This is a work of fan-fiction. The copyrighted characters used in this work are not here to get me any monetary profit in any way, I just simply had fun writing it as I hope you will have fun reading it. I wrote this after exposing myself to 12 straight hours of "Josie and the Pussycats" cartoons, and I started to wonder what if they came upon Jusenkyo, and that eventually evolved into the story you see before you. The timeframe of the story is important. I'm taking the Josie animated series made in 1970 and 1972 as taking place right there....in 1972. Makes the story a bit more interesting IMHO, also makes for a funnier Genma and Soun, and I want this story to focus more on Josie & co. than on the Ranma characters, although 3 Ranma characters will be prime characters in the 1972 part (the main part) of the storyline. One more thing to address. Alexander Cabot III. The comic book portrays him as a jerk with an ego as big as his fat wallet and a big crush on Josie. This is the Alex I'm going with, as he's a better Alex, IMHO, than the Alex from the show who just runs away from everything cowardly. ------------------------------------------------- JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS featuring RANMA 1/2 "Silly Spring Spree" Part 1 story C 2001 Emi M. Briet other copyrights listed at end of story ------------------------------------------------- QINGHAI, CHINA, 1972 "Here we are, cats," Alex said as he got off the 747, "Qinghai Province, China!" He was dressed in a flashy white polyester dress shirt with a wide collar, white bell-bottomed pants on his legs. A pair of shades were over his eyes, his dark hair impeccably styled for the time period, looking a bit *too much* like the manager he is. Josie was next to step out of the jet, looking around at the scenery. "Wow! Who'd have thought we'd be playing a gig here!" Her red hair was styled at shoulder-length, wrapped in a hairbow. She was wearing a blue shift with long sleeves...and a mini skirt. Alan M walked out of the jet, "For a Communist country, they sure love to hear rock-and-roll!" His muscled chest was covered in a blue short-sleeve pull-over shirt, blue jeans on his legs. His blonde hair was cut short, and the shirt showed off his well-toned arm muscles. A high-pitched, yet pleasant voice came from the plane. o/~ "Doesn't look so common to me! *giggle*" o/~ Melody stepped out after saying that, giggling. Her blonde hair fell down to the middle of her back, and was curled up on the ends, framing her beautiful face. She was dressed in a tan vest worn over a long-sleeved, mini-skirted, green dress. "Not 'common', Melody....'Communist'," Valerie said upon exiting the aircraft. She was a vision of African-American beauty, her short dark curled hair styled perfectly. She was dressed in a tan vest, much like Melody's, but with a light brown blouse worn under it, light brown bell-bottom slacks adorned her legs. "Communism is a form of government, with the state exerting maximum control." Valerie's demeanor suggested she was very well educated, possibly the most educated among the whole group. "If you ask me, the only state *she's* in is 'dizziness'!" said the last to exit the craft. Dressed entirely in reds and blacks, this was Alexandra, the sister of the band's manager. Her black hair was done up in a ponytail, a streak of white showing in it. Alex not-so-absent-mindedly put an arm around Josie, prompting a glare from her. "Look around you....nothing but culture as far as the eye can see!" Josie freed herself from Alex's semi-embrace nonchalantly and started walking toward the baggage claim, prompting Alex to chase behind her. "Josie! Was it something I said?" The rest of the gang shortly followed Josie and Alex into the terminal. ---------------------------------------- "Saotome, you had better know where we put our packs!" Soun Tendo was extremely angry at his best friend and training partner Genma Saotome, as they washed dishes at the airport cafe, the latest punishment for getting caught at another of the master Happousai's crimes. "It's not like we had time time to stow them, Tendo. You know how the master can be! We'll find them when we finish up." Genma continued scrubbing at a particulary hard-to-clean pot. Soun Tendo was a strapping young man of age 18. Perfectly chiseled, but not *too* buff, and he had shoulder-length brown hair. He was dressed in a brown training gi, belted at the waist, and similarly-colored slacks. Any woman's dream, if it wasn't for the fact that he trained under the biggest pervert in Asia! Genma Saotome, age 19, on the other hand, looked overweight, but the weight was mostly muscle, from training himself harder than his best friend did. He had black hair, but only small strands of it could be seen under the white kerchief he wore to cover his prematurely-receding hairline. His nearsightedness required him to wear glasses, but it never stopped him from handling himself in a fight. he was dressed in a white training gi belted at the waist over black slacks. Soun looked one way, then the other. "Saotome!" Soun kept to a quiet tone as he looked to his friend. "What does the master say is a martial artist's best friend? Look around...." Genma just smiled evilly. "Opportunity!" He and Soun now both realized that their 'captors' were nowhere to be found. They noticed the back door was cracked open..... ------------------------------------------- The owner of the cafe went back into the kitchen to check on his two theives. "Idiot sirs now learn lesson?" He could only gape as his dishwashers were nowhere to be seen. A single note with Japanese writing was left behind saying "Sayonara!" He just fumed and finished up the dishes himself. ------------------------------------------- "I told you they wouldn't lose our luggage!" Alex said as two familiar bags were sitting next to the baggage claim. "Am I good or what?" "The only thing you're good at, brother, is being a blockhead! With all of daddy's money at our disposal, you couldn't even get us first class??" Alexandra just crossed her arms, looking angry, until Sebastian's kitty carrier came down the baggage claim chute, followed by the cases for Melody's drum set, Josie's guitar, and Valerie's bass and tambourines. Alexandra reached for her black-and-white furred feline pet, taking him out of the kitty carrier. "Did they hurt you, Sebastian?" Sebastian only gave his owner an exasperated "meow!" Alan M hefted up the instruments to carry them, and Alex took the backpack bags. "We need to get to the hotel suite and practice before our gig," Alan M said, effortlessly carrying all the instruments. A voice screamed in the distance. "Josie and Pussycats!!!!" "Um, guys, I think we better make haste!" Valerie tried to get Alan M and Alex's attention as a swarm of Chinese teenagers started to descend onto the entourage. o/~ "Oh look! A marathon!! Are the Olympics here this year?" o/~ Melody just cluelessly stood there as the teenagers came closer and closer. "No, Melody!! Just run!!!" Josie called to her drummer. Melody started running in the direction of the rest of the gang. o/~ "Seems like a waste....all this running, and we can't even win a medal!" o/~ The rest of the entourage just groaned and hit their foreheads with their hands. A couple minutes after they left, two familiar-looking backpacks emptied out into the baggage claim carousel, looking exactly like the backpacks Alex strapped to his back. The names on the tags read: "Alexander Cabot III, 1 Cabot Way, Riverdale, Calif. 99333" --------------------------------------------- "I think we gave them the slip, Saotome!" "And the evil master is nowhere to be seen, either!" Genma and Soun shared a hearty laugh at the expense of the situation. Shortly afterward, Genma caught sight of two backpacks rotating alone around an abandoned baggage claim. "See! Our bags are right there, Tendo! Let's get them and get the hell out of China before the master figures out we're gone!" Genma quickly strapped one backpack squarely onto his back, then handed the other one to Soun, who strapped his own on. "Hmm..." Genma noted, "a bit lighter than it was earlier...." "Yes, Saotome....a testament to 15 years of martial-arts training. We also seem to have finally outwitted the master!" Genma and Soun exchanged evil grins, but before they could even take one step toward the ticket counter, a single voice froze them in their tracks... "Boys! There you are! I was wondering where you've been! And what was that about 'outwitting the master'?" The voice had a touch of anger in it. Genma and Soun turned around to see their master Happousai was standing behind them! Happousai was a tiny little old man with a lot of martial-arts experience. Last estimates placed him around 275 years old, but such estimates were rarely believed. Genma whispered to Soun. "We do it now! The Crouch of the White Tiger!" Soun nodded and concurred. The two teenage martial artists knelt down, concentrating.....they placed their hands on the ground.... .....and groveled to Happousai! "We're sorry, master! We're sorry, master!" "You guys are so pathetic!" Happousai chided. "If you want to learn the true path of the Anything-Goes School of Martial Arts, then you need me!" Genma and Soun conceded. "Yes, master! We need you!" "Good!" Happousai paced around the teens, one hand behind his back, the other holding his pipe. "Because I need another favor!" Genma spoke up alone this time. "Anything for you, master!" "Tomorrow, we go to a legendary training ground shrouded in myth! A place only the best have trained at!" Happousai pointed off toward the nearby mountains. "It's called Jusenkyo! It's the next leg of your training!" Genma and Soun exasperatingly followed their master out of the airport to start their hike. Only a quarter-mile away, a musical band was loading their instruments onto a shuttle bus. ------------------------------------------ The shuttle bus containing Josie and the Pussycats and their entourage finally pulled up to the nearby Mai Ding Hotel, which was surrounded by loyal Chinese fans of the rock band, the screaming fans being heard for a mile or more.... "How are we going to get in through all those fans?" Josie wondered, a bit of worry in her voice. Alex leaned over to talk to the driver. "Is there a back door to this place?" He wasn't so much concerned about the band as he was about himself...the threads he had on cost him-- er, his father-- a pretty penny! But something about the driver wasn't quite right with that request....he actually looked nervous! "Honorable sir...is no back door here," the driver spoke to Alex in broken English. This was Valerie's cue to do some observation, paying special attention to anywhere that would suggest a back door to the large hotel. "I'll get us through, cats," Alan M declared as he hefted up all the instruments again and led the way out the shuttle and through the crowd. Valerie gave an educated glance at the driver on her way out. Inside the hotel, it looked rather lavish for a mountainside building. The ceilings were done up in red and gold trims, and the walls featured the Great Wall in art along with scenes from nearby villages. "Brother dear, this makes up for the lack of a first class seat!" Alexandra decided to check in first as she got to the check-in counter. "We're Josie and the Pussycats, and I believe we have the presidential suite?" "Actually, sis, I only got a regular room..." Alexandra could only groan upon hearing her brother's statement. Just like Alex to live on the cheap even in presence of great wealth....unless only Alex stood to benefit from it. A thought of her brother's hyper-expensive "Cabot Car" a couple years back just made Alexandra groan yet again. She looked over to the hotel worker at the desk, who could only nod at Alex's statement, confirming that they indeed had but a standard room. All Valerie was doing at the time was looking around....when she noticed the back door... ----------------------------------------- -- Emi Melissa Briet -- Kawaii techie-chan and DDR Maniac! ^.^v Keep your ear to the radio, and keep hot water with you at all times! RanmaCode[1.3]: r+(+) R!++ AG HS X++ SP Du+ m+ mu++ E:#antijen H F:+ a30 d+ s-: NA x Sch:CS,BA L:E ma+ M w++ N,IE PLURD (peace, love, unity, respect.... and DDR