Cat's Eyes

A GRA-FIC Production

By Lord Archive

Story Concept by: Matthew Lewis

This is an alternative universe fict, with one changed event that
has cascaded throughout most of the characters' back-story.

Parts of this series deals with adult topics and may not be suitable 
for younger readers.

-----------------------------
Part 1 - Beauty and the Beast
-----------------------------

"Come on, Dad. Stop dragging your feet," Akane scolded her father. 

Soun made an annoyed tone, following his daughter. He wasn't 
particularly interested in going on this trip, but as Akane had 
pointed out, he wasn't exactly doing anything at home. Ever since his 
wife died, he saw little need for living save for his daughters. If it 
made Akane happy to go on this trip, they would go on the trip.

Akane had begged and pleaded for her father to take her on a training 
trip. She was intent on using her summer vacation to get away from 
that annoying idiot, Kuno. And if she could use this trip to get her 
father back into martial arts and something resembling a life, so much 
the better. At least she didn't have to fight the horde of boys every 
morning.

Akane smiled as she remembered that her sister, Nabiki, was still 
kicking herself over posting the amount of time it had taken Akane to 
win those battles. Her improving time in mowing down 'suitors', 
coupled with the occasional accidental injury, had caused most of them 
to abandon their attempts. Now Nabiki had lost a portion of her 
betting pool because of it.

Soun and Akane smiled at the little shop on the border of the forest 
they planned to camp at. They could get some last minute supplies and 
use a real bathroom for the last time for the next couple days.

"Hello."  The Chinese shopkeeper greeted them with a friendly smile. 
"What does honorable customer want?"

"Just picking up some supplies before heading into Nekozawa," Akane 
answered.

"Really suggest honorable customer don't go into that forest. There's 
a very dangerous monster that's half-human and half-beast living 
there. I've seen great hunters come out of that forest pale and having 
bladder control problems."

Soun became worried for his daughter. "Perhaps we should...."

"A monster? Oh, really?" Akane had a strange glint in her eye.

The shopkeeper had seen that look before. He sighed.

"Well, as martial artists it's our duty to defeat monsters. Right, 
Daddy?" Akane said.

"Yes, that is the duty of martial artists. But, Akane, I'm not sure if 
you're ready to face a monster," Soun fumbled.

"I'll prove to you that I can defeat it. How much harder can a monster 
be than the dozens of hormone crazed attackers used to face everyday 
at school?"

"If honorable customer insist on going, I ask that customer write down 
some personal information here. Name, address, phone number, next of 
kin," the shopkeeper said, hoping the last part would get her to 
reconsider.

"Well, I don't think it's necessary for that, but better safe the 
sorry," Akane replied.

 the shopkeeper thought sadly. 

Soun looked worried.

Akane quickly finished the shopping, while her father kept asking her 
to reconsider. After several minutes, Soun gave up and they entered 
the forest.

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

A figure watched for possible prey. The figure liked its home, but 
felt something was missing. As the shape crept through the woods it 
resolved itself into a he, and he idly noted that hunts were turning 
up less and less food. If things didn't improve, he would have to move 
on. He then detected a scent in the air. Something had entered his 
domain. As the king of his woods, he had to investigate. 
Unfortunately, it seemed to smell like other hunters of his kind.

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

Akane glared at her father while he finished setting up his tent. "I 
really think I should...."

Soun interrupted her, "Now, Akane- you know very well that one of the 
conditions I set for you to go on this trip was for ME to do the 
cooking." He didn't like standing up to his daughter, but he wasn't 
about to risk his daughter's cooking this far away from Dr. Tofu.

"Fine," Akane said bitterly. "I'll go find some firewood." She walked 
off, hurt that her own father was somehow afraid of her cooking. She 
started picking up large branches. The entire time she was fighting 
back tears or anger, she wasn't sure which.

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

The figure looked closely at one of the intruders into his domain. 
This one was unusual. There was something different about the 
intruder. He then realized what it was, a female. Even better was the 
strange scent she was giving off; was she in heat?

The figure frowned as he noticed the female looked nervously around, 
and headed back towards that other intruder that was male and larger 
than him. He didn't like the idea of fighting him. There was a strange 
yet somehow familiar scent on that one, that made him oddly nervous. 
Also, while most of the males of his kind were weak, there was one of 
his kind that was persistent and growing in strength. If that male was 
somehow stronger than him, the figure would be in trouble.

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

Akane had wandered a fair distance from camp when she noticed 
something was off. It was quieter where she was and there was a 
definite presence of something. She couldn't tell what it was, but 
it was dangerous. She decided camp would be a good place to be if 
the presence she was feeling was the monster.

Akane returned to the camp with just enough wood to cook dinner. After
she started the fire, her father prepared the food. They ate and 
talked a little, but not much was actually said. Afterwards, they had 
a short sparring match and then went to their tents. 

Soun smiled as he drifted to sleep. 

Akane sighed, laying on top of her sleeping bag in her cotton pajamas. 
 She slowly fell asleep.

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

The figure entered the strange cave that the female was in. Being this 
close, he had no doubt- she was in heat. He couldn't remember the last 
time he had seen a female. He wasn't about to pass up a chance to mate
with this one.

The figure noticed the odd fur on her. It covered up his ultimate 
goal. He pawed carefully at her. Then female then opened her eyes and 
made a strange sound.

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

Akane felt something poke her a couple times. She woke up to the 
sight of an unkempt, naked boy who was practically on top of her. She 
screamed for help and attacked the boy. The boy dodged the attacks 
with a feline grace. Not one of her blows came close to him despite 
the close confines of the tent.

"Akane, are you all right?" Soun called, rushing for her tent.

Akane was about to reply when the boy made a loud hissing noise and 
bolted out of the tent.

Soun stared in momentary shock at the naked boy that almost ran him 
over. He then entered Akane's tent fearing the worst. A sigh of relief
washed over him when he saw Akane, fully clothed, sitting in her 
sleeping bag and shaking. "Akane, are you okay?"

Akane nodded dumbly. She didn't know how to feel at the moment. 

"Oh, my daughter. She's all right," he wailed, hugging her tightly.

A couple minutes later, Soun stopped trying to flood the tent and 
Akane regained some ability to think. Soun then said, "Let's go to my 
tent and go back to sleep. I'll protect you from that boy."

"What? You don't think I can protect myself? I did chase him off, you 
know." Akane covered up her fears with what she was more comfortable 
with, anger. She wasn't completely sure of her own words, just that 
she hated the idea of needing to be protected from a boy.

"But, Akane...." Soun was cut off by a gaze from Akane that made it 
clear she would not accept any protest. He reluctantly said, "If you 
wish?" After Akane nodded, he exited the tent. He walked over to his 
tent and got his sleeping bag. He returned to Akane's tent and placed 
the sleeping bag in front of it. It took a long time before sleep 
consumed his worried mind.

Akane stared at the top of her tent. She had never seen a guy naked 
before, and waking up to one like that scared her. The boy was 
probably going to rape her, and despite her words, she didn't know 
if she could fend off another attack. He was fast, very fast.

Akane didn't know what to do. She didn't want to admit her fear, and 
go home. She couldn't stand the thought anymore than the thought of 
a possible attack. She was also here to train and to be away from 
Kuno. So, they would stay... for now.

Knowing her father was just outside the tent was of no help of getting 
her to sleep.

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

Akane was thankful when her father finally woke up. They went together
to get the firewood they would need for the day. When Soun started to 
cook, Akane prepared to go to the nearby stream.

"Where are you going?" Soun asked.

"To take a bath," Akane replied.

"Perhaps you should wait until I...." Soun began.

"Dad! I will not take a bath if you're watching. Besides, it's at most 
a half dozen meters that way. IF that boy shows up AND I somehow need 
help fighting him, you can hear me yell. So don't worry, and finish 
making breakfast. I'll be back before you know it." With that, Akane 
walked away from camp.

Soun looked at the Akane's retreating form. He knew following Akane to 
make sure she was safe would be a potentially painful mistake. He 
sobbed, while worrying about her.

Akane nervously kept her senses alert for the slightest movement. She 
was a little afraid--okay, very afraid--that boy was going to try 
and attack her again. She wasn't willing to let any one know she was 
scared. Nabiki would never let her live it down that she had been 
scared by a boy.

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

The figure smiled. The female was now a good distance from the other 
male, and she was still in heat. Better yet, she had shed her fur, and 
nothing was in the way of mating with her. 

The figure carefully approached without making any noise. He grinned 
with anticipation of finally mating with a female. When she turned 
around and stared at him, he greeted her, "Meowr!"

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

Akane felt the presence of something behind her just as she was about 
to enter the stream. Turning around, she saw the naked boy from last 
night. She stared at him in shock as he... meowed?

Akane backed away from him. She watched him carefully as he moved on 
all fours. His movements were a lot like a cat and he even made cat 
noises.

The boy suddenly leapt towards Akane and rubbed the length of his body
against her. He then purred.

Akane didn't know how to react, so she screamed and tried punching the
boy. Her punch missed him by miles.

The boy looked at her quizzically. "Eeeyooow?" He then approached her 
again. 

Akane tried to attack him again as he came close to her, but she 
couldn't land a single blow. Then the boy pushed her from behind, and
she fell face first. Akane really didn't like that position and rolled 
into the stream.

The boy looked a little dismayed at the water. "Eeeoow." He seemed to 
debate following Akane into it when he heard crashing noise 
approaching him. The other male was coming, and he didn't want to risk
fighting him. There was something about that male that worried him. 
The boy hissed in the other male's direction and left.

Soun arrived in time to see the naked boy run away. He then nervously 
looked at Akane who was sitting in the streaming. "Akane?"

"I'm all right. He didn't hurt me," she replied with a shaking voice.
"I think we found the 'monster' though."

Soun was crying in relief about Akane being safe when he asked, "What 
do you mean?"

"That boy acted like he was a cat. He meowed. Moved on all fours. 
Even his general behavior was cat-like." 

Soun blinked. "If he think he's a cat, why is he attacking you?"

Akane shuddered. "Dad, I'm a girl and he's a guy. I think he was 
trying to 'mate' with me." Her fingers moved as if to count something. 


Soun also paled. That 'monster' was threatening to rape his daughter.
"Akane, hurry up and get dressed. We're leaving."

"No."

"What?" Soun asked in disbelief.

"We can't leave just yet. That boy is considered a monster and we 
should do something to stop him. We can set up a trap for him, and if
he actually thinks he's a cat, we'll be able to get him some help."

"Akane, I will not allow you to risk...."

"Daddy, it is our DUTY to stop him. I will not leave my responsibility 
of helping others even if that boy is trying to rape me. We've got to 
help the people who live around this forest, and to help the 'monster'
himself." Akane stared at her father with an emotionless face.

"Akane, it's not safe!" Soun retorted.

"'The true path to of a martial artist is fraught with danger and 
perils,'" Akane quoted one of her father's favorite sayings.

"Yes, Akane, but... you're my little girl. I can't let you fight that 
thing!" 

"I am not a 'little girl.'" 

The cold stare of Akane and a barely visible manifestation of an angry 
chi aura told him she wouldn't back down, especially after that last 
comment. He wanted to talk her out of it, but knew she wouldn't take 
any protest. He just sank to his knees and cried, "My daughter is 
going to get raped!"

Akane rolled her eyes, but was afraid of how true her father's 
statement might be.

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

"Akane, are you sure about this?" Soun's voice shook with concern.

"Positive. I lure that cat-boy into the trap and find out if he is 
mentally screwed up or not," Akane replied firmly.

Soun gulped nervously and moved off to the planned position for the 
trap.

Every step her father moved away from Akane made her even more scared. 
The cat-boy seemed to be afraid of her father, but with him being a 
good distance away, the cat-boy was sure to return and try to rape 
her. Unfortunately, that was why she was the bait.

Akane watched the shadows, waiting for the attack she knew was to 
come. A sheet of sweat formed on her forehead, knowing that any moment 
now a guy was going to force himself on her. 

Akane grimaced. Ever since Kuno had made the ridiculous statement of 
'you must defeat Akane to date with her,' that had become her greatest 
fear. If they defeated her for a date, what would stop the guy from 
raping her while on the 'date.'

Now she stood in the middle of a forest waiting for someone she knew 
wanted to rape her. And he should be attacking time now.

Akane jumped at the sound of a bush rustling. And cursed the rabbit 
that ran out of it. She then tense, realizing it might be a sign the 
cat was coming closer. Once the attack began, all she had to do was 
lead him to the trap. Real simple, but she tried not to think of what 
might happen if she failed. She really did.

Akane stared intently out into the forest, failing to notice a shadow 
looming ever closer from behind her.

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

The cat-boy noticed the male had move away from the female. The male 
was still nearby, but if the female was receptive this time, he might 
be able to mate with her before the male could interfere.

The cat-boy cautiously approached the female. She had spotted him 
quickly and started to move off to the side. He intercepted her.

He wondered why he kept smelling fear on her. Maybe this was her first 
time too. 

"Meowr!" the cat-boy exclaimed in anticipation. He leapt at the female 
who twisted and landed face down under him. He almost fell off her as 
she struggled underneath him. He was confused by this. She was in 
heat, shouldn't she want this as much as he did. Maybe if they mated 
she wouldn't be as reluctant in the future.

The cat-boy noticed that she had some strange fur on her again, and 
went to remove it. Before he could, the female indicated she wasn't 
ready to mate as her elbow smashed into the cat-boy's head.


Akane grinned seeing she had knocked out the cat-boy. Her father moved 
to tie him up, but the boy started to wake up.


The cat-boy awoke to a blazing headache and everything seem a bit, 
well, off to him. Nothing looked like the way he remembered things
looked like. They were sharper and more lively, and a bit smaller.
Among the things he saw was an old guy in a brown gi, and a girl in a 
white gi staring at him and in a defensive posture. He blinked a 
couple times. "Do you know where my Pop is? My head really hurts."

Soun and Akane just stood there agape. They were not sure what to do. 
A moment ago he had been acting like a cat, and now he sounded like a 
little boy.

Soun decided to ask something simple and go from there. "Um, ah, 
w-what's your name?"

The cat-boy paused for a moment not recognizing the question at first 
as his senses continued to assault him. "Ranma. Saotome Ranma."

 Soun couldn't believe he heard that. "You wouldn't 
happen to be Saotome Genma's son, would you?" Soun asked in utter 
disbelief.

Ranma looked at him oddly, "I think so."

Akane only briefly wondered how her dad knew the strange boy's father 
before he fainted. "Daddy!" She rushed to his side.

"What's wrong with the old man?" Ranma asked.

"I don't know. He just fainted." Akane stared at her father with 
concern. "Can you...." She glanced at him, and was suddenly reminded 
that he was still nude. "Ack! Um, why don't you put this on?" She 
hastily grabbed one of Soun's gi and threw it at the boy.

Ranma eeped and quickly put them on. 

Akane moved her father to his tent and placed him on his sleeping bag.

Ranma followed Akane and looked around, generally confused and not 
sure what to do.

Akane spent the time waiting for her father to wake up by either 
looking at her father with concern or watching Ranma warily. She 
wasn't sure everything wasn't just an act, and he was just waiting for
a chance to rape her.

Soun awoke to the sight of Ranma and Akane kneeling next to him.
"Ranma, can you tell me about your father?"

Ranma shrugged. "Well... for as long as I can remember, Pop and I
have been wandering around and learnin' lots o' stuff 'bout martial
arts. You wouldn't believe some of the martial arts schools out 
there like the one my friend Ucchan practiced based off of 
okonomiyaki. Pop's taught me lots 'bout how to fight and trainin' me 
in Any Thing Goes Martial Arts, though sometimes he can be dumb as a 
brick."

Akane blinked. 

Soun almost fainted again.  He then asked, "Um, 
Son. Could you tell me what's the last thing you remember?" 

Ranma shrugged. "Um, Pop found some great martial arts training 
technique. Something 'bout N-Nekoken. He had me gather some c-cats 
and toss them inta a pit. We got lots o' c-cats for that." Ranma 
shuddered, uncertain as to why he was having trouble even saying the 
word 'cat.' He had liked them, he thought he did. But now a cold 
shiver ran down his spine whenever saying that word. Ranma continued, 
deciding to avoid that word, "He then wrapped fish 'round me and 
pushed me inta the pit too...." His brow crinkled trying to remember 
anything after that.

Soun and Akane just looked at him, slowly absorbing what Ranma had 
said, and the cold realization that the training probably caused Ranma 
to behave like a cat.

"Um, Ranma, how old... er, what day do you think it is?" Akane asked.

"May, um, somethin'...."

"What year?"

Ranma looked at her strangely. "'Eighty-six o' course."

Akane looked at him in shock. "How old do you think you are?"

"Ten. Why?"

Akane didn't like that answer. She didn't like what she was thinking.
That Ranma had been stuck as that cat monster for over six years.

Soun was thinking along the same lines.

"Ranma, can you leave the tent for the moment? I need to talk to Daddy 
alone."

"I, ah, guess. Will you help me find Pop?"

"We'll see," Soun said. 

Once Ranma had left, Akane asked, "What are we going to do about him?
We can't leave him here. Do you know where his father is?"

Soun sighed. "Sadly, I don't know where Genma is now. The last I heard 
from him was him sending me a letter that Ranma had died."

"Well, we know that didn't happen. He turned Ranma into a cat and said 
that he was dead to cover it up," Akane said angrily.

"Maybe he didn't know. Something could have happened to Ranma and
Genma thought his son was dead." Soun sighed again.

"Daddy, I think we should take him back to our house. See if we can 
get him some help."

"Of course!" Soun remembered something and then called Ranma back to 
the tent. "Well Ranma, I knew your father because we trained in 
martial arts together. He's an old friend of mine."

"I don't remember you," Ranma piped in.

"We were training before you were born."

"Oh."

"Ranma, I don't know where your father is right now. We will try to 
find him. Until we do, you can stay with my family."

Ranma was a bit uncertain, but he didn't really have to much of a 
choice. "I guess."

Soun smiled at the two kids in front of him. "While training we made a 
promise that our family lines would be joined. I was sad to hear when 
your father said you were dead. But now that I've found you alive and 
well, you can complete that promise by marrying Akane." He had long 
since decided his youngest daughter would inherit the dojo, and was 
overjoyed at the prospect of being able to honor his old agreement 
with Genma as well.

"WHAT?!" Akane shouted in rage and disbelief. "You want me to marry 
someone who's spent the past six years thinking he was a cat!!! Just 
because you say so, I'm suppose the rest of my life with this jungle 
boy?!"

Soun, expecting this reaction, weathered her onslaught with an 
impassive face. "Because I'm your father and this is a matter of 
honor. Your children will carry on the great legacy that is Any Thing 
Goes Martial Arts!"

Ranma understood a little of what marriage meant. He knew it included 
kissing and being a friend or somethin' to a girl. "Me? With a girl?" 
He gave Akane a puzzled look. "Why doesn't that sound as bad as I 
think it should?"

Akane glared at Ranma then at her father. She stomped out of the tent 
deciding to take her anger out on some innocent trees.

Soun sighed watching his daughter depart. "There is something you 
should know, Ranma. That martial arts training your father put you 
through, the Nekoken you called it... Well, it caused you to behave 
like a cat."

"No, it didn't," Ranma interjected.

"Ranma, it's 'ninety-two and you're not ten- you're sixteen-years-
old."

"Liar."

"Son, I know this comes as a shock. But it is the truth," Soun said 
sternly.

"That can't be!" Ranma really wanted to know why the guy was lying to
him now. Was he lying about the other things as well?

"There is one thing that can prove to you I'm telling the truth."

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

"WHY DO I HAVE HAIR THERE?!" Akane heard Ranma scream in panic. She 
then resumed to pound the tree in front of her. She could guess why 
Ranma screamed that. He probably needed proof that six years had 
passed and that was one of the few ways to prove it while deep in a 
forest.

Akane was at a loss for what to do now though. She was engaged to 
marry Ranma. He was a freaking cat for six years and now she was 
supposed to marry him. While Akane wasn't exactly a traditional girl, 
she did care about her honor- especially family honor. 

The tree in front of Akane fell under her onslaught, crashing to the 
ground. She then followed suit, collapsing onto her knees and starting 
to cry. What had happened? Where had all her choices gone?

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

Akane spent most of the remaining day and the next in her tent. The 
lack of sleep and exhaustion allowed her to slumber somewhat 
peacefully despite her troubled mind.

Ranma sulked around the campsite and surrounding area. He talked a 
little with Soun about various things, like why Akane was avoiding 
them.

Two days after finding out she was engaged to Ranma, Akane was bored 
with being in her tent and not talking to anyone. She could at least 
talk to Ranma, it wasn't his fault about the engagement, after all, it 
was her father who decided it. "Um, hi, Ranma."

"Hi," Ranma returned Akane's greeting.

"Do you want to spar?"

Ranma shrugged. "Sure." While Ranma didn't like the idea of fighting
girls, he knew from Soun that Akane was the other heir to Anything
Goes Martial Arts and shouldn't be as weak as other girls were.

The two faced off against each other.

Akane's stance was solid, capable of absorbing a car crashing into 
her.

Ranma was in a stance that allowed fluid movement, that'd get him out 
of the way of any attack.

For a moment, neither moved. Then Akane rushed forward and began her 
attack. Ranma dodged a couple times and then jumped out of the way.

Akane blinked as Ranma leapt away from her and crashed into a tree a 
several meters away. "What the?"

Ranma was similarly uncertain how he did that.

Soun had been watching the brief sparring match and was also 
surprised. He noted that Ranma's movement into the jump was unusual, 
one brought on by instinct. "Well, Ranma. It seems Nekoken has given 
you extraordinary speed and ability to jump even when you aren't 
acting like a cat."

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

They spent a couple days helping Ranma hone his new abilities before 
it was time for them to return home.

The three martial artists stopped at the shop on their way home. They 
let the shopkeeper know, much to his surprise, that Akane had 
defeated the monster and it would trouble no one in that forest ever 
again.

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

A scruffy haired kid of no more than sixteen years of age walked into 
a shop. "Can you tell me where Nekozawa is?"

The shop keeper shock his head at the boy. "Right behind honorable 
customer, lost boy."

The 'lost boy' laughed nervously. "Oh, hi, storekeeper-san. Well, I'm 
off to defeat that were-creature. This time I'm sure I can do it." The 
boy grinned at the thought of finally proving himself a man by 
defeating a monster. 

The 'lost boy' was about to turn and leave when the storekeeper said, 
"Sorry, but someone just beat honorable customer to it."

"W-what? Someone defeated that foul creature before me?" he asked, 
shocked. After a moment his features hardened. "Who?"

"Ah, Tendo Akane, I believe."

"Akane? Strange name for a guy," the 'lost boy' muttered.

"Oh, that honorable customer was a girl, not a boy."

"What? My test of manhood was taken by a girl?! Tendo Akane, I will 
see that you pay for this!" He then ran out of the shop.

The storekeeper laughed. "Even if I told lost boy she lived at the 
Tendo Dojo, that customer would never find her." 

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

Six years ago...

An old lady sighed as she sat in her main room. Her neighbor had 
wasted no time in telling her about the latest gossip of what had 
happened while she was visiting her grandchildren. It seemed that 
some teenaged delinquents had gathered all the local cats and tossed 
them into a pit. The vets were working overtime as many of them had 
been injured.

Then there was that ridiculous notion of a some kind of monster that 
had appeared in the forest several kilometers away. This was modern 
day Japan, and she had thought that kind nonsense went away since 
America had rewritten almost all of their laws and much of their 
culture.

    Source: geocities.com/tokyo/fuji/9061/miscel