Cat Fist Fury

Disclaimer: Ranma  was the brainchild of Rumiko Takahashi. I think 
that says it all.

< >: Thoughts
<" ">: Chinese language

                           Chapter 13
                           Tiger Hunt

     It was a quiet afternoon in the streets of downtown Tokyo. 
Citizens were going about their own business and to a casual 
observer, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Then a huge roar 
was heard in the distance and the people on the streets all turned 
their heads at the sound. A huge black shape came down from the 
top of the roof of a three-story building, and began bounding over 
passing cars and across the pavement. Citizens screamed in terror 
and scattered as they got a close look at the infamous Tokyo Tiger. 
The huge cat ignored the terrified masses as it raced through the 
streets, hoping to lose its pursuers. Going at an average velocity of 
80 mph, it sped through the streets like a runaway freight train, 
bowling over pedestrians and almost overturning a few of the smaller 
cars in its wake.
     Unfortunately for the transformed Neko Ken fighter, the Amazons 
were nothing if not persistent. Shampoo and the others had 
discovered early on that chasing Ranma flat out was not possible, so 
they all split up and tried to intercept him as he made various twists, 
turns and reversals. Every time he got away from one of the warrior 
females, there would be another coming at him. Their endurance was 
not to be believed! It would only be a matter of time before Ranma ran 
out of places to flee.
     "Kojiro, no go!" Brush and Comb said together as they launched a 
barrage of arrows and throwing stars, hoping to slow him down.
     Ranma leapt over the missiles as they sliced through fixtures and 
signs. He made a sharp turn into an alley and then had to make an 
about-face as he sighted Shampoo running toward him from the other
side.
     "Wait for Shampoo, Airen!"
     Go away! Ranma was getting desperate as he ran toward another 
alley. However, this was where Conditioner was waiting for him. She 
had prepared a large, weighted, metallic net that was suspended forty 
feet above street level. As soon as Ranma ran over the tripwire, the 
trap was sprung.
     Fortunately for Ranma, unfortunately for Shampoo, he had caught 
sight of the falling net out of the corner of his right eye. With a 
mighty leap, he cleared the net before it could trap him. The metallic 
mesh instead caught Shampoo, who shouted out a few choice 
Chinese swear words to her sister warrior and rival.
     Conditioner was far from done though. She had prepared several 
backup traps just in case the first one failed. She had hidden several 
snares on the other side of the alley that would catch Ranma by the 
legs had have him spread like an eagle. The saber-toothed cat just 
barely managed to avoid the first three snares but his right hind leg 
got caught by the fourth one.
     Ranma let off a roar as he found himself being pulled upward. 
Digging his front paws and claws into the concrete, he desperately 
tried to keep himself from being hoisted. Looking over his shoulder, 
he saw that the rope that had his leg tied was connected to a winch-
like device. Conditioner was gleefully cranking the handle as she 
smiled at her captured prey.
     "Aiya! Conditioner catch very big fish, yes?" The Amazon was 
elated that all the hard work and days of preparing the trap had paid 
off. It was then that she was grabbed from behind by a familiar and 
very misguided suitor of Shampoo's.
     "Shampoo!" Mousse glomped onto Conditioner, thinking that it 
was his beloved. He had been following the girls to make certain that 
his intended bride would not be the one to give Ranma the Kiss of 
Marriage.
     "I NOT SHAMPOO!!!" 
     WHAM!
     Mousse was sent up like a ballistic missile. 
     Meanwhile, Ranma's rage had begun to reach new heights. His 
eyes glowed with a crimson light as he focused on the rope that was 
holding him fast. With a loud roar, he cut loose with twin beams of 
hot chi energy. The rope was burned through in an instant, and 
Conditioner's joy at catching him and belting Mousse was short-
lived as she suddenly realized that her quarry was free and angry.
     Ranma leapt at her and the Amazon closed her eyes and braced 
herself. However, hurting her was not Ranma's intent, though he was 
sorely tempted. Instead, he soared over her and ran back into the 
alley, bowling over the still trapped Shampoo in the process. Brush 
and Comb were also knocked off their feet as the huge feline barreled 
into them.
     "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"
     Both sisters looked up at the scream and yelped as Mousse 
landed on top of them.
     CRASH!
     Just as Ranma got out of the alley, something landed on his back 
and gripped his sides like a vise. Then something looped around his 
neck an pulled, causing him to rear back like an angry stallion.
     Bubbles shouted out in triumph as she pulled back on the leather 
thongs and clamped down hard with her thighs. Ranma began 
thrashing about, trying to throw her off his back but the warrior 
female was determined to hold on.
     The energetic redhead was ecstatic. The tiger was trying its best 
to buck her off and it reminded her of that gaijin movie she saw on 
television. The hero rode a white horse and had a mask. She wished 
she had a cowboy hat as she waved with her hand and shouted out, 
"YEEEEEEEHAAAAAA!!!"
     Meanwhile, the leather thongs were beginning to tighten and 
Ranma felt himself losing consciousness. He had to do something 
fast. Spotting a nearby store that had its large front doors was open, 
he dashed toward it with a sudden burst of speed and leapt, aiming 
for the space just below the top of the door. Bubbles was caught off 
guard at the sudden acceleration and was thrown backward. 
However, her grip on the thongs was enough to keep her from losing 
her grip on the tiger. When she straightened herself up, she eeped as 
she saw the door of the store rushing toward her. She only had about 
a moment's contemplation when she observed that the top of the 
door frame was about a couple of feet too low.
     WHAM!
     Bubbles lost her grip on the makeshift reins as her face and upper 
body slammed into the top of the door. She was more than a bit dazed 
as she slid down to the ground. The images of stars and birdies 
flutter around her head. Ranma raced through the store and smashed 
through the back wall. In his wake, shoppers had to dive for cover as 
the huge beast caused shelves to be overturned and merchandise to 
be scattered. He was about a few hundred yards away before the 
Amazons began to give chase again. After pummeling Mousse into 
unconsciousness, they sprinted after their prize. 
     About three miles from the chaos, two practitioners of the 
Anything Goes Martial Arts were huffing and puffing near a 
convenience store. They had tried early on to keep up with the 
Amazons and their prey, but it was clear from the beginning that they 
had nowhere near the stamina of the younger girls. Genma Saotome 
was sweating like a pig and his friend Soun Tendo was about ready 
to fall flat on his face from exhaustion. Five seconds later, they both 
toppled over and made audible splat noises on the concrete.
     "Huff puff wheeze! Gasp!" Genma was in a little better 
physical condition than his friend as he had been training with 
Ranma before his son's accident at Jusenkyo. However, age and poor 
eating habits had taken away much of his endurance. Long-distance 
running was not one of his strong points. Short, fast getaways were 
more his specialty. 
     Soun Tendo looked like he was dead from the effort as he moaned 
in exhaustion. "S-S-Saotome huff maybe we should have 
pant thought this out a bit more huff.
     "You said  it Tendo. That boy's definitely too fast to catch 
like this. So what should we do?"
     "Just give a moment to catch my breath."
     In another part of town, an old man was cackling with glee while 
doing what he did best. His face was covered up in a handkerchief 
that was tied below his nose. On his back was a huge sack that was 
filled with stolen women's underwear. The little gnome bounded over 
rooftops, snatching more of the lacy articles of clothing from their 
wash lines to add to his collection.
     "Woo hoo! What a haul! What a haul!"
     Happosai was in fine form as he relieved the bras, panties and 
other women's unmentionables of their owners. With quick motions, 
the underwear were off their lines and stuffed into his sack in mere 
moments. Many of those times, the owners of said undergarments 
would emerge screaming from their homes and give chase. This was 
one of those times. However, Happosai didn't become the underwear 
thief extraordinaire he was by being so easy to catch. As of now, he 
was leading an angry horde of women down the streets at a 
breakneck pace. The crowds of enraged females were brandishing 
brooms, rolling pins, frying pans, clubs and other various blunt 
instruments in their hopes of catching up with the ancient pervert 
and pummeling him into a red smear. Coincidentally, the path of their 
chase was heading on a collision course with another chase. A chase 
that involved five Amazons and a saber-toothed tiger.
     Ranma put on a burst of added speed and managed to increase the 
distance between himself and his unwanted Amazon huntresses. 
When he looked over his shoulder to check to see if he was still 
being followed, he neglected to watch where he was going.
     At the same time, Happosai was rubbing a pair of pink, satin 
panties against his cheek while running. "Ah! How sweet it is!" His 
eyes were closed in bliss as he casually increased his speed to 
outrun his pursuers.
     WHAM!
     "What the heck?!"
     Happosai was so absorbed in his newfound treasures that he was 
taken totally by surprise as a large black shape slammed into him like 
a truck. The old master went flying into the air as his sack was torn 
open and his ill-gotten loot went everywhere. The various 
undergarments came fluttering down like a light snowfall and the 
thing that had run into Happosai stopped to look around.
     <Huh? Just what the heck did I run into?> Ranma looked around 
for whatever or whomever he had just collided with. He had 
temporarily given the Amazons the slip and decided to pause to see if 
he hadn't caused any serious injury to an innocent bystander.
     Happosai may have been a bystander in this case, but he was far 
from innocent. The ancient lecher landed on his face with an audible 
splat. He groaned as he got up with rage. Who would dare interfere 
with his hobby? Seeing all of his treasures go flying everywhere, 
Happosai was ready to deal out punishment to whoever was foolish 
enough to tangle with him. 
     "Oh no! My silky treasures! All right! Who did that? I'll uh oh!" 
The remaining words died in his throat when caught sight of what 
had run into him. Standing before him in a low crouch, ready to 
spring was the biggest and meanest-looking alley cat that he ever 
saw.
     <Whoa! He's a LOT bigger than Genma had described!> Happosai 
became very aware of the two huge fangs, the muscular and powerful 
body, and the large paws that each housed a wicked set of claws. 
This was no pussycat.
     "So you are Ranma? Genma's son?"
     Ranma's eyes widened in shock at the sound at the mention of his 
father's name and his own. <Huh? Who is this guy? How does he 
know about Pops? How does he know I'm Ranma?>
     Happosai noted the tiger's body tensing up and knew that he 
definitely had the right cat. He could also sense the animal's aura and 
it made him nervous. <Yes the boy has definitely gone through the 
Neko Ken training and it looks like his cursed form is AMPLIFYING 
IT!> Ranma's chi energy was incredibly focused and radiated enough 
power to make even the grandmaster of the Anything Goes Martial 
Arts become edgy. The old pervert's body shivered a bit as he 
remembered the rumors of what a Neko Ken fighter was capable of. 
Ranma was far more dangerous than what he had expected of 
someone who had been trained by that idiot Genma.
     For Ranma, he was very surprised to encounter someone as 
diminutive as the Amazon matriarches, yet possessed just as much 
power. His aura was nothing to sneeze at. He also noted the scattered 
undergarments and how this troll referred to them as his silky 
treasures. <So this is that underwear thief that Kai told me about. 
Happosai of the Anything Goes Martial Arts.> Since Happosai 
usually raided the areas near Furinkan and Himoto was quite some 
distance away, Ranma had never encountered the lecher before. 
     Before the two could make any move, Ranma's superior hearing 
caught the shouts of angered women that were approaching from a 
few hundred meters away.
     "He went this way!"
     "Get him!"
     "We'll get that underwear thief this time!"
     "He's not getting away!"
     Ranma knew that now was the time to get away. He could already 
see that the Amazons in the distance. Giving the old lecher one final 
glance, he leapt up toward a nearby rooftop, then bounded away.
     Happosai however, was not as quick to his own escape. Still 
enthralled by the sight of the saber-tooth, he lingered a few moments 
longer than he should have. It was then that he remembered that his 
stolen haul of women's underwear was still scattered around the 
street. It wouldn't do for him to leave his silky treasures behind, after 
all the trouble he went through to er, rescue them from their 
clotheslines.
     Unfortunately for him, Happosai's perversion was to be his 
downfall for this day. Just as he desperately started to pick up his 
loot, the hordes of angered women were upon him. Their instruments 
of violence were brought to bear on the bane of everyone's 
existence.
     WHAMMO! "OW!" CLANG! "HOLD ON! OUCH! NOW WAIT A MINUTE!" 
POW! "YOW! OUCHIE! NOT THERE! OW! OW! OW!" BOOT! WHAM! 
WHAM! WHAM! WHAP! CLONG! 
     Things were made even worse for Happosai when the Amazons 
arrived at the scene and saw the enemy of their tribe. Not one to miss 
such a golden opportunity, they entered the fray. Temporarily 
forgetting their own mission to catch Ranma, they began to deal out 
their own share of retribution on the ancient lecher.
     "HUH? WHERE DID YOU LOVELIES COME FROM? HOTCHA! COME 
TO HAPPY!" FFFFTTT! THOK! "HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE AIMING 
THOSE THINGS!" WHAM! "YOWZA!" WHOMP! SLASH! "WHOA! 
CUT IT OUT!" SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! "THAT'S NOT WHAT I 
MEANT!" WHAM! MANGLE! CRUSH! "YOW! OUCHIE! NOW THAT 
WAS A LOW BLOW!" 
     KICK!!!!
     Happosai's voice became high and squeaky. "I take it back. THAT 
was a low blow."
     It was then that a combined attack of kicks, swings and uppercuts 
by all the women present, sent the greatest evil in all of Japan on a 
one-way ticket to the upper stratosphere.
     About a hundred meters away, a shadowy figure grinned as he 
watched Happosai become airborne. He then looked down at the 
streets and could see the distant form of Ranma's tiger shape race off 
toward the horizon.
     <Hmmm, very interesting! So the rumors were true. Another has 
appeared. Well, it's been some time since I went up against someone 
who knew the Neko Ken. The others were quite pathetic, yet this one 
could prove to be a challenge to me. Yes, he might be very 
entertaining.>
     In another part of town, a cloaked figure also looked up and saw 
the distant dot that was Happosai soaring toward the heavens. He 
then shrugged as the ancient lecher was too far up to be recognized. 
However, he did have serious business with the master of the 
Anything Goes Martial Arts. He looked down at a scrap of paper that 
had the address of the Tendo dojo written on it.
     <Soon Happosai! I shall have my vengeance against you!>

     Ranma, in his human form, huffed and panted his way into his 
apartment. He didn't know why those Amazons had suddenly 
stopped in their pursuit of him, but he wasn't about to look a gift 
horse in the mouth. The run through Tokyo while evading both the 
Amazons and their traps had left him totally exhausted. He just made 
it to his bedroom when he fell face first onto the bed and promptly fell 
asleep.

The very next morning
     Ranma was just finishing his breakfast when the news reports on 
the television caught his attention. He sighed as he saw that his 
appearance as the Tokyo Tiger yesterday had once again caused a 
media sensation. He also became interested at a report that 
concerned a riot and its connection to the mysterious Underwear 
Thief of the Nerima district.
     <Mysterious my butt. That was Happosai all right. From what Kai 
and Sodan had told me about him, he was the same guy I ran into 
yesterday. But the big question is, how did he know my name? In cat 
form to boot! I mean, nobody knows my real name except Ucchan. 
Everyone else knows me as Kojiro Shinkara. And nobody in Tokyo 
besides Ucchan knows about my transforming powers. Who could 
have told Happosai that I'm?>
     Ranma's face went pale as he realized that there was only one 
other person who would know about his secret. <Oh no! It can't be 
him! I left him in China a year ago! Damn it! I should have known that 
he'd eventually come back to Japan. And since Happosai lives at the 
Tendo dojo, then that means that Pops must be there as well. He 
must have told him and the rest of the Tendo family. Great! Just 
great! Okay, calm down. Let's think this through. One, he probably 
has told them that his son has been cursed to turn into a tiger, but he 
doesn't know that I can change back. Two, he doesn't know that I've 
been using the name of Kojiro Shinkara. Three, they don't know 
where I live or work. Okay now let's look at the bad points. One, 
they do know that a saber-toothed tiger has been running around 
Tokyo. Two, Pops has probably told them about the Neko Ken 
training and people already know that I use that fighting style. 
Three there's Nabiki.> Ranma was already aware of the interest the 
middle Tendo daughter had in him. He had known all along whenever 
Nabiki's spies had tried to tail him. Of course he always managed to 
ditch them. However, Akane's sister was nothing if not persistent. 
She had been asking around a lot for any information about him and 
her numerous questions during the time that Ranma had visited their 
home had made him wary. Then he also remembered that his friend 
Kai had sold many copies of the videotape of the No Holds Barred 
Tournament. Even though he was taller and more muscled than 
before he had come to Jusenkyo, Ranma had no doubt that Genma 
would recognize him if he were ever to see that tape. Fighting styles 
were like fingerprints, and he did tend to fall back on his old training 
in the Anything Goes. His father would recognize his son's moves 
and confirm his identity.
     Knowing Nabiki, she would probably start some kind of blackmail 
scheme on him, since many of her inquiries were about how much 
money he had. He knew that Nabiki had the sharpest mind in the 
family and if anyone could figure out his true identity, it would be 
her. And once his identity was out in the open, all the troubles that 
were connected to the name of Ranma Saotome would come down on 
him like an avalanche. He wasn't concerned with old enemies like 
Ryoga, since he had already proved his fighting superiority at the 
tournament. If he had to, he could always use Ryoga's little secret to 
keep him in line. However, the various engagements that Genma had 
set up would come looking for him. Not to mention the many shops 
and businesses that the old man had conned, using him as collateral. 
He shuddered at the thought. 
     Ranma was at a loss over what to do, as he had never really 
planned for the possibility that his father might find him again. For 
now, he would have to keep on his guard and cross whatever bridges 
as he came to them.
     Meanwhile at the Tendo dojo, Nabiki was smiling triumphantly as 
she showed her sisters and the two returned fathers the videotape of 
Ranma in action at the No Holds Barred Tournament. Of course, she 
charged both her father and his friend five thousand yen for them to 
see it.
     "That's him! That's Ranma all right!" Genma said with triumph. His 
son may be a lot taller and more muscular than he last remembered, 
but there were no mistaking the telltale signs of the Anything Goes 
fighting maneuvers. The fat panda had spent more than nine years 
training the boy until those moves had become a second nature to 
him. 
     Kasumi watched with fascination at the images of Ranma as he 
soundly defeated each of his opponents. The way his muscular, yet 
lean body moved with uncanny grace and speed. The sheer strength 
as he threw people over his head like rag dolls. The maneuvers he 
used to win each match were poetry in motion. Coupled with the fact 
that he emitted a kind of wild, feral aura that seemed to radiate 
sensuality and power. Within her body, long-denied feelings and 
hormones began to stir as she began to consider what it would be 
like to be with someone like that. After meeting him that one time, 
Kasumi had already felt a bit of an attraction to him. Now, with the 
announcement of the engagement, she began to have other images of 
him in her mind, many of which were not at all pure.
     Akane was more than miffed when she learned that the same 
person who had showed her up twice was also the boy that her father 
had arranged to marry her or her sisters. In her mind, she had no 
doubt that she would be the one to be picked, since she knew that 
neither Nabiki nor Kasumi had her good looks or popularity. Why 
else would those boys and Kuno chase her all the time? What made 
things even worse was the fact that she had been beaten at the 
tournament with her own style, even though she had been too angry 
at the time to realize it. Boys were nothing but perverted jerks and 
now she has found that she was may be engaged to him!
     "Oh happy day!" Soun wept as he hugged his friend. "Ranma IS 
human! We can untie the schools after all!"
     "That's right Tendo! All we have to do is go collect the boy!" 
Genma was jumping for joy.
     It was then that Nabiki intervened. "Hold on a minute Daddy. You 
and Mr. Saotome might want to think about this for a minute."
     The two stopped in their cavorting and regarded the middle sister. 
"What do you mean Nabiki. All we have to do is pick him up and 
then have the wedding." Soun said as a matter-of-factly.
     Nabiki hung her head, as she just couldn't believe just how dense 
her father was. "Ranma may not want this engagement thing."
     "What do you mean?! He must follow through! It is a matter of 
HONOR!" Soun replied.
     "That's right! My boy would never turn his back on his honor!" 
Genma added.
     "Oh really?" Nabiki said in a slightly sarcastic tone. "Then why 
hasn't he tried to contact you Mr. Saotome? I mean, if he's able to 
become human again, then I would have assumed that he would have 
told you. And let me ask you this. If he wanted this engagement 
thing, then why did he go through all the trouble of creating a whole 
new identity for himself?"
     "What?"
     "Oh yes, that's right." Kasumi remarked. "Ranma is going by the 
name of Kojiro Shinakara."
     "What?!"
     Nabiki nodded. "Yes. And there's another thing. He might be more 
than you can handle. I have a feeling that he doesn't want the 
engagement and I seriously doubt that you could force him into it."
     "What do you mean? I mean the boy's good, but he's not THAT 
good. Tendo and I can handle him."
     "Oh really?" Nabiki pushed the fast-forward button on the VCR 
and the two fathers gaped in disbelief at the images as they depicted 
Ranma as he tore the Nerima Wrecking Crew to pieces. Soun and 
Genma became awestruck as they witnessed Ranma fight with 
inhuman speed, agility and power. They especially became fascinated 
with his claw techniques and his final attack.
     "Now hold a minute!" Genma exclaimed. "I don't ever recall that 
boy having control of the Neko Ken. At least not consciously."
     Akane's interest perked up. "Mr. Saotome, you mentioned the 
Neko Ken before. What exactly is it?" 
     Genma's expression took on a serious look as he began his 
explanation. "Free-style Cat Fist fighting or Cat Fu. Training is 
deceptively easy. You're supposed to wrap the trainee in fish 
sausage and throw him down into a pit of starving cats."
     "That's it? That's all you have to do?" Akane couldn't believe that 
a fighting style that was so powerful had such a simple method of 
training. She began to get ideas about undergoing the training herself 
and show up that jerk Ranma, when his father then dropped the 
bomb.
     "Unfortunately, there was a bad side effect." He reached into the 
front of his gi and produced a small booklet. "Here is the ancient lore 
which describes this technique."
     "Let me see that." Soun reached over and took the book. 
"Opening up the first page, he began to read. "Incredible! Anything 
Goes Martial Arts, Final Attack Cat Fist. Hmmm, how to master Cat 
Fu. Wrap the trainee in Fish sausage and throw him into a pit of 
starving cats."
     "You see Tendo. The training sounded so simple that I should 
have known that there was a catch. Turn the page and see for 
yourself."
     Soun did so. "This method has been banned for causing severe 
psychological distress."
     Genma chuckled for a bit. "Too bad I never read the page."
     "So what kind of psychological distress are we talking about?" 
Nabiki asked.
     "Ranma developed an irrational fear of cats after the training. He 
gained increased speed and the ability to shred through wood, rock 
and even metal with his fingers, Bu their were two problems. The first 
problem was that he became unstable. He'd go into a state of near 
panic at the mere sight of a cat. Whenever he was with a cat for an 
extended period his fear would go beyond a certain point and"
     "And then what, Mr. Saotome?" Kasumi asked.
     "He'd meow."
     "Huh?" Akane said in confusion.
     "It's true. He'd start acting like a cat. He'd walk around on all fours, 
wash himself with his tongue, purr, meow, and play with balls of yarn 
and stuff like that. You'd hardly believe that he was human. That also 
led to the second problem. He could only use the Cat Fist techniques 
in that state and when he became like that, anything or anyone that 
was seen as a threat would get shredded." Genma shivered at the 
memory of when his six-year-old boy had mauled him. "I trained 
Ranma when he was six."
     Kasumi was shocked as she thought of a young boy being 
subjected to that horrid training. Akane was having second thoughts 
about undergoing that method as she thought of herself acting like a 
cat. She didn't like the idea of being mauled by a hundred starving 
cats either. Nabiki kept quiet.
     Genma continued. "In any case, I can't understand how Ranma has 
been able to get conscious control of the Cat Fist. Whenever he 
became overcome by the madness, it would take an old woman from 
our neighborhood to snap him out of it."
     "Well, I would guess that it has something to do with that Spring 
of Drowned Monster Tiger he fell into." Nabiki suggested. "It looks 
like he's got full control over it and I haven't seen him show any fear 
toward cats. I would think that he would be frightened of his own 
curse by now." 
     "Hmmm" Genma nodded as he turned to Soun. "Well in any case, 
that boy still has an obligation to marry one of your daughters 
Tendo."
     "Yes. We must formulate a plan to bring him here so that he may 
meet his fiance. Ranma's Cat Fist training would strengthen our 
schools even more! Speaking of which" Soun looked at Akane with 
a fatherly gaze, which made the youngest member of the family very 
nervous. "Akane, since you're both martial artists, then it would be 
fitting that you marry him and carry on the dojo!"
     "WHAT?!" Akane shouted in disbelief. "I'm not going to marry 
that freak! Count me out of it! I HATE BOYS AND HE'S THE WORST OF THEM 
ALL! NO WAY! UH UH! I'M NOT GOING TO DO IT!!!" Akane stormed 
out of the room and up the stairs to her own bedroom.
     Soun smiled as he said. "You see Saotome? They're perfect for 
each other."
     "Couldn't agree more Tendo. So why don't we go out for a drink 
and start planning on how to get our children on the road to 
happiness?"
     "I'm with you Saotome!" Soun slapped his friend on the back as 
they both exited the house, leaving Kasumi and Nabiki alone.
     "I can't believe that they haven't even thought things out." Nabiki 
shook her head as she too got up to leave.
     "Where are you going Nabiki?" Kasumi inquired.
     Nabiki gave her sibling a small smile as she said, "Oh, I'm just 
going to check up on a few things and maybe do a little business."
     The middle daughter left without another word. Unknown to her 
family and Genma, Nabiki had withheld one important piece of 
information. She had only just received that piece of data from her 
flunkies today. After an exhaustive search, she finally had the 
location of where Ranma worked.

To be continued

Author's Notes
     Well Ranma's cover is about to be blown and things are going to 
go critical. Ryoga will most certainly find out from Akane. He 
certainly won't approve of Ranma's supposed engagement to his 
beloved Akane and there's also that grudge he has for that missed 
out duel. Who knows? He might just be obsessed enough to actually 
try the Cat Fist training in his quest for revenge. 
     Nabiki's upcoming encounter with our Cat Fist fighter should be 
interesting. Just remember that Ranma is more streetwise and has 
learned independence. He's not the dumb jock that the Tendo 
mercenary would have labeled him in the original series.
     As Genma and Soun scheme to force Ranma to follow the pledge, 
they will discover that direct confrontation will not work. They may 
have to resort to having Happosai take him down. The old lecher 
would certainly blame Ranma for getting him pounded in this 
episode. When the Ultimate Neko Ken goes up against the 
Grandmaster of the Anything Goes well, the surrounding area is 
going to need some serious urban renewal. And just who are the two 
mysterious people who have entered the picture? Stay tuned! 


