Cat Girl Nuku Nuku Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ All-Purpose Jusenkyo Girl Nuku Nuku [co-written with Ginrai] ❯ Chapter 2

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer time: Rumiko Takahashi, Shogagukan, Kitty and Viz
Communications own Ranma 1/2. Yuzo Takada and A.D. Vision own All-
Purpose Cultural Girl Nuku-Nuku. This fic is based on Gregg Sharp's
Nuku Nuku idea from chapter 30 of 'A Reluctant Bet' (and is used here
with his permission).

C&C appreciated:

Corwin (ely7@inter.net.il or corwin@virtuallyjeannie.com)
http://www.virtuallyjeannie.com/corwin.htm l

Ginrai (ranmafics@hotmail.com)
http://members.tripod.com/lwf58/fan_fiction/gin rai/index.html

* Previous chapters can also be found at:
http://phu.anifics.com/

Thanks to Brian Randall for pre-reading this.

All-Purpose Jusenkyo Girl Nuku-Nuku

Chapter 2 - Just Two Normal Days in Nerima.

Akane soaked herself in the cold water, letting it numb her senses and
send her into a state of deep relaxation. After all the talks about
fiancees, curses and pink elephants, she decided on doing something to
keep away from all the craziness. Even the fact that the furo only
contained cold water couldn't force her away. "No Ranma. No Nuku Nuku.
Just peace and quiet," Akane sighed dreamily.

That train of thought was dashed into a million pieces when a seventy-
pound cat barged in and jumped into the furo, giving her no time to
react.

When the water receded, Akane opened her eyes and saw a mass of pink
hair covering her vision. 'How?' she thought faintly, remembering the
discussion about Jusenkyo curses. 'So Nuku Nuku is also cursed?'

"Nuku Nuku beginning to like this form. Hi, Akane! You want to take a
bath with Nuku Nuku?" Hearing the other girl's voice answered her
question.

Still, wanting to make sure, Akane sifted through the hair. At the
other end of the tangle, she saw Nuku Nuku's eyes peering down on her.
The energetic girl was also naked as Akane could feel the smoothness of
her skin. Trying to calm herself by saying that girls couldn't possibly
be perverts, she took notice of the catgirl's eyes and the amount of
sheer hunger in them. This along with the ecstatic smile Nuku Nuku gave
made it all the more terrifying for her.

Instincts taking over, she tried to push Nuku Nuku off her and leap out
of the furo to get away from the other girl. Instead, her leg caught
with that of the catgirl's, causing her to fall on top of Akane.

Opening her mouth to scream, her lips instead met with Nuku Nuku's.
Akane was frozen, unable to move in the slightest, a tingling sensation
spreading across her body. The tension was somewhat relieved when the
other girl pulled herself away and shouted enthusiastically, "Wo ai
ni!"

Akane had no idea what it meant. But from the sound of it, she knew it
wasn't any good. Upon hearing a knock on the door, Akane quivered, her
body slowly beginning to unfreeze itself.

"Nuku Nuku?"

"Yes, Ranma?" the catgirl asked in her bubbly voice, getting off Akane
while doing so.

This gave Akane more breathing room, though she stopped upon noticing
the water glistening on Nuku Nuku's athletic body.

"Remember, err... when I told you about girls and about kissing and
playing with them?"

"Nuku Nuku knows!" she responded cheerfully, "But Akane just like Nuku
Nuku! Just as much fun as with Amazon girls!" Due to her exuberance,
she paid no heed to the sickly green shade Akane's skin was turning.

There was silence on the other side of the door before Ranma responded.
"Even if Akane is the same..." He coughed a few times. "You shouldn't
act so fast. Maybe it would be better if you wait until Akane's
finished."

"Okay!" She leapt out of the furo and turned around to wave goodbye to
Akane, who had her eyes closed and was blushing crimson, before running
out.

"And what did I tell you about wearing clothes?!" Akane could hear
Ranma exclaim in a disapproving tone of voice. "Just look what you did
to that poor man that lets us stay here!"

"But Nuku Nuku's outfit got ruined when Nuku Nuku chased a big mouse!"

Akane could feel the pout on the other girl's face despite the closed
door separating them.

"Umm..." There was a pause for a few long moments, before Ranma added
hesitantly, "How about you wear one of the Chinese dresses you got from
Shampoo?"

Nuku Nuku's squeal of delight finally managed to shake Akane out of her
stupor, and she stopped twitching, retaining enough coherence to
continue her bath.

--------------------------------------------------

"A free word of advice, Ranma," Nabiki said to the pigtailed boy before
going to school. "When you get to the school's gates, stay away from
Akane's fan club."

"Fan club?" Ranma asked, blinking a few times. "Akane has a fan club?"
He side-stepped a moment later, a barbell flying through the area his
head used to occupy. "Weird."

"You'll see," Nabiki said mysteriously, before grabbing her lunch and
going out. "Later!"

"Why can't ya tell me more?" Ranma insisted, grabbing her elbow
lightly.

"It'll cost you," came the prompt reply.

Ranma blinked. "Is that what ya say for every question?"

"It'll cost you." Nabiki smiled, baring her teeth slightly. Seeing that
the pigtailed boy wasn't trying to ask her any more questions, she
shrugged slightly and walked out of the front door.

"O-kay." Ranma shook his head to clear it. "Nuku, let's go, too," he
offered, getting up and taking his backpack. He readily agreed with his
father in going to school. If nothing else, time away from his Pops
each day was enough of a reason to go.

"Okay, Ranma!" Nuku Nuku replied, bouncing happily in her low-cut
Chinese dress - which bordered on indecency - ready to make new
friends. Though fat elephant-man tried to say that pets weren't allowed
at school, Ranma found a way to convince him. The catgirl wondered what
that was, and why Ranma agreed not to mention 'Mishima' to anyone and
asked her to do the same.

"Oh, my! Ranma, what if Nuku Nuku changes during the day?" Kasumi
exclaimed.

"Man, I haven't thought of that," Ranma replied dejectedly. He
scrunched his forehead as a look of intense concentration settled upon
his face. A few moments later the pigtailed boy closed his eyes, and
began to emit a strange noise as he struggled with the problem
presented before him. A full minute later, he opened his eyes and
glanced at the eldest Tendo daughter curiously. "Say, Kasumi, do you
have a thermos or something?"

"Certainly, Ranma. I think I have a spare stored away somewhere."

"Can you fill it with cold water and loan it to me? All I have to do is
keep it close to me!" Ranma exclaimed happily, rubbing his hands
together.

"But what if Nuku Nuku is splashed with hot water while she's on her
own?" Kasumi asked over her shoulder, while walking into the kitchen to
retrieve the thermos Ranma had asked for.

"Umm... I'll have to keep Nuku around me all the time too, then!" Ranma
replied, putting a hand on the catgirl's shoulder.

"Hmph, pervert," Akane mumbled before saying goodbye to Kasumi and
running outside.

"Hey, wait up!" Ranma exclaimed, grabbing the offered thermos and Nuku
Nuku's hand. Saying his thanks to Kasumi on the way out, he sped off
along with the catgirl after Akane's receding figure.

Left alone, Kasumi put a hand to her cheek and thought, 'My, he's so
energetic and young... well, not too young... and he's got a cute
butt...'

Hearing a dull thud from behind her, Kasumi turned around to see her
father sprawled out on the floor in a dead faint. "Oh, my!" the eldest
Tendo daughter exclaimed, holding her hand to her face as her cheeks
burned crimson. "Did I say that out loud?"

--------------------------------------------------

"Ranma, what are those boys doing?" Nuku Nuku asked, looking at the
crowd assembled at the school's gates.

"I dunno, maybe they're that fan club Nabiki was talking about. Anyway,
it's not our business, so let's go inside."

With that, Ranma sped off to the building, wanting to enroll as fast as
possible. Nuku Nuku shrugged, and ran after him, intent on making new
friends later on.

The sight of the catgirl running towards school, her long, pink hair
flowing freely as she ran, the daring Chinese dress hugging her
features, showing a lot of leg and her ample chest bouncing in a very
positive manner, caused most of the boys to go into sensory overload.
This distraction was at the very moment Akane came through the gates.
With a determination not seen before, she plowed through them with the
greatest of ease.

Kuno, who like most of the others had not taken notice of Akane
arriving, had his attention solely on the door leading into Furinkan.
The image of Nuku Nuku was burned into a special part of his mind,
right next to that of Akane's, where they would be cherished together
forever. "Such beauty..." he mouthed out before getting punched in the
face by the fist of the other girl etched in his mind.

Looking at the unconscious body of the kendoist in wonder, Akane turned
back towards the gates to see the results of the morning attack. "Wow,
a new record! I must be getting better!" she giddily said, walking
inside the school building with a wide smile on her face.

Nabiki, who saw all of the morning's events transpire, had already
started making plans to exploit the situation.

--------------------------------------------------

Still content from earlier, Akane felt on top of the world. 'Better
yet,' she thought, 'I won't have to see either Ranma or Nuku Nuku for
the whole day!' Thinking of Ranma's 'fiancee' - not that she minded him
being engaged to a cat in the least - Akane closed her eyes and took a
few deep breaths. The events of the previous night were something that
she had every intent of forgetting. It was not like she wanted to think
of girls that way...

Her meditation was interrupted by the homeroom teacher, Professor
Yamagata, walking in and greeting the class.

Opening her eyes in preparation for the school day, Akane right away
caught sight of two people following the teacher; her two house guests,
to be precise, one of whom was waving at her that very moment. She
placed her hands on her forehead and started to massage her temples.
Akane just _knew_ that the weirdness level would increase with them two
here.

"Class, we have two new students today," the teacher announced as Ranma
and Nuku Nuku stood in front of the whole class. "Why don't you
introduce yourselves?"

"Well, I'm Saotome Ranma," the pigtailed boy said, before posing
dramatically, "and I'm the heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes
Martial Arts!"

"And my name is Nuku Nuku!" the pink-haired girl exclaimed happily.
"I'm Ranma's fiancee! We're staying with Baka-san at Akane's house!"
she loudly proclaimed, causing some of the students to look back at the
Tendo sibling.

Akane tried to hide herself behind her desk. It had already begun...

"Baka-san?" Professor Yamagata asked.

"Ah, she means my pop. He's a real idiot," Ranma replied casually.

"Oh." The teacher blinked for a few seconds, before regaining his
senses. "Ranma, why don't you take the seat next to the window. Nuku
Nuku, you may take the one behind him."

"Sure, Teach. No prob," Ranma said, shrugging.

Professor Yamagata nodded to himself and tried to sit behind his desk,
accidentally knocking his chair away and falling onto the floor with a
groan.

--------------------------------------------------

During lunch, Professor Yamagata noted that while the other students
were in groups, his two new students were only talking with each other.
'As their teacher, it's my duty to see that they don't end up feeling
alienated from the other students,' he thought, walking up to them.

"Excuse me, Saotome-san, Nuku Nuku-san."

"Yes?" Ranma asked, turning towards the teacher along with Nuku Nuku.

"Neither of you have talked much with the other students, have you?" he
asked in a firm tone that had a sense of seriousness underneath it.

"No," Nuku Nuku responded, shaking her head.

"That's not good," Professor Yamagata said gravely. "You both are young
and need to enjoy your youth while it lasts! I'm sure that there are
many people here who want to be your friend." The last statement was
said with him gesturing his hand towards the rest of the class. He
didn't take grasp of the fact that the students around them were
running away from the area, or the dull noise that was progressively
increasing in intensity. "So, it would be a good idea to get
acquainted--"

The onslaught of a mob of students running towards them reached
Professor Yamagata at that moment, knocking him through the window.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!" he screamed, attempting to grab hold of something
as he fell.

Some of the more concerned students looked out to check on their
accident-prone teacher.

"It's okay," Sayuri shouted out. "He fell into the pool." With that she
went to the group surrounding Ranma and Nuku Nuku.

--------------------------------------------------

Akane didn't mind the commotion in the classroom much, since she had
been left alone to have her lunch in peace. Ranma and Nuku Nuku were
surrounded by various students, asking the pair questions on what
they've done during the ten years of training. 'Some time alone.
Nothing to worry about. Though I'm surprised that Yuka and Sayuri would
even talk with Ranma...' She blinked at the last thought. 'Then
again...'

Akane rapidly became distracted by what Nuku Nuku was saying, losing
her train of thought.

"Nuku Nuku at Akane's house because Tendo girls want Ranma. Just like
other friends!" the pink-haired girl told the boys. She knew that had
to be the only reason they were there, especially since there weren't
any challenges as of yet.

As one, the boys she were talking with blinked, silently envying the
position Saotome was in.

"But aren't you Ranma's fiancee? You're not mad at this?" Hiroshi
asked, surprised at the lack of jealousy from Nuku Nuku.

She pondered this for a moment before answering. "You mean if Nuku Nuku
is friends with them?" Seeing their nods, she smiled and said, "Yes,
Nuku Nuku good friends with Tendo girls! _Especially_ Akane!"

Hearing Nuku Nuku speak so ardently about her, even though they really
didn't talk much - other than that unfortunate bathroom incident - made
Akane feel ashamed on having thought so unfavorably of her guest. Maybe
they could be really good friends.

"What did you mean by '_Especially_ Akane'?" Daisuke asked, a large
part of him wanting it to be something more than friendship.

"Nuku Nuku and Akane real good friends! Akane even take bath with Nuku
Nuku!"

Akane stopped eating instantly upon hearing that and promptly grabbed
onto the sides of her desk, preventing herself from falling face-first
onto the table. _This_ was not good. Opening one eye towards the group
of boys, she saw that it already had an effect on them. They had a
certain look on their faces. A look that would cause any right-minded
girl to slap them until their cheeks were red. 'What if Nuku Nuku tells
them about that kiss?' she thought in horror, mentally reminding
herself that the kiss she gave was by accident. Evasive action had to
be taken and so she grabbed her thermos containing hot coffee.

--------------------------------------------------

While most of his students were conversing with the newcomers,
Professor Yamagata was drying himself after climbing out of the pool.
Walking back to the classroom, he wondered silently, 'Why do I always
get hurt?' in confusion, idly wringing out the water from his tie as he
did so.

His thoughts were on hold when he noticed a tiny crack on the outer
wall. It was getting larger by the second. "Strange," he whispered,
closing in on the rift.

--------------------------------------------------

Before Akane could splash Nuku Nuku with the coffee, she watched in
amazement as the outer wall to the classroom exploded. The explosion,
followed closely by Professor Yamagata's shrill cry of "What's
this?!!!" - just as the rubble fell on top of him - caused her to spill
the contents of her thermos all over herself in surprise. Wiping off
the hot, sticky substance from her eyes, she stared towards the area of
destruction. 'At least Nuku Nuku is also distracted.'

The rest of the students turned towards the hole, which was two meters
in diameter. What was more intriguing to them, however, was that it had
been made in the _outer_ wall. Their class was on the third floor.

As the dust slowly cleared, they were able to see a figure holding a
mace in each hand entering the classroom through the hole. The scene
becoming less hazy, with light falling on the silhouette, everyone saw
that the figure was a girl. A girl with luscious purple hair.

Ranma shrieked in terror and grabbed Nuku Nuku. Pushing startled
students out of the way, Ranma dragged the catgirl along towards the
exit. They almost made it out of the door, when several girls in form-
fitting Chinese dresses filling into the classroom from that direction
halted their presence.

"Hello, Son-in-law, Daughter-in-law," a diminutive woman perched atop a
staff called out, as she easily jumped above the teenage girls blocking
the doorway.

"W-Why, Cologne," Ranma stammered out, sweating profusely. "F-Fancy m-
meeting you h-here."

"It's... it's a mummy!" Daisuke exclaimed, the first student to see the
newest arrival clearly.

The purple-haired girl who had made the hole in the outer wall bonked
the boy on the head with one of her bonbori. "It no Great-Grandmother's
fault she fall in Spring of Ghoulish Talking Dried-Up Old Monkey!"

Ranma took the half-full thermos of hot coffee from Akane's numb
fingers, and poured it over Cologne's head, staggering immediately as a
staff impacted upon his head.

"What did you do that for, Son-in-law?" the ancient Amazon asked him,
hot coffee dripping down her face.

"Ack! She's still a dried up old mummy!" Ranma cried out, earning a
second blow to the head for that remark.

"That was 'monkey', Son-in-law, and I cannot change back."

"Why? You've found being a monkey to be more enjoyable?" This comment
earned Ranma another whack on the head with the gnarled staff.

"No. A while back, after having beaten him in a duel, a prince from the
Musk Dynasty felt rather sore, saying that I didn't win through fair
means. So he dumped the cursed water on me and then used the
Chiisuiton."

"The what?"

"A magical device which locked me in my cursed form. Arrogant little
twit..." The light around Cologne seemed to grow dimmer when she added
with an evil chuckle, "Oh, but I got even. Showed them all what'll
happen when messing with me." The light and mood around her slowly
shifting back to being more cheerful, she ended it with, "And that's
how I turned into a dried up monkey."

"That's... sad," Ranma said sympathetically, albeit having to wipe a
few sweat drops away.

"Not really. There is still hope. Another device by the name of
Kaisuifu can counter the curse, and it's located somewhere in this
country."

"Ah, so that's why you came here," Ranma said, sighing in relief.

Cologne smiled, managing to strike terror in the hearts of people
watching her.

"Not exactly, Son-in-law. You left in such a hurry, that you must've
forgotten to take your wives with you."

"Wives?!" the whole class screamed in surprise, as Ranma began to sweat
worriedly once again, shifting from one foot to another nervously.

"Umm... only the girls are here, right?" Ranma asked, not wanting the
situation to be worse than it already was.

"Of course," Cologne answered with the same smile as before, eliciting
a small sigh of relief from Ranma.

"And what about... him?"

Cologne sighed, her shoulders sagging. "I wish I could say that...
he... stayed behind, Son-in-Law."

All signs of relief left Ranma's face, as the pigtailed boy paled
considerably, looking around cautiously.

--------------------------------------------------

Nuku Nuku wondered what she should do. All of her friends from the
Amazon village showed up. She wanted to ask them to play with her, but
one of the first things Ranma told her when they left the Amazons
behind was _never_ to do that again.

No matter how much she thought about it, Nuku Nuku couldn't understand
why it was wrong for her to play with all those females and then kiss
them. Even Akane, who wasn't an Amazon, liked to do that. If it was
okay in Nerima, what was so bad about it? But Ranma spent more time as
a human, and should know better. Well, better than fat-old-man.

Looking at Ranma, Nuku Nuku noticed that he was very nervous. Maybe he
was sick? If that were the case, she had to get him to a doctor!

Shouting, "Don't worry, Ranma, Nuku Nuku will help you!" she slung him
over her shoulder, and quickly jumped outside of the classroom through
the hole Shampoo made, gaining speed as the ground approached to meet
them at an incredible pace.

Flipping agilely, Nuku Nuku landed on her feet, as befit a true cat,
and waved at the Amazons looking at her from the third floor. Maybe
they would like to play tag with her, while she was getting Ranma home?

--------------------------------------------------

Gulping down the contents in his mug, Genma couldn't help but notice
his son being carried off by a speeding Nuku Nuku. He shrugged and
drank some more beer.

"Saotome, isn't that your son with his... fiancee?" Soun, asked his
best friend, taking a swig from his own beer mug.

"Mmm-hmm," Genma said, nodding solemnly.

The pair heard a low rumble approaching them, occasional proclamations
of love in pidgin Japanese and panicked screams seeping in through the
background noise occasionally. Soon afterwards, they saw a huge dust
cloud shoot by, containing what seemed to be many girls holding
weapons, pedestrians scrambling out of their way.

"And... who are they, Saotome?"

"Oh, just some Amazon wives Ranma and Nuku Nuku picked up along the
way. Nothing serious."

"So you say." Soun nodded sagely. "You know, Saotome, there _is_ the
Tendo-Saotome agreement to unite the schools. Maybe we should go and
help your son and... that girl?"

"And leave this fine establishment that brings us nothing but joy?"
Genma asked, gesturing towards his fellow drunks. "Liquid joy, at
that!" The portly man chuckled, his hand making a sweeping motion
towards the assortment of beer. "Tendo, you worry too much. Of course I
still remember the agreement. I have a foolproof plan here that should
get us what we want!" He emphasized this by tapping his forehead. "And
besides, I've taught the boy much. He'll find a way to get out of
this."

"You're right, Saotome." Soun sighed in relief.

Genma heartily patted his friend on the back. "Why ruin a perfectly
good day worryi--"

A splash of cold beer caused whatever words of wisdom Genma was about
to say to turn into incomprehensible sounds.

Sucking himself dry of the beer that drenched him, the pink elephant
cub then turned around to see who had spilt the drink.

--------------------------------------------------

The sound of what was most likely an elephant shrieking in terror
reached ears of the others in the bar. Turning towards the source of
the noise, they saw a pink elephant cub grab hold of the surprised man
sitting next to it, mug still in hand, before the animal and its
unwitting hostage flew straight through the nearby wall.

"Hey," one of the many drunk members of the bar slurred out. "Why'd
Stampy run away? Isn't he supposed to stay?"

Contemplating on this serious issue, another shouted out, "Oh, dear
God! This beer is nonalcoholic!" Pointing towards the bartender, he
shouted, "Get him!"

The unfortunate bartender, whose brain had shut down after having seen
one his customers turn into an elephant, pink at that, was too slow in
reacting to the attack as a barroom brawl began.

--------------------------------------------------

Genma-elephant, with Soun sitting on top of him, flew in the direction
where he last saw his son heading. After all, it was every father's
duty to help out their sons when they were in trouble. And he was about
to show just how dutiful of a father he was to Ranma.

It had absolutely nothing to do with running away from one of the
greatest terrors in the world. None whatsoever. His reasons were as
pure as water.

'I wonder what excuse I shall tell Soun later... Oh, there's my son!
Time to go into action!' Genma-elephant flapped his ears harder in
preparation for the upcoming battle.

--------------------------------------------------

Back in Furinkan, Tatewaki Kuno, fearless leader of the school kendo
team, was thinking of the beauty he had laid eyes on earlier.

"Certainly a beauteous flower waiting to be plucked by one such as
myself," he said aloud, eyes clouded in a love-induced haze.

"Having more in-class wet dreams about my sister, Kuno-chan?"

"Yes..." A second later, having snapped out of his haze, Kuno reacted
accordingly. "No! While my fierce tigress is definitely one of a kind,
it is another girl; one that mine eyes hath laid upon this morning. A
pink-haired goddess."

"So I guess you brought spare clothing?" Nabiki asked smugly.

Kuno blinked, frowning. "I hate you."

"And I love you, Kuno-chan," Nabiki said in an over-sweetened tone
which most would have picked up as being sarcastic.

"What?!"

"Actually... I just love your money."

Kuno gave a huge sigh of relief. "And so the gods have decided to be
spare me of a fate infinitely worse than death."

'For _that_, information on Nuku Nuku will cost more,' Nabiki thought
with an inner scowl. "Anyway, for ten thousand yen, I could tell you
all I know about your pink-haired goddess."

Right away a wad of cash was dropped on Nabiki's desk. "Sold!"

"Her name is Nuku Nuku," Nabiki said, counting the bills in her hand
slowly, "and she's living with my family at the moment."

"So both of my loves live together. Blessed I must be to have such
fortune as that."

"There's more. You know that boy who was next to her in the morning?
Well, his name is Ranma Saotome..." Nabiki made a dramatic pause,
before dropping the bombshell, "and he's Nuku Nuku's fiance."

Time stood still, waiting for Kuno to pick himself off the floor and
face Nabiki, who was smirking like a fox. "_What_ did you say?" he
asked incredulously. Surely his love could not be trapped by one who
doesn't deserve it?

"And there's more. Ranma's also staying over with my family because he
is engaged to the Tendo girls."

Time once again stood still, this time waiting for Kuno to pick himself
out of the hole his head created when falling down. 'How could have it
happened?! Two of my loves enslaved by this... this... sorcerer!' the
kendoist wondered, before jumping to his feet and posing righteously.
"Ranma Saotome, how _dare_ you enslave two beauteous girls such as
Akane Tendo and Nuku Nuku with your evil ways?!"

"Kuno-chan? I said he could choose one, if not _ALL_, of us to be his
fiancee."

Pausing in his rant, Kuno replied to Nabiki, "Why, certainly he would
never be of mind to choose Kasumi as she is older than him along with
that her purity would destroy evil such as him." The boy snorted,
casually brushing away a loose strand of hair away from his face. "And
only a crazy fool would choose you. Why, a choice between you and Akane
is like one between a dull stone and a diamond." Realizing that there
was a rant to finish, he continued, "Ranma Saotome, prepare to face the
wrath of..."

The rest of his speech was cut off by an eraser thrown to his face.
Regaining his senses, Kuno found himself the recipient of a bucket full
of water, as he was told to stand outside.

--------------------------------------------------
The residents of a once peaceful Tokyo suburb known as Nerima were
startled by the chase that took place in the shopping district. A pink
blur whizzed past them at neck-breaking speed, meowing in glee all the
while, followed closely by a group of severely underdressed women with
archaic weapons.

However, the most startling thing, especially for those few that could
understand Chinese, was the cries of "Airen!" that came from the
warrior women periodically.

Far ahead of the procession was a bar which, unlike the one where Genma
and Soun were drinking in, was filled more with businessmen than
drunks.

One particular man in suit, named Toshu, was rather bored. Staring
outside through the window, taking note of what seemed to be an
ordinary day with people walking casually to wherever they had to go,
he was hoping for something to amuse him or, at the very least, keep
him awake.

A blurry object sped through, causing any loose articles near it to fly
around.

"Say, Kenji," Toshu asked the man sitting next to him, "Any idea on
what just passed by?"

"That? Oh that was a pink-haired catgirl carrying a boy while running
at a tremendous speed."

Along passed by a huge dust cloud containing what seemed to be a group
of girls carrying weapons, shouting words that were incomprehensible to
most of the people around.

"And that?" Toshu asked, sipping some more of his drink. The day didn't
seem to be as boring anymore.

"Just a group of Chinese Amazons running after their husband, who seems
to be the boy that the catgirl was carrying," Kenji replied in a tone
that disclosed a sense of disinterest in the man.

What followed was a pink elephant following the dust cloud, flapping
his ears at a ridiculous pace to keep himself afloat. Sitting on top of
the animal was a man wearing a dark brown gi, one hand holding onto the
elephant for dear life while the other holding a mug of beer. Having
neared his target, the elephant instantly changed his trajectory and
dive-bombed the warriors, causing them to scramble for cover. All the
while his rider held on with a firmer grip, hair waving in the wind as
he screamed out 'Saaaaooootommmeeee!' again and again while the
elephant continuously attacked the girls. Surprisingly enough, none of
beer he held with the other hand was spilt during the attacks.

"..."

Slowly regaining some sense, Toshu asked, "Do I even want to know?"

"Nothing more than a man, who I assume is named 'Saotome', cursed to
turn into flying pink elephant cub. The man on his back is a friend of
his as they were probably drinking beer before having to follow the
others. At the moment, he's trying to distract the girls away from his
son, who's the boy that's being carried by the catgirl. Good night."

In spectacular fashion, Kenji slammed face-first onto the table,
causing everything on it to shake from the tremor.

Taking a good look at the unconscious man next to him, Toshu,
synchronous with those in the bar that had their attention caught by
the events outside, overturned his cup and allowed its contents to flow
onto the floor.

'Now _that's_ stuff I'm never gonna drink again,' he thought, knowing
well that others around him were thinking the same thing.

--------------------------------------------------

The next day, Ranma and Nuku Nuku went to school ahead of the Tendo
girls, curious about the morning battles. The easiest way to get the
whole story was to buy it from Nabiki, but Ranma didn't see any reason
in buying the information when he could just ask anyone else at school
about it.

'Hopefully today won't be anywhere near as strange as yesterday,' Ranma
thought when nearing Furinkan, glad that the previous day was at least
somewhat normal after the incident in which Nuku Nuku carried him to
the doctor. Amazingly enough, after finding out that nothing was wrong
with him, they were able to make it back to school in time. Better yet,
none of the Amazons, including... him... were around. Now if only this
day could be as good as that...

"Hey, Hiroshi, Daisuke!" the pigtailed boy greeted his two new friends,
as Nuku Nuku cheerfully waved at them. He met them later on in the
previous school day, two of the few non-girls he talked with. Though
they did have a strange habit of staring away from him when talking;
more like staring at whatever was behind him. 'Must be the type of
people who can't concentrate on one thing for some time.'

Taking a few moments to drool at the catgirl's rather uninhibited
nature, especially with her smooth silk dress clinging ever so tightly
to her skin, the boys eventually came to their wits, and greeted the
pair.

"Guys," Ranma tried to ask nonchalantly, hoping he had their attention,
"what's the story with that Akane chick and her fan club?"

As the boys looked at each other uneasily, keeping silent, Ranma asked
incredulously, "Don't tell me some idiot proclaimed that in order to
get a date with that girl one had to defeat her in combat first?!"

Daisuke and Hiroshi blinked a couple of times, before the latter
answered tentatively, " Um... no? They just like her... very much."

Daisuke just nodded right away, agreeing with his friend's explanation.

"So... the only reason Akane kicks their ass is because they ask her on
dates?" Ranma asked, his right eyebrow twitching nervously.

Nuku Nuku was standing quietly, absorbing the new information. Did it
mean that in Japan a girl had to beat up every guy that asked her on a
date? Maybe Ranma was wrong, and Japan was much more similar to that
nice Amazon village than he told her? At least... everything that had
to do with Akane was just like in the Amazon village.

Hiroshi shrugged, answering, "Well, actually we think everyone in the
club is a masochist."

"Oh, man," Ranma groaned, putting his head in his hands. "I'm
surrounded by freakin' weirdoes!"

Shaking it off like he had to do countless times in the past during his
decade-long training trip, Ranma put a smile on his face and told Nuku
Nuku, "C'mon, let's get going. If those sickos wanna get beaten, I say
let them."

Daisuke and Hiroshi followed them to class, not taking their eyes off
the catgirl for a moment. Several moments later, the pair of boys
crumpled onto the floor with matching groans, having walked into the
banisters at exactly groin-level on the first stair-case.

--------------------------------------------------

Ranma frowned, when Professor Yamagata didn't enter the classroom after
the bell had rung. Something was wrong, the boy could feel it his
bones, and he had a feeling that this time it had nothing to do with
the teacher getting injured again. Glancing at Nuku Nuku to see if her
danger sense had picked up anything, Ranma shook his head. At least the
sight of the catgirl playing on her desk with a small toy mouse he'd
bought her answered his question.

But if they weren't in any physical danger, then why were all of his
senses screaming, pleading and even begging him to bolt out of the
classroom immediately? For a moment Ranma thought that _he_ had found
them. He shook his head, knowing if that was the case then he would
have already been off and running with Nuku Nuku.

Ranma sighed, labeling it as yet another mystery in his already hectic
life. Arranging his seat slightly, to allow for better maneuverability
should he have to fight, the pigtailed boy tensed up, awaiting the
inevitable.

Five minutes later, when the wait was almost unbearable, the teacher
finally entered the classroom, followed by several girls. Upon seeing
their faces, and the clothes they all wore, Ranma, very close to
fainting, froze in his seat.

"Good morning, class," Professor Yamagata greeted, before indicating
the new arrivals with a sweep of his right hand. "Today we have new
foreign exchange students joining us, who will be part of this class
for the rest of the school year. Why don't you introduce yourselves,
girls?"

"I Shan Pu, Amazon Princess. We come to Japan to be with husband.
Anyone mess with Amazon womans learn error of ways!" the purple-haired
girl announced proudly.

Murmurs started spreading throughout the classroom, with most of the
female students alternating between glancing at Ranma and the Amazons.
The male population, for its part, gave the female warriors their
undivided, lustful attention. The pigtailed boy, however, was
blissfully unaware of that, as well as anything that had been said
after hearing 'joining us' and 'the rest of the school year'.

Picking up several of the hushed discussions among the students with
her highly trained Amazon instinct, Shampoo added, "First one to call
me hair-care product dies!" frowning for the full effect of the threat.


Several of the accompanying Amazons rattled their school bags
menacingly, letting the rest of the students know that books weren't
the only thing they carried inside.

The tension was broken by the catgirl exclaiming, "Yay! More friends
are going to school with Nuku Nuku!" It was going to be just like it
was back in China! Turning to Ranma, she saw that he was delighted to
the point of shock. Smiling, she thought, 'Even Ranma is happy to see
Amazon friends!'

--------------------------------------------------
< br> "Ah! Those girls! Such beauty... such fighting spirit... such an amount
of gratuitous cleavage! I must have them all!" Kuno said in a scratchy
voice, coughing after having over-exerted himself. 'That foul sorcerer
Saotome will truly pay for this,' he seethed, remember the indignity he
had to go through because of the coward. 'Making himself invisible,
even to an eye as great as mine, so that I had to run into every
classroom in Furinkan and scream out his name so as to get his
attention. Truly no greater coward than he.'

It took all of Nabiki's willpower not to cry out, "What?!" after
hearing Kuno's latest tirade. Instead, she looked around to see if
anyone else in the class heard what he said.

'So, Kuno-baby likes Saotome's 'wives', eh? Interesting... very
interesting. It appears that I might need to visit Ranma during lunch
today...'

Nabiki's thoughts returned to the present just in time to catch a
glimpse of Kuno's back, as the teacher sent the upperclassman outside
for interrupting his class. Seemed someone else also heard what the
kendoist said; either that or they got annoyed with the sound of his
voice.

--------------------------------------------------< br>
"Ranma, wait up!" Nabiki called out to the pigtailed boy, as he jumped
out of the window of his classroom after grabbing his lunch. Spending
the lunch period in a classroom full of amorous and armed to the teeth
Amazons wasn't exactly on his 'to do' list.

"Hey, Nuku, can you bring Nabiki with you?" Ranma called out during his
descent.

"Okay, Ranma!" the catgirl cheerfully replied. Covering the distance
between her and Nabiki in one huge leap, she slung the middle Tendo
daughter over her shoulder and followed Ranma outside through the same
window he'd just used.

Giving out a startled shriek, Nabiki closed her eyes, completely
expecting to wake up in a full body cast in some hospital. When she was
gently set on the ground, the brown-haired girl took a chance and
opened them slightly, seeing that she was standing in the shade of a
giant tree. Ranma and his 'fiancee' were sitting in front of her,
already eating their lunches.

'Right... this sort of thing is normal for these guys. Sheesh!'

Shaking her head to clear it, Nabiki addressed the pigtailed boy.
"Listen, Ranma, I've got a business proposition for you."

"Oh?" he asked, not raising his head from his lunchbox.

"Yes. Those Amazons are quite taken with you, and will probably do a
lot for you if you asked them, won't they?"

"I guess."

"So how about talking them into doing a few photo shoots? We can split
the profits between us."

Waiting for an answer as casually as possible, Nabiki strained her ears
when Ranma mumbled something. Catching only a few syllables, she sighed
internally in exasperation, lamenting on the things she had to put
herself through for money, and asked him calmly, "Can you repeat that,
Ranma? I didn't get your answer."

"I don't need money," the pigtailed boy said simply between bites.

'So that's how he wants to play it, eh? Time for Plan B.'

Putting on her most charming smile, Nabiki whispered throatily, leaning
towards him, "Are you sure about that, Ranma? Working with me can be
quite... rewarding."

"Uh-huh."

Nabiki cursed internally, and decided to use her ultimate attack - the
dreaded puppy-dog eyes. "But..." she said, sniffing, "I wanted to work
with you so much." Nabiki's lower lip started to tremble. "Just a
lonely girl wanting to spend some time with her fiancee... and make
some money while they're at it..." A tear made its way down Nabiki's
cheek. "And you... You're not even listening!"

"Huh? Did you want something, Nabiki?" Ranma asked, turning his head
towards her, a few rice grains stuck to his face.

'Damn him, he's good! Alright, the kid gloves are off!'

"Ranma," Nabiki said in her sternest voice, with no sign of the tears
that seemed to break out mere moments earlier. "You, that fat, flying
pink elephant of yours, and the catgirl here cost a lot of money; money
that comes out of _our_ pockets. _Already_ that catgirl," she said,
pointing at Nuku Nuku, who was trying to catch a bug that was flying
around her face, "broke the water heater while chasing a _mouse_, of
all things! One day and right away we've been forced to take cold
baths! Unless you have a large stash of money somewhere that you can
withdraw, you'll have to earn your keep by making those Amazons pose
for a few pictures."

"Okay."

"You'll do it?!" Nabiki exclaimed incredulously. She'd won, just like
that? "When will you talk to them?"

"Why would I want to do that?" Ranma asked confusedly.

A vein popped on Nabiki's forehead. Either this guy was a complete
idiot, or he was playing with her. Mustering her center and hanging on
to it, she asked slowly, "Didn't you just agree to pay for your stay at
our dojo?"

"Yep," the pigtailed boy answered, nodding.

"So how will you do that if you don't talk to the Amazons?"

"I'll do the other thing."

"The other thing? What in the world are you..." Nabiki was about to
demand an explanation, when it suddenly dawned upon her. "You have
money? You?!"

"Yep. Who do I write the check for?" Ranma asked her, wiping his face
with a napkin and taking out a check book.

Nabiki caught the words 'National Bank of Japan' on the cover and
considered fainting, but then suspicion rose in her heart.

"You have to consider a suitable deposit and finder's fee on top of the
rent for the two months. And you don't expect me to just take a check
for all that money from someone who's been on the road for a decade,
now do you? I want..." Nabiki paused, taking a moment to touch her lips
with a pinky, and continued, "One million yen! Cash, and no later than
tomorrow morning." Having made her offer, a small smile formed on her
face. The photo shoot was as good as hers. There was no way someone
like Ranma would have that much money. He would surely now have to ask
the Amazons to...

"Only one million? Are you sure that's enough?" Ranma asked, raising
his eyebrow. "Wow, you're really generous, Nabiki, for letting us all
stay at your place for one million yen up front! And here I was going
to write you a check for..." Ranma shook his head, smiling. "Nuku and
I'll take a detour to the bank today after school and get the money for
you."

Ranma waited for some sort of reply from the middle Tendo daughter for
a couple of minutes, before closing her mouth with a finger and getting
up.

"Hey, Nabiki, the lunch period's ended and all, so you should be going
back to class. See ya later!"

As Ranma and Nuku Nuku left to their classroom like the rest of the
students, Nabiki remained outside, her mind in a loop.

'_Only_ one million?'

--------------------------------------------------
< br> End of Chapter 2.