By DF Roeder
"Excuse meee for interrup-tiiing!"
Everyone in the house sat up or disengaged themselves from what they had been doing, and looked at one another.
Kasumi passed out of the kitchen, headed for the door. "My, how... enthusiastic." The sound of the front door opening was clearly audible to the people in the tearoom.
"Errr... ... ... Can I help you?"
Everyone blinked. It wasn't like Kasumi to flub or hesitate in her greetings.
"Hi! My name is Natsume Atsuko, but call me Nuku Nuku!"
Several people face-faulted.
"Ah... Certainly, Nuku Nuku-san. What can I do for you?"
"Well... What is your name?"
A short pause and a rustle of clothing; Kasumi was probably bowing. "My name is Tendou Kasumi. I am pleased to meet you."
"I am pleased to meet you, too, Kasumi-san!"
"Yes, dear, I can very much see that." The smile was obvious in her voice. "Now, what can I help you with?"
"I am looking for... for..." Everyone strained and leaned towards the door, hearing the crinkle of paper. "Oh! I am looking for Saotome Ranma-san! I am his fiancee! Papa-san, err--" *Crinkle, crinkle.* "Papa-san bailed Genma-san out of jail. Engaged son to daughter if both have... something, something... Did that come out right? Is Ranma-san here? I like horsies!"
Akane glowered at Ranma, who cringed. Genma-panda was already packing to leave when he was forced to stop by virtue of his son's foot planted firmly in his face. Genma was then allowed to take a nap.
"Well, yes," Kasumi said, "he is, but you see, Ranma already has fiancees-- already has a fiancee."
"Really? Oh..." The sound of disappointment was clear in Nuku Nuku's voice.
"Dear?"
"Yes, Kasumi-san?"
"Just, ah, what exactly are you?"
Everyone perked up, including Genma, who was still holding up a sign that said 'ZZZZ!'.
"I am a real, live, walking, talking, breathing PERSON now!"
"Ah, ahem... I'm sure, but you don't appear to be, ah..."
"Well, I was a cat first..."
Ranma went white and started shaking.
"Then Papa-san put me inside an android body, and then I was a girl... sort of."
Much scratching of heads ensued.
"Then a pretty lady came out of the mirror one day and said, 'Nuku Nuku, you get a wish!' Well, she didn't say Nuku Nuku. She was very formal and called me Natsume Atsuko-san! Anyway, I could not decide whether to be a cat again or a girl, but the pretty lady said I could be both!"
"I... *see*. That certainly explains things."
"Is Ranma-san here? Can I at least say hello? I love horsies!"
Ranma was waving his hands at the door, mouthing 'NO! NO!'.
"I, er, suppose it would be okay."
Footsteps sounded in the hall, and Kasumi appeared in the hallway entrance to the tearoom and stepped aside. Everyone gasped. A person of intermediate height, Nuku Nuku sported a glorious mane of pink hair. Two tufted cat ears rose out of the mass, and twitched this way and that. The ears, as well as the visible parts of her body not covered with the sundress she wore, were covered in a downy tan fur. The sundress was stretched around the chest and loose in the waist. Tabby stripes rose up the back of her neck and partially down her arms, one could probably assumed the stripes descended down her back, as well, especially since a similarly marked tail flicked in and out of view from behind Nuku Nuku. Her orange eyes had slitted irises, and they twinkled merrily.
Nuku Nuku looked around the room and instinctively zeroed in on Ranma, who was shaking and cowering. "Ranma-san?" She gazed at the terrified young man. "I don't know why, but... Ranma-san reminds me of a cat!"
"ACK!!!" To his credit, Ranma made a valiant attempt to flee the premises, but in one bound, Nuku Nuku had the trembling martial artist pinned to the floor.
"Definitely cat! Wheee!" She bent down and whispered in his ear. The only word the rest could hear was 'kittens'. Ranma's eyes rolled up into his head, and he yowled.
"HA! Ranma-san IS a cat! Can't catch Nuku Nukuuu!" Nuku Nuku bounded into the backyard, neko-Ranma hot on her tabby-striped tail. He caught her, and they tussled around, Nuku Nuku giggling.
"Nuku Nuku PUNCH!"
Ranma went flying, only to run back and tackle her again.
"WHEEE!!! I think I love Ranma-san very much!"
Akane put her face in her hands. "Ba-a-ka."
Akane lay in bed, handfuls of bedsheet in her fists.
"YOOOWWWWWLLLL!!!"
"ROWR! ROWR!"
"ARGH!!!" Akane got out of bed, opened her window, and tossed out a barbell, but it was too dark to make out anything below. "Take THAT!" She wished she'd had a bucket of water, but all the buckets had been shredded for some strange reason.
"OW! Something hit me! AH! YOOOWWWWLLL!!!"
"Oooo, honestly! What I put up with..." Akane climbed back into bed.
"OH, RANMA-SAAAAAN!! ROOOOOWRRR! KITTENS!!!"
Akane's eyes snapped back open. She had once mentioned something about cats howling under her window, and Sayuri said that they did that because... because... And Nuku Nuku said something about kittens and... and... Akane sat up in bed. "AAAAAAHHHH!!!"
"Did Ranma-san hear something?"
"Rowr?"
"Ranma-san shouldn't smoke."