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Disclaimer: The characters of Ranma 1/2, of course, belong to Rumiko Takahashi (and lots of others). Sati Li, and any other strays that may appear, belong to me, unless otherwise noted.

A Werewolf in Nerima

By: USA Tiger

Chapter 3


"Happosai! If you don't let go, this instant... you will be in a world of pain!" Sati growled menacingly, her amber eyes flashing.

Happosai froze in the middle of rubbing his wrinkled face from side to side in Sati's bosom at the rumbling, inhuman, growl. Ever so slowly he tilted his head back, and found himself nose to nose with a pissed werewolf.

"...oh shit..." he squeaked, before leaping away to the other side of the room from her. "Heh-heh, um... Sati, what a... p-pleasant surprise to find you here, of all places! So... uh, what brings you here, if I might ask?"

Everyone in the room, with the exception of Sati, were surprised to note that Happosai had begun to sweat, heavily, and was obviously terrified of the werewolf. Not even Pantyhose Taro's monster-form had unnerved the old letch this badly.

"Hello, Happi. I see no one's killed you... yet," Sati said smoothly, her ears rising from their flattened positions atop her skull, but still exposing an impressive amount of teeth. "As for why I'm here... why, I just came to visit Ranma. Someone I consider to be like another son to me. I do hope you've been treating him well. Or should I say her, considering Ranma's curse?"

Happosai visibly paled at this revelation and his eyes began darting about the room, obviously in search of a quick escape route, if it should prove to be needed.

"Valamar will be so pleased to see you again too, as she's been hoping to repay the kindness and courtesy you showed towards her when last the two of you met!" Sati said, leaving no doubt that she was being ironic in her statements. "Why, she's spent over a century on putting together just the right spell to express her sentiments of gratitude towards you!"

"Hahaha... Well, uh," Happosai began, very nervously, while edging towards the exit, "I'd love to stay and get reacquainted with her, but something's come up, rather suddenly, and I've... uh... I have to leave the country for a while! No telling when I'd be able to get back, so, uh, just give her my best wishes and all that, okay? Gotta go, bye!"

Everyone watched silently, as Happosai disappeared from view, moving faster than any of them had ever seen him move before.

"I don't think I've ever seen the ol' freak that scared of anything before," Ranma said after a bit, turning back to face Sati. "What'd he do to Valamar?"

"I've got a better question," Nabiki spoke up. "Who's Valamar, and is she coming here? Do we even want to meet her, if she can scare the old pervert that badly?"

"Valamar is my daughter, and Happosai... well, I don't really know what happened between them, but Val's been working on a special magical spell, just for him, for quite some time," Sati stated, while getting up from the table. "Which is rather odd, as she doesn't normally hold grudges like that. In any case, I think I'll put my gear away now and start getting ready for bed. Rest well, everyone."

**

Sati looked about the rather small room, really just a large closet beneath the stairway, and quickly noted that Kasumi had done more than just clean it up. The original bare bulb on the ceiling now had a paper shade surrounding it, draperies bordered the small window, and a small vase of flowers adorned one of the shelves along the wall. And, of course, a comfortable looking futon, pillow, and down comforter completed the set up. Not a bad place to stay for awhile and she'd definitely had worse living conditions in her long life.

Getting started, Sati began pulling her things out of the subspace pocket where she'd stored them and began filling up the shelves. She decided to fold some of her clothing that would normally be hung, which were colored in various shades of black, red, or silver, and place them into the shelving, rather than take up more of the limited space by hanging them from the rod positioned along the outside wall. Then came the little knick-knacks she'd picked up here and there, and the personal care items, such as a hairbrush and small mirror. And finally, she pulled out a framed photograph and placed it on the shelf beside the small vase of flowers.

Tap, tap

"Come in," Sati called as she gazed at the photograph.

The door slid aside to reveal Kasumi, carrying a large fluffy towel and a wash-bucket of bathing articles.

"I thought you would like to bathe, before retiring," she said, stepping a bit closer and noticing the photograph on the shelf. "Oh, who are these people?"

In the picture were five people, all about the same apparent age as Sati herself. First was a girl, with light-brown hair and golden-yellow eyes similar to Sati's, wearing a dark-blue robe and smiling at the camera. The next person was a boy, whose hair was a bit darker than the girl's and with eyes the color of fine jade, dressed in a blue poet's shirt and black dress pants, arms crossed over his chest. Sati was in the middle, with a torn up black shirt and tight black jeans, with an arm around the shoulders of the next person in the picture, another boy, of apparent Chinese ancestry, wearing white silk pants and shirt, who had his fingers in a peace sign. The last person in the picture was also a boy, with golden-brown hair and dark-blue eyes, dressed in blue jeans, a black shirt, and a black leather jacket, with his hands in the pockets.

"My children. Going left to right are, my daughter, Valamar, and my sons, James, Sai, and Luke," Sati explained, pointing out each in turn. Grabbing up her night clothes, a pair of black velvet shorts and a red tank-top, she took the towel and bucket from Kasumi. "Thanks for telling me about the bath, Kasumi, I would have thought that you'd have drained it by now."

"Oh, no. Nabiki often bathes before retiring, as she claims a hot soak before bed helps her to relax and fall asleep," Kasumi said, stepping aside to allow Sati to exit. "She usually drains the furo when she's finished."

"Well, if I'm still in there once she's done, I'll be sure to drain it after I'm finished soaking then," Sati responded, and headed off for the bathing room.

Kasumi stepped out of the small room as well, but paused before sliding the door closed to take another look at the photo of Sati and her children. They looked so happy together, like her own family had been before her mother passed away. Sighing softly, Kasumi slid the door closed and preceded upstairs to her own room for the night, memories of happier times with her mother playing through her thoughts.

***

Sati hissed softly to herself as she sank into the furo, the water feeling hotter than it actually was after she'd washed up with only cold water. She sighed, luxuriously, as she felt the heat relaxing the muscles of her back and legs. And gingerly, she probed the healing wounds on her right shoulder and left thigh.

‘Fucking hell, I hate silver,’ she thought as she leaned her head back against the side of the furo. A moment later, she raised it again, as she heard the door to the changing room slide open to admit Nabiki, a wash bucket in her hands.

"Hope you don't mind if I join you?" Nabiki asked.

"Not at all," Sati responded, leaning her head back against the side of the furo and closing her eyes. "Kasumi mentioned that you liked a good soak before bed, so I was sort of expecting you."

"I'm just glad to see that you have better manners than Mr. Saotome, and changed forms before bathing and getting into the furo," Nabiki chuckled, taking a seat on a bathing stool and beginning to lather herself up. "You wouldn't believe the amount of shampoo he went through when he first arrived, and he still gets into the furo to change back, rather than just dumping a bucket of hot water over his head. Kasumi has to clean and refill the furo every time he bathes."

"Hmpf," Sati snorted. "Sounds like he needs to be housebroken. Why doesn't she say something about it? It must be costing a fortune in heating bills."

"It is," Nabiki sighed. "Unfortunately, Kasumi's far too polite to bring it up, and Daddy's forbidden me to charge him for the extra costs, since he's a guest. Funny how he doesn't have the same concern for Ranma, though."

"Is Ranma also that bad?" Sati asked, sitting up and turning to look at the much younger girl, chronologically speaking anyway. Sati had to admit that despite not being as obviously physical as her younger sister; Nabiki had apparently taken some pride in her appearance and kept her form well-toned and taut, without being overly muscular. Quite an enticing figure at that, Sati noted with a pang of longing. ‘Damn! It's been far too long since I've taken a mate, but... maybe she'd be interested in a tumble or two, if nothing more? Not too sure if I want to hang around for any real length of time, ‘though. Ah well, time will tell.^

"Not really," Nabiki said, rinsing the soap suds off. "It's just that Daddy has more than a few double-standards. His dear old friend can get away with just about anything, because of their shared suffering under their perverted old master, and Mr. Saotome takes every opportunity to remind Daddy of it, every chance he gets."

"Genma always was a lazy opportunist," Sati chuckled, as Nabiki rose and walked over to the furo. She was about to step into the furo, when she paused, noting the ugly wound in Sati's shoulder.

"What happened to you? It looks like you got shot!" Nabiki stated, entering the furo, her eyes scanning over the rest of Sati's lithe form, noting the other wound in her left thigh.

"That's what happened, all right! With silver bullets, no less. Regular bullets wouldn't take nearly so long to heal, or leave scars. When I was visiting Romania, recently, some wannabe werewolf hunter decided that I was next on his list of kills. He's been chasing me ever since," Sati explained, then suddenly yawned, expansively. "Gods, I'm more tired than I thought!"

"Someone's after you?" Nabiki asked, her eyes narrowing in demand for an answer.

"Don't worry about it," Sati said, waving a hand dismissively. "I know how to take care of him. 'Sides, he has some kind of screwed up sense of honor, that won't let him risk hurting a bystander. You and your family are in no danger by allowing me to remain here."

"Sounds a bit like Kuno-baby," Nabiki snorted, as Sati rose up out of the furo and began to dry herself off. "Although, Kuno's never seemed to be all that concerned about bystanders, unless they come between him and something he wants."

"Now that's funny, that's the boy's name, Kuno. Kuno Taeko, the Silver Werewolf Hunter of Romania." Sati said, as she wrapped the large towel about herself and began walking toward the changing room. "Still haven't figured out what a Japanese Hunter was doing in Romania, of all places. Oh well, I'll worry about it later. In any case, I know I told you that I'd tell you about the differences between the various types of Lycanthropes, but... can it wait till tomorrow?"

"Sure, no problem," Nabiki said, making herself more comfortable now that she had the furo to herself. "Good night, Sati."

"G'night, Nabiki," Sati responded, while stifling another yawn.

**

"Auntie?"

Sati paused as she was crossing the main room of the house on her way back to her room, noting with only a minor bit of surprise that Ranma was still seated at the dining table.

"What is it, Cub?" she responded, stifling yet another yawn. She was really looking forward to a good night's rest.

"I thought we could, you know... talk? There's only so much you can say in a letter," Ranma said, looking a bit embarrassed for some reason.

"Okay," Sati chuckled, moving to take a seat across from him at the table, when Ranma held up a hand to stop her.

"Umm, not here!"

"My room, then? It's a little cramped, but..."

"No!" Ranma yelped, startling Sati, and looking about frantically. "Uh, no, that's okay! I was thinking about the roof, if that's okay with you, Auntie?"

"Sure, Cub," Sati responded, motioning for him to lead the way, and then followed him out into the garden, listening to him grumble about overly-jealous, violent tomboys catching him in another woman's bedroom at night. From the garden they leaped up onto the roof, and made themselves comfortable.

"I love a cloudless night. The stars are so clear. It's so peaceful up here, I can see why you like sitting up here," Sati said, settling to the roof to sit Indian-style and lean back onto her hands, her face turned upwards to gaze upon the stars.

"It's peaceful... most of the time. I can get away from my life, for a time, up here," Ranma stated, sounding more than a little tired, as he also sat down beside her, drawing his knees up to his chest. "So, where have you been, Auntie, since you left?"

"Lots of places, Cub. Egypt, America, England, and Romania. Even got a wannabe werewolf hunter on my tail now," Sati noticed Ranma's questioning gaze, and continued. "Oh, don't worry. I'll be alright. It's gonna take more than a couple of silver bullets to take me down." She pulled the wide strap of her tank-top aside and showed him where one of the silver bullets had hit her, and also indicated the wound on her thigh.

"Maybe you should go see Dr. Tofu. He might be able to make it heal faster," Ranma said as Sati readjusted her top.

"Nah, it's okay!" Sati stated, shaking her head. "Time will take care of it, and only strong magic could speed up the healing process. So, has that idiot father of yours let you meet your mother, as her son, yet?"

"Nope, he's still afraid that she'll kill us 'cause of the curse. It's his fault for taking us to the damned place," Ranma stated as he thought dark thoughts about his father.

"I still say you should tell her, Ranma," Sati said softly. "She's your mother, and I seriously doubt that she would kill her own cub, for any reason. The Jusenkyo curse doesn't change who you are, and there are far loftier goals to reach for than just being a man-among-men. Such as being a good person which you definitely are."

"Thanks, Auntie," Ranma responded, laying back upon the roof to stare up into the night sky. "I appreciate it."

"No problem, Cub," Sati chuckled, and stretched out along the roof as well. "So... which one do you like?"

"Huh?" Ranma grunted, wondering what she was talking about. "Which what?"

"Your fiancées, of course!" Sati clarified, grinning, rolling onto her side and propping her head up with her hand. "Which of your fiancées do you find most appealing? Or do you prefer someone other than one of your so-called official fiancées, hmm?"

Ranma sighed, heavily, in obvious frustration. "Can we talk about it later, Auntie? Please?"

"Sure, I was just curious, Ranma. Don't worry about it," Sati said, and suddenly yawned, massively. "Damn, but I'm beat! Right now, I really want to find out how comfortable that futon Kasumi made up for me is! I'm going to be staying for a while, so we'll have lots of time to talk. So, if you'll excuse me..."

"Good night, Auntie!" Ranma said, but made no move to get up, as Sati did so.

"Don't stay up here too long, Cub," Sati stated as she walked over to the edge of the roof. "A cold roof is a poor substitute for a warm futon."

"I won't. I just want to watch the stars a bit longer, that's all."

"Whatever. Good night, Cub," Sati said, jumping down from the roof and heading inside for the night.

Edit 5-5-14: Just a little clean up and format change.