The Importance of Rules
By: Taiteki Kagato
Chapter 2


Ukyo Kuonji stared at the cute creature she had found outside her restaurant. 
It stared back at her for a moment, before looking around curiously. 

"I Bet you'd like something to eat, huh?" She asked it, walking over to the 
stove. A minute later, there before the creature was an okonomiyaki with 
'cute' dribbled across it in sauce. It grinned in an ultra-cute way, before 
devouring the meal rapidly. Ukyo just grinned, and turned to look at the 
time. Nine thirty. 

"Ran-chan is probably about that hungry, as well.. especially if Akane cooked 
this evening. Want to go visit him?" She asked, picking the little creature 
up. It burped softly, and she chuckled before turning to the grill and 
cooking a couple okonomiyaki for Ranma. When she was done, she strapped on 
her battle-spatula, and walked out the door, locking it behind her. 

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

Dr. Tofu stared at the creature held before him with one raised eyebrow. In 
the darkened room, he couldn't see as well as he would have under the 
fluorescent bulbs, but what he saw did warrant a reaction of some kind. He'd 
seen a lot of weird things in Nerima, mostly after Genma and Ranma's arrival, 
so the new creature he was faced with didn't worry him so much as pique his 
curiosity. 

"That's Cute, Akane, but what is it?"
"It's a Mogwai.. I don't know what they are, but you have to help him! He's 
hurt!"
"What seems to be wrong with him?"

Akane started to question the Doctor's vision, when she realized that M-chan 
had stopped squealing and flailing, and was now trembling, something that 
could easily be attributed to the way she was flailing her arms around with 
him in them. 

"Umm.. well, Ranma, the idiot, threw hot water on him. He started to squeal 
and squirm, so I thought it best that I bring him here for you to take a look 
at him."
"Oh? Hot water? So Ranma thought this was someone with a Jusenkyo Curse, 
maybe?"
"I.. Umm... I guess that might have been it. But he didn't have to be so 
Cruel about it!" She replied, trying to reassure herself that her fiancee was 
sadistic towards all her pets.

Dr. Tofu nodded, thinking about the Creature- 'Mogwai' Akane had called it, 
and setting the matter of her temper aside for the moment. It was cute, 
disarmingly so, and seemed to be worried, or upset about something. Figuring 
it couldn't hurt any, he reached out for it's aura, hoping to see if that 
could tell him anything. What he saw surprised him. It's aura was seething 
violently.

"Akane, how upset would you say it acted when splashed with hot water?"

"Umm.. it was squealing loudly, and squirming in pain. I thought it was 
dying. That's why I brought him here."

Dr. Tofu thought on that, and decided to try something out. He went over to 
the sink, and filled a glass with hot water. Seeing this, Akane crabbed 
M-chan and hid him behind her body. 

"What are you doing?" she cried, incredulously. Dr. Tofu Started for a 
moment, before setting the glass of water down on the examination table. 

"I wanted to see how the hot water affected it's aura. I wasn't going to 
splash him, Akane." He said, soothingly.
"Oh." She said, setting M-chan back onto the operating table. Dr. Tofu slid 
the glass of water towards the Mogwai, and watched it's aura in amazement. 

For the most part, the creatures aura acted as any other would when 
approached by a solid, inanimate object. It stayed still. But tiny threads of 
it's aura, hundreds, it looked like, seemed to reach out for the glass, only 
to collapse back into the Mogwai's main aura before reaching out again. Dr. 
Tofu stared, then turned to Akane. 

"This creature's aura is amazing. If I-" He was cut of by a voice from the 
waiting room.

"Yo! Akane? Dr. Tofu? Ya in here?" 
"We're back here, Ranma." Dr. Tofu called, looking towards the hallway. Ranma 
entered a moment later carrying another Mogwai.

"Akane! What were you thinking, dropping your new... pet..." He trailed off, 
seeing M-chan sitting at the table staring uncomfortably at the glass of 
water.

"Another one?" he asked, softly. 

***********

Ukyo approached the Tendo Dojo happily, her new friend holding on tightly as 
she hopped from rooftop to rooftop. Kasumi was the first to see her when she 
landed inside the yard, and called out a greeting.

"Good evening, Ukyo. Ranma isn't here right now. Would you like to wait.. Oh! 
Did Ranma give you M-chan to bring back here?" She asked, spotting the Mogwai 
on Ukyo's shoulder.

"M-chan? Umm.. no. I found this little guy outside my shop, and thought he'd 
make a good pet." Ukyo was disappointed to learn that Ranma wasn't there, but 
was confused by Kasumi's apparent knowledge of her new pet. "Do you know what 
this is?" she asked Kasumi.

"It's a Mogwai. Ranma gave Akane one as a pet this evening, and an... 
accident involving the pet created an emergency resulting in Ranma and 
Akane's absence." Nabiki said from the doorway behind Kasumi. "Are there any 
more by your restaurant?" she asked, a tinge of hope in her voice.

"Not that I know of. Though, I didn't really bother to look." Ukyo responded, 
wondering what kind of accident would cause them to run off together. She 
also frowned at the thought of Ranma giving Akane a pet, but not her, despite 
the fact that she now had a Mogwai of her own. "Do you know where Ran-chan 
got his? Maybe there are more there." Ukyo said, thinking about where her 
fiance was.

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

Shampoo walked into the Nekohanten, cute-creature hugged firmly to her (also 
firm) chest. It growled softly, and wiggled in her hold, but Shampoo just 
giggled softly at it's silly antics. 

"Great-grandmother! Shampoo home!" She called, wishing she could speak in 
Chinese, but feeling an imaginary wooden walking stick against her skull for 
even thinking about it. 
"Shampoo! You're home! Now we can get married and-" Mousse was silenced as he 
ran straight into a support post and knocked himself out. The Mogwai, 
watching, stared at the now-unconcious boy. 
"Stupid Mousse. No see post, just like no see truth!" She said, setting the 
Mogwai on the counter before heading back, calling for her great grandmother. 


The Mogwai looked around, before staring down at the boy, now stirring on the 
floor. Mousse slowly climbed to his feet, and looked around for a moment, 
before scowling. 
"That bastard Saotome's behind this, I know it. Nobody puts a post in the 
middle of a restaurant!" He cried. Then he turned to the Mogwai on the 
counter, and nodded. "I'll be back later, Old ghoul. I've got to go punish 
Saotome for humiliating me and trying to steal away my Shampoo!"

Stripe sweatdropped as Mousse disappeared into the night.

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

Tatewaki Kuno approached his household, talking rapidly to his new best 
friend. 
"-cur Saotome to release the tigress and goddess, but would he yield? No! 
like some stubborn child refusing to give up his seat to deserving betters, 
the vice sorcerer retains his dark hold over those that I would set free of 
his unholy bonds." 

"Brother, is that you?" A voice called from the garden. 
"Yes, twisted sister-o-mine, tis I, the Blue Th-"
"Spare me your pathetic self-given titles and give me the food for Mr. Turtle 
you went to pick up."
"..." Kuno looked down at the Mogwai who was apparently trying to tear it's 
rather large ears off. Then he looked at the doorway right as Kodachi walked 
in. Spying the creature in his arms immediately, she frowned. 
"That's it? Mr. Turtle needs a meal, not an appetizer!" She rolled her eyes 
at her brothers stupidity, and snatched the creature from his hands with her 
ribbon. 
"Unhand Chibi-Thunder!" Kuno cried, swinging at his sister with his bokken. 
"Ha! Growing attached to Mr. Turtle's food? Go play with the meal I made for 
you, instead, brother dear."
"Why don't you feed your poisons to your pet, instead, you pompous cheat!" 
Chibi-Thunder was wailing as he was swung around the garden madly, attached 
to a Kodachi's ribbon.
"Don't you hear how my pet doth pine for the care of it's rightful owner? 
Chibi-Thunder, I will save you!" Kuno cried, only to be hit in the face with 
a Gymnastics pin in the face. 
"Save this." Kodachi said, flinging the Mogwai into the pond.

Both siblings stared at the pond in shock a moment later.

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

Ryouga was lost, again. His traveling companion was sleeping in his backpack, 
so Ryouga didn't want to wake him by cursing Ranma aloud. Ryouga shrugged, 
and started walking again, not noticing the shimmer of his surroundings as he 
walked from one Tokyo to another.

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

Ranma and Akane walked towards their home, both Mogwai being carried 
carefully in their arms. After leaving Dr. Tofu's office (A Mogwai of his own 
coming from Ranma's) they'd hurried home, to tell their family the news. 
Apparently, as well as not liking bright light, a Mogwai would, when watered, 
produce more, though how that depended on the amount of water was yet to be 
seen. 

"So... you didn't do that on purpose, Ranma?" Akane asked.
"I've already told you! I thought it was cursed! Would you like it if you had 
a curse, and someone decided you'd make a good pet? I kno-" Ranma stopped as 
he thought about what he'd just said. Then began to laugh.
"Of course not! and stop laughing, you jerk. You might hurt N-Chan!" 
"N-Chan?" Ranma asked, slowing.
"Yeah.. after 'M' comes 'N', so I figured.." Ranma stopped as Akane said 
this, and she turned to look at him. "What?"
"... Nabiki got all the brains in the family, didn't she?" Ranma asked, 
staring at Akane.
"..." She gently set M-chan down on a nearby Trashcan lid, patting him on the 
head, and smiling at him sweetly. "Stay here for a moment, M-chan." She then 
walked over to Ranma, and took N-Chan, setting him down beside M-chan. Then 
she turned to Ranma. 
"RANMA YOU ASS!" She screamed, punting him over the fence, and into the Canal 
with a swift kick. A moment later, Onna-Ranma popped up, her face not having 
changed (expression-wise) from the one she'd been staring at Akane blankly 
with before being kicked. 

Authors Notes: And another one done and gone! Boy, I'm going to regret 
writing this at work, tomorrow. I'll see what I can do about getting the next 
one out.. there are really fun to write, because I can change from serious to 
silly and back again, thanks to the nature of both storylines. Now if only I 
could get Tannim back so we could work on Selves Inserted while I'm feeling 
so.. productive...l



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