TITLE: Checkmate...with Checkers.
AUTHOR: RavenHawke RunningWolf
WARNINGS: Nothing here...
DISCLAIMER: I don't own these guys. As much as I would like to...but I promise I'll give them back in good condition, maybe a little less stressed, as soon as I'm done. I'm not makeing any money off this, so don't sue me. I've only got a computer and a dog. She's messy...eats alot...the dog's fine though.
SUMMARY: Checkers, Ryouga's dog, has a few thoughts on her own.
PAIRING: No one really here...will eventually be Ryouga and Ranma
ARCHIVE? Sure, why not? Just lemme know where it is Ok?
C&C: Please...? Is my first Ranma fic...so...be gentle...

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Checkmate...with Checkers
Part one.

I lay in the floor of my youngest masters bedroom...and wait. I wait alot. It always seems as if I'm waiting. They are all gone, almost all of the time. But I don't mind. It makes the time we have together that much more special.

I hear someone at the door and am on my paws, running to the sound. It seems to be well known that my masters are gone often. I have to chase those that wish to steal the prizes my masters bring home.

I skid to a stop as I hear someone removing their shoes.

The bad ones don't take their shoes off.

I begin to run faster to the soft sounds. I wonder which one has found their way home, has returned to me after being gone so long. I'm greeted with a smile. He grabs me around the neck and hugs me tightly.

I wag my tail and lick his face as he crushes me into his warm mustard shirt. He is stronger than his father now, and sometimes I wish he would be more gentle, but it feels so good to be part of the pack I miss so much that I don't struggle from him.

He pulls away from me after a few long moments and says something to me. I wag my tail and he smiles, then pats my head gently. He picks up the heavy pack he carries and begins to walk inside. I walk close on his right side gently herding him to the living room with my body.

They always wander about the house looking for this room that when they do return, I know to bring them here.

He drops the pack and collapses onto the soft couch. I leap up beside him and put my head in his lap.

He says something softly and pushes my head away before reaching down to his pack. He digs for a moment before coming up with a small treat. He offers to me and I take it softly. I chew the small token as he arranges himself then leans back with the soft sigh that means 'it's good to be home'.

"Checkers?" My name. He says it as he pats his lap, soft brown eyes narrowed in a smile, his small fang teeth showing. Again I lay my head in his lap, bi-colored tail wagging lazily as he scratches behind my ear.

He turns the Television on, but doesn't watch it. He speaks quietly to me and I am able to pick out a few words he has been repeating alot of late.

"Akane", "Curse", "lost", "P-chan", "Ranma". The last is the one he says with the most variation on feeling. Sometimes its a pained moan, other times it's filled with hate...and others...

After a long rant he calms down and I crawl closer offering the comfort of pack. He hugs me closely, burying his face in my fur, the soft "Ranma." being repeated into my ruff.

I let him be. His tears wetting my fur as his body shivers. I gently put one paw onto his back and hold him closer, aiding his comfort, offering support.

Some time passes before he's under control again. He seems mad, swiping his sleeve across his face in angry denial that the tears were his.

I should distract him.

I leap down from his lap, hearing him call my name. I go into the kitchen, soon comming back with my bowl in my mouth. Slowly I sit it before him, tail slapping the floor.

He blinks blankly at me, so I set it down and nudge it with my nose. He laughs lightly and picks it up. Before he can head the wrong direction, to the hallway, I bound to the kitchen barking to get his attention. He looks through the door and laughs again.

"Thanks girl." I know those words, he's pleased I helped him. Even though the neighbors have been asked to feed me with their dogs I prefer the food from the hand of my own master.

He stops by the table picking up a piece of paper. I watch his lips move as he forms each word and sighs.

The word "Lost." comes from him again. He closes his eyes and gently sets the note down before filling my bowl with food.

"Sit." he says looking at me. I quickly do as bid. "Stay." he holds a hand out, palm facing me in the 'stay' position. It's a test. A simple one but a test. He watches me, brown eyes intense. He's testing my patience, my control, his dominance.

"Go." he gestures to the food and I attack it. He smiles quietly and I look up at him for a moment.

He is handsome by their standards. Soft brown eyes covered by dark black hair, grown a little wild. He pushes it out of his eyes, re-securing the yellow and black cloth he always wears. I continue my assessment of my master. He is well built, powerfully strong, tall and firm.

As I return to my food I wonder why he doesn't have a mate.

He moves about slowly, becoming the master I remember. He makes himself some food and takes it into the living room. He sits again on the couch, feet tucked under him. I lay beside where he is sitting, resting my head on my paws.

The hours pass, the sun goes down, he remains in front of the noisy box, and every so often I look up seeing his eyes glazed in thought.

He falls asleep finally and I relax some. When he is asleep he can't wander away, get lost. I relish these times they are home. Especially this one. My favorite master.

There is a sound at the door, and for once I can bark loudly and bring help. On the couch I see his eyes open, his hand groping in the dark for his umbrella. Thunder outside sounds, lightening flashes and I look up at him. He places a gentle hand between my shoulder blades as the banging continues. He looks down at me and nods softly.

"Stay." he says softly, almost a whisper. I do, and watch him walk to the door. He opens it and I see is spine go rigid. I walk closer to him brushing against his leg, and look up to the visitor.

She's drenched, her red shirt clinging to her flesh like a second skin. I remember her scent, she was the one who made my master so angry around the nice black haired girl he can hardly talk to.

I hear him whisper one of the familiar words, his dark brown eyes, once glazed with sleep are now sharp, pupils dilated a little too much even for this level of light.

"Ranma."

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(part 2)

I stared between them, listening in the tense silence of the deafening rain. My master stared at the red-haired girl until I almost felt I should speak up, get some noise between them.

It was my master who made the first move. He straightens up, thick eyebrows drawn together in anger. He raises a fist at the girl, who looked back at with hooded blue eyes.

“Ryouga.” She sighed my master’s given name softly raising a hand to him, in the ‘stay’ position. I stared up at my Master. Would he take that from someone outside of his Pack who has asked for shelter in our den?

I watched him bare his teeth at her, flashing his small fangs as he snarls out angry words.

But they were just words.

The pigtailed redhead stepped inside, removing her shoes. I relaxed when I saw this. When they remove their shoes they are welcome into our den. I wagged my tail and brushed past the green clad leg of my master. The girl smiled down at me, holding her hands out for me to sniff before I slid against them. She curled her nails into my fur, scratching where claws couldn’t reach.

I let my tongue loll from my mouth, tail happily slapping her leg. She’s gentler than my master is, with a different touch.

I open my eyes to look to my Master….Master?! Where has he gone? In a half panic I follow his scent to the back of the house, barking. He’d wandered into the bathroom and I relax as I see he’s getting towels to clean up the sopping mess the girl has made. I go over and inspect as he reaches out for one.

His hand is shaking.

He clenches his fist, fighting the shake, muttering something softly, and I understand.

He’s scared of her. Not her in general but afraid of her because she is female. Whenever he’s scared of something his first instinct is to get mad at it, fight it, hate it. So that’s why the pigtailed girl, Ranma, bothers him so much.

I look up into his eyes as he gathers together a few towels; his eyebrows are drawn together in something that may have been worry. He looks over at me before standing and going out the door. I pranced behind him, thinking to myself.

Shyness can be cured. Mine was, and now I have my darling puppies to show for my courage. I wondered where they all were now. The rain was pouring pretty badly. Probably all curled up in the Alpha’s bed where it was always soft and warm.

He offered the girl the towels and was silently thanked with a little bow. He stood back from her as she shook her head, flinging water everywhere.

Again, silence fell like a can shaped lump of dog food. She looked away as she dried her hair off. My master watched silently, body again rigid with anger.

He demanded of her as soon as she had finished drying off her hair. She shook her head, curled her arms around herself and sneezed. I watched as my master’s eyes went from angry brown to concerned chocolate.

“Come on.” He said quietly, turning on his heel to head up the stairs behind him. She followed him closely, and I heard her cold sniffles.

I climbed the stairs behind them both, my claws clicking on the polished wooden steps. I peeked into the Alpha’s bedroom, checking on my puppies. There they were all curled together sleeping warmly in the scent of their pack. I wagged my tail and turned going into my master’s bedroom.

My master was digging through a chest, finally coming up with some clothes. He handed her the mustard colored shirt and green pants. She smiled a little at the clothes and stripped out of her red shirt. My master’s eyes went wide, and he turned his back on her.

She said his name and he shook his head fast. I watched as something flashed through her blue eyes. She slid closer to him, cooing softly.

It looked as though someone had shoved an iron rod up his spine. There was a cruel glitter in her eyes that seemed to cover something more, something I couldn’t read.

I watched as her small hands danced over the rugged fabric of my master’s shirt. The soft sounds he made seem to have escaped from gritted teeth. She giggled softly against his back, sliding her hand under his shirt, to gently scrape his stomach with her nails.

I watched as a thin line of blood ran from his nose. He reached up and wiped it away, staring down at it, and not seeming to actually see it for several long moments, but when he finally did see it for what it was it prompted him to fight her wildly. She clung to his waist, over-dramatically calling his name, speaking so fast I was lost in the words. He tried to worm his way from her, to somehow writhe out of her grasping arms.

I knew he was stronger than she was, but something kept him from using his full strength. When he did manage to get away from her, and he bolted for the door, dashing through and disappearing down the hallway.

The girl laughed, called for him and waited expectantly. But nothing happened. Worried, I padded down the hall, wondering where he had gone.

I found him in the bathroom. He was leaning on the wall under the showerhose, fully clothed; his head bowed his eyes tightly shut. His hand was curled around the knob with the blue markings. He was shivering, his breathing hard and fast. Why he was there I didn’t know, but he was unhappy, I knew that from the silent tears that fell down his face.

I went over to him, nudging his leg. He drew back with a gasp, his eyes wide, almost defensively. I wagged my tail so that he knew I was here to help him. He dropped to his knees and hugged me.

That was when I sensed it. I don’t know if it was his scent or his actions but I knew then what was wrong.

My largest puppy was grown now… His body had matured and was prepared to breed, weather he liked it or not.

And in his bedroom, there was someone who he had cried about and for, someone who caused him great pain, but he returned to when she needed his help.

And now he needed my help.

I gently nudged him to stand and took the bottom of his thick mustard shirt in my jaws, tugging him towards the hallway again. He looked down at me, shaking his head, tugging on the end of his tunic.

“No, Checkers…don’t.” He whimpered to me, brown eyes wide with fear.

Sure, I knew what the words meant. But I chose to ignore them.

“Ryouga…?” The girl’s voice came from behind me. My master’s head snapped up, a thin noise coming from him. She was wearing the clothes he gave her earlier without a belt or the bindings on her legs. They were too big for her small frame.

I let the cloth of my Master’s tunic fall from my jaws as she approached him. She looked down and to the side, her voice soft.

She seemed to apologize, not looking him in the eye as she usually did. I did look up into my youngest master’s warm brown eyes, and was surprised to find them filling again with tears.

At the soft sniffle, the girl looked up, her eyebrows drawing together over her extremely blue eyes. “Ryouga…?”

“Ranma…” he whispered.

The pigtailed girl looked up to him, saying something softly. She leaned forward and hugged my master. He looked at her like she was a strange creature, secured to his body.

It looked exactly like it had before, my master’s wide eyes staring down at the redheaded one…

I stood, sliding my body across the backs of my master’s legs, pressing him closer into her. The pigtailed girl looked up at him, startled. He shifted backwards, but I wagged my tail innocently and stayed where I was, pressed against my master’s legs, pressing him into the redheaded girl.

The girl smiled slightly, running her fingertips along his jawline. He blinked but didn’t pull away. Her smile broadened as she leaned up against his body, placing a gentle kiss on his lips.

I felt him move, but instead of away it was against. His hands sliding around her, drawing her to his body. For a long moment they held the kiss.

It was my master who broke it. He drew back fast enough to push me out of the way. But it wasn’t the stumbling clumsiness of a scared young man. Every one of his movements was deliberate. He knew what he was doing.

I watched as his hand closed over the showerhose, and he turned the hot water on, pouring it over the girl.

When he finally turned the water off, standing there in his clothes was a young man, taller than my master, with hair just as black. He blinked the same eyes as the girl had, before his lips were attacked by my master's.

Moments after they split apart, my Master giggled nervously. He spoke in hushed tones, almost as if he were afraid of getting caught. He twined his ever moving hands together, speaking down to them, before looking up to the other boy.

I wagged my tail lightly as the wet boy drew my Master into his arms and kissed him passionately.

This time when they drew apart I noticed they both were flushed, breath a little ragged.

The other boy smiled, and curled his fingers in my master’s hand, gently pulling him, whispering “Come.”

My master went with him, to his room. I tried to nose my way in, but found a green and yellow clad leg in front of my nose.

“Checkers…out.” My master said. He looked over his shoulder to the other boy who smiled brightly and waved me away.

Well, let them have their time together they deserve it, I thought to myself as I backed away, listening to the soft brush of fabric and flesh.

I padded to the Alpha’s room, leaping onto the bed to nuzzle my puppies, pulling their sleeping forms close to me. My biggest puppy was all grown up. Now he was with his …interesting… mate, and for once in the longest time’s I heard his laughter echo down the hallway, accompanied by the murrs and moans of discovery.

I listen as they calm down, the laughter dying to soft noises, even softer whisperings. I gently wag my tail; glad I had a paw in the pairing.

As I close my eyes I wonder quietly to myself if they’ll have pups…and what will they look like…

(end)

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Okay…here we are. Lemme babble for a little while about this.

I know the ending sucked. That’s simple. But it’s three fifteen in the morning and I’ve got to work at ten… I wanted to get this out before I started thinking about it before I went to sleep. I tend to get distracted easily into thoughts and sometimes can’t fall asleep. Hence this is also unbeta’ed. I know it switches tenses a lot but that’s because I’m a nutcase and can’t exactly find a good tense. It’s still choppy…but that’s because it’s Checker’s take on the sitch. Ah…what he was doing in the shower. He was going to take a cold shower…but remembered just in time that it turns him into P-chan if he does it…so… no cold showers for Ryo-kun. Yeah, he still had his clothes on, but no one ever said he wasn’t impulsive eh?

I think this ficcy was quite a bit of a challenge. How to write ficcies with as small of a spoken vocabulary as possible. I’m used to letting the main characters talk…and at great length…instead of the Silent Bob treatment we see here. Lets see…I was working with “Sit” “Stay” “Come” “Go” “Checkers” “Ryouga” “Ranma”… Yeah…whurf.

And I always thought it was weird that Ryouga was unfazed by Ranma-chan’s breasts. Don’t y’all?

So…there’s that.

RavenHawke, who’s sorta happy with the third bit he’s sent to the list.