He leaned closer to the small window and snapped another picture. There was no flash attached to the professional model 35-millimeter camera; he didn't want to let the subject of his photos know she was being photographed. Besides which, the light would reflect off the window glass and spoil the pictures. A wan smile crossed Gosunkugi Hikaru's face. By his appearance alone most people naturally assumed Hikaru to either not get much sleep, spend countless hours in front of a television or computer monitor... or worse yet, both. What few realized, however, was that his thin, wiry hair and a pale complexion that made the dark circles underscoring his eyes even more visible had each been inherited from his parents. Hikaru *had* in fact, lost a great deal of sleep due to an obsession with a single girl - the girl he had fallen in love with, Saotome Ranma, a girl assigned to the same homeroom as him. Homeroom 1-F was presently enduring P.E. class, during which the boys and the girls were split into different, separate groups. Hikaru often wished the P.E. classes were co-ed, like others he had heard of elsewhere. *Then* he would be able to remain close to her... Destiny's Wish Part Twenty: Curiosity Feared the Cat written by Mike Koos ----------------------------- Today, the girls were being tested on their skills and form on the balance beam, and the parallel bars. It was Ranma's turn to take to the balance beam. Ever since her fight with Kodachi, Ranma had come to concentrate more on her gymnastic form as well as strength and speed in fighting. Her form had improved greatly; it pained the gymnastics club that such an up-and-coming strong star wasn't a part of their ranks. The teacher blew her whistle. Ranma planted her hands on the end of the balance beam, then flipped the lower half of her body up and over her head, placing one leg out before her and the other behind for balance. She hand-walked the length of the beam in this manner, in perfect form. The skating club, like the gymnastics club, also still wanted Ranma to join them. The swim club wondered why she refused to join, aside from the fact that it was winter and hardly anyone else wanted to join. Last of all was the Kendo club, which Ranma might have considered joining were it not for the guy in charge - Kunou Tatewaki. She reached the end of the beam and dismounted, flipping forward onto her feet, arms raised to the air. Unknown to her a camera's shutter exposed another frame of film. Hikaru willed away the urge to applaud. he sighed. Ranma took a seat in between her two best friends, the twins - Yuka and Sayuri. Yuka wore her hair short to differentiate herself from her sister. Both of them paled in comparison to his goddess. Hikaru snapped yet another picture. When he developed the roll of film in private, later, he would run a large permanent ink marker over everyone who was not Ranma. Ranma said a few words. She and the girls closest to her laughed. Hikaru couldn't hear any of this through the vent-like window he had stationed himself near. She had every last one of the qualities Hikaru was looking for in a girl... and was a strong, capable fighter as well. Very soon now, he would reach the end of his roll. Time to prepare the next roll. Hikaru lowered his camera in order to stare at Ranma yet again. The thought brought a wicked smile to him. How *dare* Ayumi think he could have his way with such a pure, beautiful flower! He laughed. "The evil, wicked baka Tendo Ayumi!!" Tendo Ayumi, who happened to be hanging feet-first from the larger window directly above him. Hikaru had been so caught up in his fantasies that he hadn't noticed Ayumi's approach. Ayumi drew out the small paper sack he'd used for his lunch. After inflating the sack like a balloon, he held it above Hikaru's head and popped it. Hikaru's eyes went wide. He looked up into Ayumi's face with a start. "Hmph, not you, too," Ayumi snorted, rearranging himself so that he sat precariously within the window sill - by no means an easy task. "I get enough of that crap from Ranma." Hikaru did his best to wear a sheepish expression. "Tendo-kun... what a surprise to see you here!" Ayumi frowned. Wherever Ayumi was on the school grounds, his band of friends were sure to follow. Hiroshi, Daisuke and a boy Hikaru recognized as 'Masaru' soon crowded around Hikaru and his camera. "Gosunkugi...," Hiroshi struck up a reprimanding tone. "You taking pictures of Ranma-chan again, without her permission? Shame, shame..." Daisuke shook his head. "You'll just have to turn over all the copies of your shots to us." "Yeah!" added Masaru. "And the film, too." Hikaru hugged his camera closer to him. These three wanted to take away his only true link to Ranma? He wouldn't let them do that! A punctuated snort drifted down from Ayumi. "Oh, gimme a break! Getting all worked up over such an uncute tomboy--" His words were cut short as Ranma suddenly pulled open the window behind him. In the blink of an eye she batted him out of the sill and slammed the window shut. As Ayumi came to land on his feet, Hikaru rushed up to him, snatching away a strand of Ayumi's hair and racing off with it. "*Hey*!" Ayumi yelled. But Hikaru was already gone. "It's in my grasp at last." Hikaru thought ahead to all the torment he had in store for Ayumi with glee. "A single hair from Tendo Ayumi's head..." He lifted the newfound trophy skyward. How wonderfully ironic... the ideal instrument of Ayumi's destruction was a part of the boy in question. He tucked the hair in between the straws of a makeshift Ayumi voodoo doll. "It's what I need to make this effigy of Tendo-kun take effect!" Hikaru stared long and hard at the doll. "How easily he managed to trick Ranma-san into becoming his... *iinazuke* right after her arrival... evil, *wicked* Tendo Ayumi!" He used an unusually long ribbon to strap two lit candles to his head. The next step was to drive a long spike into the heart of the Ayumi doll. If all worked well, whatever happened to the smaller representation of Ayumi would affect the real Tendo Ayumi. What better plan to test that theory than driving a stake through the heart of an evil demon? He held the doll against the body of a tree. Hikaru had gone to great lengths to find a large, strong tree to bind mock-Ayumi to; the fool would *not* be saved by an act of weakness! A few forceful blows from a wooden mallet and the evil, wicked Tendo Ayumi would be irreversibly bound. The words urged him on. "Evil, wicked..." It was a pity he wouldn't be able to see the effects of driving a nail into the Tendo boy's heart firsthand. He was too preoccupied with his eliminate-Tendo Ayumi fantasy that he neglected to aim the mallet away from his thumb. His mistake became all too painfully clear. A group of girls watched as the strange boy checked his thumb for any signs of internal bleeding. Smashed thumbs could be *so* annoying... "Hmph. All that effort for nothing." Depressed, he walked away, the candles attached to his head fizzling out. "What's with *that* guy?" one of the girls asked. Her friends shrugged. The final bell of the school day rang at Fuurinkan High. "Did you say he's in our class?" Hiroshi gave Ayumi an odd look. "Yeah... Gosunkugi's just one of those guys who blends into the background. Even when you're looking at him." Ayumi had to admit that was true. "So why's he taking pictures of Ranma? He gonna sell them to Kunou or something?" "Who knows? Maybe he's just... you know, *obsessed* with her or something." If that were true, Ayumi mentally snorted, it wouldn't be the first time anyone had obsessed over the girl. Ranma had the occasional suitor despite her status as his iinazuke... though it was no secret she hated the arrangement. The most persistent suitor of them all was none other than the verse-spouting brain-dead moron known as Kunou Tatewaki. Kunou had convinced himself that Ranma was the girl for him and that Ranma loved him as much as he loved her. He believed that he had to free Ranma from the oppressive clutches of Tendo Ayumi. To that end, he made it a point to appear from out of nowhere, challenging Ayumi to fights for Ranma's hand. Like now, for instance. Ayumi heard the cry before he saw Kunou charging toward him from a distance. "Tendo Ayumi! Fight me!" Fortunately, Kunou preferred dramatic entrances, which made it difficult to conceal his presence. It also gave most competent martial artists a chance to prepare for the swordsman's attack. His opponent flashed a mockingly cheerful smile and waved. "Oh! Afternoon, Kunou-sempai." Ayumi's standard greeting for Kunou; Kunou preferred that all the classes below his call him 'sempai' as an indication of respect. Ayumi used it as a term of *disrespect*. Before Kunou could end his run and begin his attack, Ayumi swept his foot past Kunou's face. The swordsman crumpled to the ground. "What's up?" asked Ayumi, nonchalantly. "So, where've you been? What d'you want?" Kunou picked himself up. "I have come to demand that you release the fair Saotome Ranma from the hold you have on her!" "In other words, the usual. Look, I haven't got the time for this now. Maybe next Thursday?" Instead of taking offense at Ayumi's words Kunou lost consciousness. Ayumi shrugged. There was no sense in sticking around to listen to Kunou's drivel if it wasn't necessary. Most of the students leaving school for the day were kind enough to walk around the unconscious Kunou. He woke about twenty minutes later to find an empty courtyard - save for the odd-looking person huddled next to him. "He may be strong, but he has a weakness. I'm sure of it. Correct, Kunou-sempai?" the boy said. Kunou narrowed his eyes. "What do *you* want? Who are you?" Whoever this individual was, he wasn't a fighter. The guy didn't even look as if he took care of himself. "Class 1-F, Gosunkugi Hikaru." Hikaru's eyes were fixed on something Kunou couldn't locate. "One of Tendo Ayumi's classmates. So, would you like to know Tendo Ayumi's weakness?" "What did you say?" Hikaru appeared slightly bewildered. "I asked if you would like to know......" Kunou grabbed Hikaru by the collar. "Do you take me for an honorless fool? Only one without honor would dare to take advantage of an opponent's weaknesses behind his back!" "I understand. Forgive me for asking." Hikaru turned to leave. "Where do you think you are going? I have not dismissed you yet." "Eh?" Kunou shouldered his bokutou. "You have not told me what Tendo's weakness is." "But I thought--" "To know an opponent's weaknesses and take advantage of them in a direct man-to-man fight is the proper path to take! So tell me, what is Tendo Ayumi's weakness?" Hikaru paused. "I... I'm not sure." "I order you to find out what it is, then!" shouted Kunou, catapulting Hikaru away with the aid of his sword. Even if this Gosunkugi Hikaru failed to find Ayumi's weaknesses, the search would keep Hikaru from pestering him for a while. ** ** ** In the week that followed, Hikaru interviewed each member of Ayumi's immediate family - except for Ranma - as well as Ayumi's friends for clues to any weakness Ayumi might have. He found Naka window-shopping in the shopping district. "You know," Naka had remarked after Hikaru had tried unsuccessfully to get Naka to tell him anything, "if you were to provide me with a little... financial incentive, I might remember what it is you want to know." Hikaru had given him the considerably large bribe. "Well..." Naka counted out each bill slowly, on purpose. "I'd have to say that Ayumi's biggest weakness... is his soft spot for Ranma." "But that's not a weakness!" Hikaru protested. Naka shrugged. "Suit yourself. Oh, and..." He waved the bills in front of Hikaru's face before pocketing them. "All transactions are final." Next, Hikaru found Kasuga at a different store buying a few groceries. He had been prepared to follow each person around all day if necessary; fortunately, it hadn't been. "I guess he doesn't like tomatoes," was all the eldest Tendo boy had to offer. Refusing to be discouraged, Hikaru next tried asking Soun, then the panda - why did the Tendo family keep a panda as a pet, anyway? - and Ranma's pet P-chan for *any* kind of information. The fact that Ranma kept a small pig as her pet, Hikaru didn't consider unusual in the least. It only endeared her more to him. When that failed to yield any insights into possible weaknesses - or Ranma - Hikaru turned to two people he disliked. Ayumi's friends, Daisuke and Hiroshi, only to come up with nothing yet again. Hikaru knew that Kunou was one who did not like to be disappointed. So, as the end of the week drew near, he chose a different plan. ** ** ** "So," said Kunou, sword again in hand. "You have had one week to learn Tendo's weaknesses, Gosunkugi. Have you succeeded?" They stood in the center of the building given over for the Kendo Club's use. Kunou considered it his base of operations on the school grounds. Hikaru peeled back the flap on an envelope of photographs he had only today picked up from the developer. "I haven't really found anything yet." Before the swordsman could vent his anger on him, he continued. "But, don't worry! I followed Tendo around for an entire day, taking pictures through a telephoto lens. I'm confident these pictures will reveal the secrets Tendo Ayumi is hiding." "Oh...?" Hikaru laid the pictures out in rows on a nearby table. True to his word, he had shadowed Ayumi for a day, from the time Ayumi left his house to go to school in the morning to his sparring sessions late in the evening. In each of the pictures, however, Ayumi had struck a silly pose and flashed a two-finger 'salute.' Obviously, Ayumi had known he was being photographed, Kunou frowned. Now why hadn't *Hikaru* noticed this when he took the pictures? "You call *this* covert photography!?" he swept the pictures from the table with his bokutou. "Bah! He *allowed* you to photograph him!" Before he could strike Hikaru for his foolishness, he felt a pair of feet touch down on his head and the weight of an entire person standing on him. It was a familiar weight; often, to spite him Tendo Ayumi would appear out of nowhere to stand nonchalantly on his head. "Okay, Gosunkugi, I'm here. What d'you want?" Kunou attempted to maintain his composure, though he was already buckling under the added weight. "And *who* gave a lowly wretch like you permission to stand on sacred territory?" "Well..." Ayumi said, nonplussed. Crouching, he held a note out for Kunou to see. [ Tendo-kun: [ Come to the Kendo Club, on Kunou-sempai's head. I have [ something to discuss with you. [ From: Gosunkugi Hikaru Of all the nerve... Hikaru picked up the large cardboard box he had brought into the building with him and unceremoniously dumped the contents over Ayumi's head. A wide assortment of live snakes, bugs, rats and frogs spilled down over both Ayumi and Kunou. "In the search for a weakness, I thought I would test his tolerance of these things!" Kunou fainted. It wasn't quite the effect Hikaru had hoped for. "Ah......" "'Ah,' indeed," smirked Ayumi. "So *that's* what this is about. You're trying to see if I've got a weakness, huh?" His voice had a barely detectable air of nervousness to it. "Why bother? Haven't had any weaknesses, never will." Suddenly, Kunou sprang back to life, holding several of the snakes in his arms. "You *lie*, Tendo! *Everyone* has a hidden fear! I will admit that I am afraid of snakes. You, too, have weaknesses." "If you're so afraid of snakes, why're you hugging them?" asked Ayumi. Kunou fainted again. Ayumi shrugged, and turned to leave. "Not so fast, Tendo!" the swordsman pulled himself up before Ayumi reached the door. "So, you have no weaknesses whatsoever?" "Like you said." "Very well. If you are lying to us, and we succeed in discovering a weakness in you..." Kunou adopted a thin smile. "...you must allow me to date Saotome Ranma." Ayumi thought about his response long after he had left the Kendo Club building. Allowing Kunou to date Ranma... "Hmph... if you can find a weakness in me, I'll let you *have* Ranma!" She was going to *kill* him when she learned about it. Oh, well, it wasn't like Kunou would ever find out what his weakness was. It was uncommon enough that Kunou and his new flunkie, Gosunkugi, would never think of it. He rounded the corner of a barracks building. Then he saw it, and screamed in terror. "W-what was that?" Hikaru said with a start. "That was a scream! And it sounded like it came from Tendo Ayumi!" The pair headed for the door of the Kendo building. "He sounded like he was scared!" "Good," Kunou murmured. "Now, we should have no trouble learning what Tendo Ayumi is afraid of!" Ranma, meanwhile, knelt to examine Ayumi, who lay sprawled on the ground, halfway into a patch of finely-clipped grass, unconscious. The boy wore a wide-eyed look of terror on his face. "What happened to him?" "Dunno," Hiroshi shrugged. "We found him like that." Ranma glanced between Ayumi's prone form and Hiroshi. "Hm? Then... no one saw what happened?" Ayumi was a capable enough fighter. Whatever had scared Ayumi enough to cause him to faint was probably something she should also worry about. Elsewhere, Kunou and Hikaru crouched in a pit. "Tell me WHY you excavated a pit in front of the entrance to my Kendo Club, Gosunkugi?" Kunou grabbed Hikaru by the collar. "I merely wanted to see how Tendo would react to *falling*..." ** ** ** He readied a new Ayumi voodoo doll to nail to a tree. "Tendo Ayumi! Your weakness won't elude me for long!" Hikaru drew out a small wooden mallet and nail. He had tied new candles to his head; the ceremony could begin. Now, to nail the doll of Ayumi to the tree... Pound. "Evil, wicked Tendo Ayumi!" Pound. "Evil, wicked..." Pound pound pound. "Tendo! Evil! Wicked!" Pound... "Please tell me, young man, why you are nailing things to the trees in my garden?" Sheepishly, Hikaru looked around for the source of the voice. The request had come from Ayumi's father, Soun, who was engaged in a game of shogi with the panda. In his eagerness to put Ayumi out of everyone's misery, he had forgotten how close he had come to the house to spy on Ayumi before beginning his ritual. "Ah..." The candles fizzled out. "Sorry..." And then, he heard her voice... "I know you. You're Gosunkugi Hikaru, right? Why are you here?" Ranma stood within the doorway to the house. She was dressed in a shirt with the enlarged image of a gold pocketwatch superimposed over a sea of newsprint, a shirt that went past her waist enough to hide the short pants she wore. On her feet she wore a pair of plush houseslippers. She carried her pet pig in one arm, the other rested against the door frame. She was even more beautiful in clothes she wore around her house! "R-Ranma-san..." He placed his hands to his face in joy. Ayumi walked out from behind the tree, noting the doll half-nailed to it. "Oh, hi, Gosunkugi." "Tendo-kun!" the boy stammered. Ayumi gave him a mock smile. "I tell you what... since you and Kunou-sempai are *obviously* going to *so* much trouble, I guess it couldn't hurt to let you know what my weakness is, right?" He wrenched the voodoo doll from the tree and handed it to Hikaru, whispering. "Eh?" Hikaru leaned closer to Ayumi. He couldn't discern what Ayumi was telling him... "Eh? Eh?" Finally, when Hikaru had moved close enough, Ayumi screamed as loud as he could. If he hadn't known any better, he could have sworn his yell went in one of Hikaru's ears and out the other... "Apparently, you are in dire need of refreshment training, Ayumi," his father said. Ayumi walked to the exact center of the dojo floor and faced him. "I want you to try to attack me." Ayumi knew his father didn't keep up with his training and disciplines as he, Ranma or her father did. In fact, after losing his wife, Soun had barely bothered to practice or maintain his martial-arts skills at all. So, whatever had caused him to break normal routine and call Ayumi into the dojo for special training had to be important... "Ayumi, you have shamed our family name. We can't allow that to happen, you know. Who will want to come to train at a dojo whose owner screams and faints?" Soun charged. Ayumi did an about-face, dodging the attacks. "What!? You *know* that wasn't my fault! You know why I'm afraid..." "Afraid of what?" Ranma asked, entering the room. She had caught the tail end of the conversation. Ayumi froze in mid-step. "You've let your guard down!" Soun yelled as he roundhouse-kicked Ayumi into the far wall, past a startled Ranma and the little pig she held. Seeing as how she wasn't going to be able to get an immediate answer from Ayumi, Ranma decided to ask Ayumi's father instead. "Uncle," she said. Calling Soun 'uncle' was a small victory of sorts in favor of the arranged marriage, but since the two families were already living closely, it was much easier to call him 'Uncle' than 'Mr. Tendo.' "What is Ayumi afraid of?" Soun approached her. "Mmm... I suppose I should tell you now, before you learn about it at an inopportune time. Ayumi is afraid of--" "*Dad*!" Ayumi interrupted. "Isn't it about time for your visit to Mom's shrine?" Soun's eyes went wide. He checked the clock on the wall near the main entrance to the dojo. "Oh, no! I can't believe I forgot it!" He rushed out of the dojo. In a small alcove along the outer hall of the ground floor of his house, Tendo Soun maintained a private shrine to his late wife, taken from him by cancer. Soun made it a point to pass by the shrine each day. Once a week, he spent more time visiting the shrine, relating the events of the week and professing his never-ending love for her. Ranma, too, knew this, though she wondered why Ayumi was going to so much trouble to conceal his phobias. "Why don't you mind your own business?" Ayumi growled at her. He shot a glare at P-chan. She drew back a step. "What's YOUR problem? Why can't you tell ME what's going on? Your father could." "You really want to know why I can't tell you? Okay; I'll show you!" So saying, Ayumi punched a hole in the floor near his feet. Ranma leapt back in surprise. A familiar figure rose partially out of the new hole in the floor - Hikaru, with a flashlight strapped to his head. "Ah... oh, hi, Tendo-kun!" he waved. Ranma looked at him nervously. She hadn't bothered to maintain her martial-artist's senses as she felt there was no way anyone could surprise her in the middle of a dojo. Besides which, she wasn't expected to fight for the moment, so why bother? It wasn't often she was able to leave her guard lowered and be nothing more than a 'normal girl,' as she liked to put it. Ayumi snorted. "And *he's* not the only reason." "Hanachiyo? Hanachiyo!" Kasuga peered around a cluster of small boulders in the garden. "C'mon, Hanachiyo!" "Kasuga? What're you doing?" Ranma asked him. After Ayumi had refused to give her any more information on his fears, Ranma had exchanged her indoor slippers for her sandals, and gone for a walk around the grounds. "Oh, Ranma. Could you help me find Hanachiyo?" "Hanachiyo?" Ranma blinked. "You mean Emiko's--" "Yes," Kasuga cut her words short. "I agreed to watch her while Emi-chan is on vacation. Now, I need to find her before it gets dark. Ranma..." Ranma smiled. "Okay, okay. P-chan and I'll help you find her. Right, P-chan?" The pig nodded. Ayumi pulled his shirt off. he brooded, hanging a towel around his neck. A full bath would have to wait until much later, as he didn't have the time - but no one had said he couldn't wash somewhat with water from the hose attached to the faucet outside the entrance to the dojo. He found himself hoping Ranma returned... he felt, for some reason, as though he needed to turn the spray from the hose on *her*. There was also Mr. Saotome, but Ranma's father was an easy, *boring* target. Ranma? She usually became miserable and furious all at once, and threatened bodily harm with or without a weapon. *Her*, Ayumi enjoyed tormenting. He paused. Images of Mr. Saotome, Naka, Kasuga, Ryomi and especially Ranma ran through his mind, laughing uncontrollably at him... such a ridiculous phobia to have! How could the invincible Tendo Ayumi be afraid of such things? A faint rustling in a bush behind him caught the attention of his senses. He whirled about on one heel and rushed to the bush. "I know you're in there, Gosunkugi!" he plunged a fist into the bush. Gosunkugi was going to be very sorry for stalking him at every turn... He felt something furry brush past his arm and let out a content 'meow...' Ayumi screamed. After Ranma had been so kind as to speak to him, Hikaru had resorted to trailing *her* everywhere she went instead of Ayumi, and taking more photographs of her. But then he heard a reminder of his reason for being on the grounds. "Tendo's screaming!" he told himself, running toward the source of the scream. He would never make it. First P-chan urgently used his head as a stepping stone - then, as he fell, mostly from shock rather than the force of Ryomi bouncing off his head, the rest of the members of the Tendo household stampeded over him. "Ayumi!" he heard Soun say. Then they were gone, leaving him to pull his body out of the earth it had been imbedded in. They discovered Ayumi had fainted again, parts of his body convulsing. A calico cat sat patiently on his chest, yawning. Kasuga recognized the cat. "Hanachiyo!" he called, picking the cat up. The cat glared at him for having disturbed her rest. "Ayumi!" Ranma exclaimed. Ryomi made an effort to say something similar, but failed. Soun filled a bucket with water from the tap and threw it over Ayumi - but not before pushing Ranma back. She did hate being transformed - whether on accident or on purpose - more so than her father. Ayumi came to. "Have you no shame, Ayumi? I thought for sure that you would have outgrown this childish *fear* by now!" "CHILDISH!?" blurted Ayumi. He was angry enough to charge his father, and did. "You're the one who caused me to be like this in the first place! You think I can get rid of it THAT easily?" Soun held out a cat as Ayumi approached, and Ayumi recoiled in horror, nearly fainting once more. ** ** ** "You mean Ayumi's afraid of cats...?" Ranma still couldn't believe it. Tendo Ayumi, who claimed he was fearless, had a paralyzing fear of cats? "*That's* his weakness?" "What, you think it's funny?" Ayumi grumbled, face reddening despite his best efforts. Ranma was taken aback. "No, not at all. But, I mean, c'mon! Having a fear of something's a poor reason to be ashamed. Accepting it or conquering it'll make you stronger." What was the technical name for Ayumi's fear? Acrophobia? No, wait. That was a fear of heights. Agoraphobia? ...Fear of open spaces. Ailurophobia. That was the word. A fear of cats. "Like it's that easy." "My daughter is right," said Genma. The Tendo boys wondered how easy it had been for him to admit that. "If you consider this fear to be a weakness, then it truly will be a weakness. Only by learning to compensate for it or overcome it can you hope to improve yourself." "Hmph." Ranma gave a slight shrug. "Uncle? Ayumi said you had something to do with his fear?" "I'm afraid I did." Soun took his appointed seat at the family room table. "He was only ten when I decided to take him on that fateful special training trip in order to teach him a new technique... one I had read about in a book of special techniques and attacks Saotome-kun sent me - the Nekoken." "... The Nekoken...?" Both Ranma and P-chan appeared surprised. "I don't think I've heard of that one." "To teach Ayumi the Nekoken, I was instructed to wrap him completely in fish-paste cakes and lower him into a pit full of starved cats... again and again, until he learned the Nekoken." Kasuga paled. "Dear me." He'd had no idea Father had done anything so extreme during any of his training expeditions with Ayumi. He tried to recall the trip in question. When Soun had brought Ayumi home, the boy had seemed distant, untalkative. Soon after that Ayumi had gone straight to his room and locked the door. Kasuga had been able to get him to open the door on occasion, for food or bathroom breaks, and saw among the bandages covering a spot here or there on his younger brother's face that Ayumi had been crying. At the time, Kasuga had attributed the tears - and the wounds - to their father's training regimen. Was there anything else Father had done to traumatize Ayumi? "I followed the directions to the letter. However, it wasn't until later that I turned the page for the next lesson... and found that training someone in the Nekoken would indeed be a tremendous mistake. For to teach someone this art was to risk scarring their soul." "Yeah!" snarled Ayumi. "Thanks a LOT, Dad!" Soun took Hanachiyo from Kasuga's arms and tossed the cat at Ayumi - who promptly crashed through a paper sliding-door to get away. He didn't make it far, however. Hanachiyo latched onto Ayumi's shirt with her claws, paralyzing the youngest of the three Tendo boys. Naka used the opportunity to go out and gather as many cats as he could find. Once Naka returned, he began to see how many of the cats he could dangle from his brother's unmoving form. "Oh, come on, Ayumi. They're only *cats*!" Kasuga picked up two more cats. "Naka's right. How could you be afraid of such wonderful animals?" Ranma watched Soun and Genma join in the fun. It had eventually fallen upon Ranma to care for the still-convulsing Ayumi after the novelty of piling cats on him had worn off and everyone else had gone on to other interests. She replaced the cold compress on his forehead. "You're making too much of a big deal out of this, y'know. They were only having a little fun." "Do I *look* like some kind of toy to you?" Ayumi bit out. "Do I?" Ranma laughed. "If that's the way you feel, why do you make it so easy for people to walk all over you?" Outside the family room, on the deck that faced outward into the garden, Kasuga was placing Hanachiyo back in her kennel carrier. None of the three were aware that Hikaru had crawled underneath the deck outside to eavesdrop on them. "In you go, Hanachiyo. I can't let you run around because you'll scare Ayumi." Hikaru's eyes shot open at the mention of scaring Ayumi. Once Kasuga had gone back into the house, Hikaru dragged himself out without taking time to brush the cobwebs off his head and shoulders and located the cage. he laughed silently, opening the door to the cage and poking his head inside. The sounds of someone being clawed several times in the face by a cat and a drawn-out screech of pain shook Ranma out of her reverie. "Huh?" Ayumi, too, stopped convulsing long enough to turn his head in the direction of the noise. Hikaru didn't stop running until he was several streets away. "Tendo-kun," he laughed, pulling out his faithful wooden mallet and another Ayumi voodoo doll. His face bore several open gashes from his encounter with Hanachiyo. "When next we meet, I will show you the way to your doom!" (...to be continued...) ------------ Credits: Written by: Mike Koos Prereaders: Richard Beaubien, Tom Williams, David Wills With apologies to Rumiko Takahashi... All parts of this series are available at the RAAC archives at ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/archive/anime-fan-works or from my WWW pages at http://www.fanfic.net/~makoto/ Comments and questions welcome. * Mike ('Kino Makoto') Koos: makoto@cal.net * http://www.fanfic.net/~makoto * * "I can do nothing to stop you. Your background music is too strong * for me." - Sam Johnson, Whose Line is it Anyway?