Paws to Consider by Uncle Fester It was a warm spring Saturday afternoon. The kind of weather that teased images of long summer days from the memories of those who had just endured a typical Japanese winter. Into this idyllic setting came a small dog roaming the streets of Nerima, following a scent trail. Stopping ever so often to leave a mark himself, the dog happily trotted from street to street. Few took notice of the little 20 pound animal, wandering dogs were a commonplace sight in Nerima. There was nothing special about this dog. In fact, he could easily be considered a mutt. His face was mostly terrier looking; a short, almost cute, muzzle topped by slightly oversized brown button-like eyes shaded by some shaggy gray fur. His little body was covered with gray and tan medium length fur ending in a small, curly tail held tightly over his back. His little paws skipped lightly over the hard surface of the street as his little black nose explored an olfactory world humans could only dream of. He was on a good scent trail that triggered one of his most powerful responses: Food. The trail eventually led to a gate that penetrated a walled compound. Inside, he could hear loud noises. Usually, the dog would have avoided places of such commotion, but the scent trail was stronger here and it obviously passed through the partly open gate towards the building beyond. Cautiously, the dog poked his head through the gate and looked for signs of danger. Seeing no humans and getting repeated whiffs of the food scent coming from the house, the dog crept cautiously inside. A loud noise from near the house startled the little dog into immobility. A large shadow passed over his tiny body and a large figure impacted the gate, closing it securely, trapping him inside. Frantically the dog looked for escape. A second figure, dressed in a martial arts uniform charged at him. With a tiny yelp, the dog took off for the more open area behind the house, rounded the pond and ducked behind a tiny shrine in the corner of the yard. In the main room of the residence, Akane Tendo was watching TV and pondering her recent fight with her fiance. She was used to Ranma's taunts and insults but every so often, he would say something that cut right to her heart. This time he hinted that her little pet pig P-chan was gone for good. Now, she may have been an accomplished martial artist and all, but she was still a girl with feelings. P-chan was often the recipient of all her developing emotions and thoughts. He might have been only a pig, but he listened better than Ranma when it came to things from her heart. While she was used to all the typical sounds of the daily Saotome workouts, an unusual yelping sound drew her attention in time to catch a glimpse of small gray body as it streaked behind the family shrine. Curious, she hurried out of the house and towards the corner of the yard. Whatever she saw dash across the yard was now cowering in fear behind the shrine. "Oh, its a little dog." she said softly. "It's okay, I won't hurt you." She held her hand out but the dog only cowered further behind the shelter. With an irritated look on her face, she yelled the two combatants: "Stop it! You're scaring him." Her voice had the desired affect, the two combatants instantly froze. Satisfied, Akane turned back to the little dog. "Come on out. I won't let them hurt you." she cooed with her hands out. It might have been her sweet voice. It might have been the sudden silence. Whatever it was, the dog cautiously inched its way out from its hiding place, head low, tail down. Carefully, he approached Akane and sniffed her hands. "There now," she said softly. "See, I'm your friend." The dog cast a wary look Ranma's direction before finishing his approach to Akane. Sniffing her feet, he reluctantly allowed her to pick him up. She cuddled him to her chest, stroking his little head. Timidly, he raised his muzzle and licked her little nose. "You should be ashamed of yourselves, scaring him like that." she chastised the two fighters. "Hey," Ranma protested. "I didn't even know he was there. He must have wandered in and got in the way." Akane ignored Ranma's protests and cuddled the little dog some more. Surprisingly, it responded like it wanted to be held. It was cute. It was friendly. And best of all, it was now hers. "He's just scared and hungry. Aren't you boy?" she cooed as she carried the little dog back to her house. "Better not give him something to eat, or you'll never get rid of him." Ranma warned. "So *that's* what we did wrong with you," she muttered as she entered the house. Ranma never had a chance to respond. With a sudden rush, Genma Saotome kicked his distracted son the rest of the way across the yard and, you guessed it, into the koi pond. The loud splash caused Akane to think: Inside, Akane carried her little friend into the kitchen. The dog sensed he was close to his goal, his nose quickly twitching, sampling the many food odors the surrounded him. "Oh, what a cute little dog." Kasumi sighed, clasping her hands in front of her. "Where did he come from?" "He was hiding out back where the guys were practicing. Poor thing, he's scared to death." "He looks hungry." Kasumi bent over slightly to get a closer look at the dog. "I bet it's been a while since he's eaten." Digging through the refrigerator, Kasumi produced a small plate with some left over pork from last night's dinner. Pulling the plastic covering off, she placed it on the floor. The dog's reaction was immediate. He struggled in Akane's arms to be let down to get at the food. Gladly, she set him on the floor and watched as he pounced on the food like a starving dog. "Oooh, a dog. Where'd you find him, Akane?" Nabiki said as she entered the kitchen. "Out back. Ranma was scaring him." She replied with a disgusted look towards the garden. "Well, he looks too clean to be a stray." Nabiki observed. "Probably belongs to someone although I don't recall ever seeing him around." "No collar, either" Akane added. "Kasumi, is there any beer left? Mr. Saotome and I are going to..." Soun Tendo started to ask as he entered the room. He stopped when he saw the dog finishing the plate of pork and looked at Akane. "When did we get a dog?" "I found him out back, daddy. Can I keep him?" Akane begged, some excitement in her voice. "Well," Mr. Tendo knelt down and gently stroked the dog's fur, looking him over carefully. "He looks healthy. Seems to behave himself well. I suppose its okay. Just so long as he doesn't belong to someone. You wouldn't be very happy if you were taking some child's pet." "I'm sure he's a stray, daddy. He's so hungry and cute." Akane was clearly happy with her new pet. "Dogs are *always* hungry, Akane." Nabiki observed. "Kind of reminds you of someone, doesn't it?" The girls giggled and Mr Tendo retrieved his beer. "Well, he doesn't look like he's been lost for very long, probably only a few days. I suppose it couldn't hurt to keep him around until we locate his owner." Mr Tendo added as he left the kitchen. "Good thing he didn't wander into a Korean neighborhood." Nabiki commented. "He'd wind up on the dinner menu." "Nabiki! That's terrible." Akane protested. "Well, that's what I heard." Nabiki replied then crossed her arms and added thoughtfully. "You know, if he's going to stay around, you better teach him to do his 'business' out in the alley. If Ranma steps on one of his 'lawn biscuits' your little friend's liable to wind up as fur gloves." "Speaking of which, I wonder if he's house broken?" Kasumi said with a contemplative pose. "Dog stains are so hard to get out." "You won't make a mess in our house, will you boy?" Akane cooed as she stroked his tiny head. "You know, If he *is* lost," Nabiki mused. "I wonder if someone's posted a reward." Kasumi and Akane just looked at each other as Nabiki disappeared in search of a newspaper. The rest of the afternoon, Akane and her new little friend played in the yard. Akane was a little girl again, giggling and running as the little dog barked and chased. "Well, they got cozy in a hurry." Ranma lamented as he sat down for dinner. Nabiki, leaning on the table, her head in her hand, replied: "It's hard to tell who's the happier, her or the dog." Nabiki was still chafing at not finding some reward offer for the dog. Losing out on making money never left her with much of an appetite. she mused. When Kasumi called everyone to dinner, Akane scampered inside, her little dog close on her heels. No one seemed to mind when the dog took its place under the table, especially since they all took turns slipping him bits of their dinner (except Ranma who kept shooing the little critter away. Food is food and this guy was going to get his share). he thought. By the end of meal, the dog was well fed and ready for a nap. In front of the TV, the girls gathered to talk and watch some light entertainment. Nabiki poured through a fresh pile of newspapers looking for Lost and Found ads. The men had long since retired to the dojo for their evening workout. The little dog spread out on his side, resting his round little belly on the floor. Akane occasionally stroked his little head and was rewarded with a tail wag. "So, Akane, what are you going to call him?" Nabiki asked during a commercial break. "I'm not sure I should name him anything just yet." Akane said softly. "Father might be right. He might belong to someone. I would hate to get too attached to him." Besides, she named P-chan right away and he wandered off. She remembered how hard it was to get over his disappearance and vowed to not go through that again. Nabiki announced she was going to take her bath. Akane, thinking a bath sounded good, decided to join her. Leaving the dog in her room, Akane grabbed her robe and headed for the door. "Now you behave yourself while I take my bath," she told him with a wag of her finger. "I'll be back in a few minutes." Not everyone was glad to see the little dog. Ranma particularly was bothered by something. That dog 'just happened' to show up at the Tendo's. To him, that wasn't natural. He *had* to check something out. Waiting a few moments, he snuck down to Akane's door, looked around quickly to make sure he was alone and quietly slipped inside. The dog, curled up on Akane's bed, acknowledged Ranma's presence by slightly wagging it's tail. As Ranma approached, the dog raised his head slightly and wagged his tail even harder. Like all dogs, he was willing to be friends, so long as Ranma was equally willing. Ranma picked up the dog and stared deeply into it eyes. "Are you really a dog?" he said in a low voice. The dog's tail and ears drooped. His eyes filled with fear. "You better not be another Jusenkyou victim. I won't allow you to pull another 'Ryoga' on Akane. I had to put up with that damn P-chan. I won't do the same with you." The little dog just blinked and tried to lick Ranma on the nose, his tail slightly twitching in fear. If he was not a real dog, he was doing a damn fine imitation. "What are you doing in my room, you pervert!" Akane screamed from the door. Wearing her robe, still wet from her bath, she was clearly ready to clean the room with Ranma. "And put my dog down!" Ranma tried to explain but couldn't get a word in. "First P-chan and now this! Is there no limits too your depravity?" She stormed in and snatched the dog from Ranma's hands. Cuddling it to her chest, she continued to berate Ranma. "Honestly, to think I'm engaged to such a perverted hater of small defenseless animals turns my stomach." "Akane, I..." Ranma started but never finished. With a low growl Akane kicked him out through the open window. Not bad for a girl holding a dog in her arms. Cuddling the little dog, Akane muttered a few more dark oaths concerning Ranma. The dog tried to lick Akane again but foiled by Akane kissing him on top of his head and rubbing her cheek against his ears. Placing him back on the bed, she went to her dresser to get her pajamas. She stopped and looked sadly at the dog. "Why is he such a jerk?" she asked the dog. "For that matter, why do I keep clobbering him?" She shed her robe and sat naked on her bed. The dog snuggled against her bare skin. Taking him into her arms, she hugged him to her breasts. "I wish I understood him better." she sighed while stroking the dog's furry head with her cheek. "I know I have to marry him eventually but why won't he grow up." She thought for a few moments, rocking the little dog like a baby in her lap. "You know, he's really not bad looking. Kinda cute, really. At least, when he's not being a jerk." She kissed the dog's head again. "I'm glad I've got you to talk to." She thought of all the times Ranma called her a tomboy and uncute. Those words probably stung her worse than any other. No girl wants to be thought of as unattractive, Akane more so. And she really didn't hate boys, it's just they always acted so...immature around her." She lifted the dog's muzzle with her fingers and asked: "Am I that uncute?" The dog just blinked. Abruptly, she stood up, set the dog aside and stepped in front of her mirror. Turning this way and that, she critically analyzed her figure. "I'm not so unfeminine." she muttered running her hands down her sides. For several minutes, she examined her self from every angle. "Breasts are okay." She elevated each small mound with her hands noting its perfect size and shape. "My ass is still tight and high." She turned her back to the mirror and slid her fingers over tiny, well defined derriere. She stretched a shapely leg and bent over slightly as her hands slid down its length. "Legs are a little muscular for a girl, I guess." Turning to face the mirror. "A little thick around the middle too." She pushed in on her waist and made a face in the mirror. "What do you think?" she said turning to the dog, cocking one knee across the other and placing her hands on her hips. The dog just stared, ears forward, tail wagging. "I guess you'd like me even if I was fat and ugly," she giggled reaching for her pajamas. "I wish I could get Ranma to do the same." She quickly dressed and climbed into bed. The little dog cuddled up to her, it's furry head under her chin. "Akane," came Kasumi's voice from the door. "I'm going to leave your door and the panels leading to the garden cracked enough so your little friend can get out if he needs to do his 'business'." "Okay, Oneechan." Akane chirped. "Good night." It was after 2 in the morning with the whole house quietly asleep, when the little dog slipped out from under Akane's arm, jumped onto the floor, stretched and shook before heading for the door. He stopped in the door way, looked back at Akane's sleeping form, and slipped out into the hallway. Moments later, the little dog found itself outside and heading for the gate. Finding it closed, he searched for an exit. There was a gap under the gate that was just large enough for one small dog to slip through and out into the street. Following the trail he had marked earlier, the dog trotted through the quiet streets of Nerima. Turning down an alley next to the public bath house, the dog headed for the rear of the building. He paused at the corner, checking for anything out of the ordinary. Finding all clear, he trotted up to the overflow spillway from the baths themselves. Someone had placed a large wash tub under the pipe to catch the warm water. Without hesitation, the little dog hopped into the tub, splashing some of the water onto the rocks around it. Slowly, a tall, Western looking male emerged from the warm water. Stretching, he reached under a box full of trash to retrieve a plastic bag of clothes. Dressing quickly, he thought happily to himself: < Not a bad day, all things considered.> As the American walked happily back to his hotel, he made a mental note to remember the Tendo's next time he wanted a pleasant diversion. Besides, the youngest girl wasn't half bad. Greg Sandborn (aka: Uncle Fester) Home on the range at: sandborn@microlink.net sandborn@burnsmcd.com **************************************************************** Pushing the envelope of fan fiction till my stamp gets canceled.