shampoo marry Mousse. Mousse stronger Ranma."
"How do you know?" Mousse asked. "He's always beaten me before."
"Mousse defeated-- Neko beat Ranma." Neko hoped he hadn't heard the
correction in her sentence.
But he had. "You still remember?"
"I not forget."
"It was an accident."
Then they both fell silent, both their thoughts returning to an event
long
ago... Though they remembered the same occurrence, each did so from their
own
point of view.
It wasn't hard for Mousse to see how it happened. Yes, Neko and Shampoo
were twins, and yet, they were so very different. Where Shampoo had excelled
in
combat, Neko had lagged behind, and vice versa. When Neko chose to learn the
straight sword first, Shampoo immediately chose the broadsword instead. When
Shampoo had chosen the staff, Neko had chosen the spear. Their sibling
rivalry
was well known throughout the entire village.
So when he became infatuated with Sha-- no, wait, make that 'fell in love
with' -- Shampoo, Neko was immediately jealous of the attention. It wasn't
that
she loved him, no... She just wanted to be able to do the same thing Shampoo
did. Scorn males whom she felt were not worthy, would never be worthy. Neko
wanted to feel special like Shampoo. She wanted to know that she was good
enough to win many suitors, but also wanted suitors that were not good enough
for her. Her self-esteem had been killed by Shampoo.
Not to mention Cologne.
Mousse had hung around their family long enough to know who
Cologne's favorite was. She was always trying to help Shampoo, always
calling
her 'Great-granddaughter' or simply 'Granddaughter'. He'd never once heard
Cologne refer to Neko as a granddaughter, rarely even calling her by her
name.
She was only known to Cologne as "Shampoo's sister."
And then there was that terrible accident...
It was after Shampoo and Cologne had left for Japan; Shampoo's second
trip. Of course, they had refrained from telling him where they were going
so
he wouldn't follow. So when he visited Shampoo, he hadn't known that only
Neko
remained...
"I challenge you!" he'd called out as soon as he saw a person whom he'd
thought was Shampoo.
The girl had rushed at him, answering his dare, and a long battle ensued.
He was punched, kicked, but he could feel his own strikes getting through.
It
wasn't until he began to tire, when he was sure he would lose that he
realized
he would be defeated by Shampoo again. No. He couldn't let that happen. As
much as it pained him to see Shampoo hurt, he would win. He *had* to win.
"Forgive me, Shampoo!" he'd cried, and launched his yo-yo in her general
direction.
"Shampoo?" he heard the girl say before the yo-yo hit her squarely in the
forehead.
He didn't hear anything else, and he realized he must have K.O.'d
Shampoo. A great feeling of joy spread from his heart and set his whole
being
aflame. The thought of winning, of knowing Shampoo was now his, nothing
could
compare to it...
Except the feeling of utter despair when he'd put on his glasses
to examine Shampoo's wounds.
It wasn't Shampoo lying there.
It was Neko.