Cat Fist Fury Ranma 1/2 and any other anime mentioned in this story are not mine. You know the rest. < >: Thoughts Chapter 16 Fall of the Tokyo Tiger Part 1 Ranma winced as a sharp stab of pain ran up his side. Pantyhose had pounded him pretty hard before the Neko Ken fighter had put him down for the count. He could feel that he had one, maybe two fractured ribs, and it hurt like the dickens. His body was also starting to register the bruises and exhaustion as the effects of the adrenaline rush began to wear off. Ranma sank to one knee as he felt his strength start to ebb. He also started coughing up a little blood. Despite his amazing recuperative abilities, it was going to take him quite a while before he recovered completely. Ranma gazed at the battered and slashed form of the Chinese boy. It was clear to anyone who was watching that Pantyhose was unconscious and wasn't going to get up any time soon. That suited Ranma just fine. Right now, Ranma was very tired as he let his recent battle rage subside. Well, things can't get any worse! Just as he thought that, his hearing picked up the sounds of someone chuckling. He then saw the shadows of something descending from above. Ranma had sustained considerable injuries from his fight with Pantyhose, and his reflexes were a bit sluggish. He was unable to get out of the way as a large net fell on top of him. The net was made of chains and the ends had lead weights attached to them. As he became entangled in the trap, several round objects were thrown down at his feet. Ranma had about a second to consider them before the exploded and released clouds of noxious gases. The fumes began to make him dizzy as unsteady as he fought to keep from blacking out. He failed as he toppled forward. He was on his hands and knees when he saw three people drop from above and land beside him. "Soun! Genma! Secure the net before he gets loose!" At the mention of that hated name, Ranma began to thrash violently as he realized that his father must be somehow behind all this. Looking up through the holes of the net, he caught sight of the man he thought he left behind at Jusenkyo a year ago. He snarled with rage and could feel his blood begin to boil as Genma held onto the net from behind, trying to keep Ranma's arms pinned so that he couldn't claw his way out. With fumes he had inhaled and the net entangling him, the Neko Ken fighter found it very hard to focus his chi. "Oh happy day! Now the schools will finally be united!" Soun bawled. "Ranma! Stop fighting your father! I'm doing this for your own good!" Genma said sternly as he and Soun tightened their grip on the net. "LIKE HELL! LEMME GO! I AIN'T THIS RANMA GUY AND I SURE AS HELL AIN'T YOUR SON!" "Ranma! This is for the best! It is high time you stop this foolishness and fulfilled your obligations to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts! Accept your engagement to Akane! You break your father's heart by being so stubborn!" "I'M GONNA BREAK A LOT MORE IF YOU DON'T LET GO OF ME NOW!!!" "I don't think so. It's time that we tamed this tiger." Happosai smirked as leapt up and landed on Ranma's back. With a deft tap of his pipe, Happosai delivered a strike to one particular spot on Ranma's back, between the shoulderblades. Ranma felt a hot stinging sensation and the net suddenly became heavier. It felt as if it weighed tons as his legs gave out from the strain. He fell forward and was held fast by both Genma and Soun, who were surprised at how easy it was. "M-Master? What was that?" Soun asked as he tightened his grip on Ranma. Happosai smiled as he hopped off Ranma's back and replied, "Oh, it's just a little pressure point technique I picked up that can take away a person's strength, making him as weak as a baby. It's called the Moxibustion Pressure Point. It should be no problem for the two of you to get him to the dojo now." "Bravo Master!" "You hear that Genma? We can get Akane and Ranma married as we get him back to the house! Oh happy day!" Ranma still tried to struggle but it was no use. That damned pressure point had taken away his all of his superhuman strength and now his worst nightmare was coming true. His stupid father was trying to run and ruin his life and he was powerless to stop it. He still had his chi techniques, but without the strength to exert the force he needed and no leverage, most of his claw techniques were rendered useless. Ranma's battle rage began to resurface. The tiger was cornered and injured. His eyes took on a fierce crimson color and his aura began to glow. He could feel his blood burning as it rushed through his veins. On the spot where Happosai had placed the Moxibustion Point, Ranma could feel it tingle and it felt like pins and needles. He could feel his entire body begin to charge up with new, savage energies. Then it happened? "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!" Ranma's roar of pure, unadulterated anger and frustration took the three conspirators by surprise. The suddenly, Genma and Soun were thrown off like rag dolls as the shape beneath the net suddenly darkened and stood up. Both men were knocked out as they hit the pavement. Happosai's eyes widened as he saw the shape under the net suddenly gain over a foot in height and became more massive. The net was shredded in an instant as two flashes of chi energy appeared. Happosai wasn't much when it came to prayers, but what stood before him made him recall just about every childhood deity that he remember. The way Ranma was looking at him now in his new form was like an angered cat that was about to tear into a helpless mouse. Considering Ranma's new height of 7'4", Happosai did indeed feel like a mouse. Kosho, Kai and Shang were shocked to the core as well as they saw their friend become a humanoid tiger. They couldn't move as they stared with morbid fascination. They had seen this stuff on television and horror movies, but that was all make-believe! This was real! The transformed Neko Ken warrior's eyes flashed with murderous light, as he looked down at the master of the Anything Goes. What Ranma was feeling went beyond anger. It was rage at its most basic, most savage level and guess who Ranma was going to vent that rage on? Ranma went totally berserk as he lunged at Happosai with a speed that defied imagination. Now to people who know of him, Happosai is one of the best martial artists in the world. However, he had never gone up against Ranma before, and certainly not against his more powerful hybrid form. The aged master leapt up to avoid the blow, which instantly pulverized the spot where he was standing on. He was however, unable to evade the follow up punch, which came at him at supersonic speeds and slammed into his kisser. The lecher had just barely managed to bring up his battle aura to absorb most of the impact, but he was still sent flying backward and smashed through the front wall of the school gates. "DIE!!!" Ranma screamed as he charged at his foe, intent on shredding him into bloody confetti. Happosai was shaking his head as he was sprawled on the ground on a pile of broken concrete and rubble. He didn't understand it. The Moxibustion Point was supposed to have rendered Ranma as weak as a kitten! That blow he received would have pulped his face if he hadn't used his aura to absorb most of the force. He only had half a second to contemplate before he saw Ranma leaping toward him. Unknown to Happosai, Ranma's sudden adrenaline rush, his battle rage and the intense chi energies, which had triggered his transformation to his hybrid form, had caused the Moxibustion Point to be overridden. The mystical qualities of Jusenkyo, plus the raw chi potential of the Neko Ken had forced the pressure point to reverse itself, thereby returning Ranma's strength. Now he was very eager to deal out untold amounts of pain to his tormentors. Since Happosai was the greatest threat, Ranma instinctively went after him first. Ranma plowed into the ground feet first; causing a massive crater to be formed in the pavement as Happosai just barely got out of the way. Then Ranma rushed forward and began delivering several fast and deadly swipes at the lecher. Happosai found himself hard pressed to avoid his claws, as the Neko Ken fighter moved with far greater speed than he expected. SLASH! "Whoa!" The old pervert sweated a bit as one of Ranma's swipes cut through his gi on his right flank, just barely missing the skin. In all his years, no one had ever gotten that close to cutting him before, in a fight. He decided that Ranma was very formidable and that if he wanted to beat him, he would have do to it fast! Happosai dodged the next few slashes, then extended his pipe forward, hoping to catch Ranma by the arm and flip him up in the air. Unfortunately when he struck forward, he heard a slicing sound and then had to dart back to avoid another series of hyperfast swipes. It was then that he looked down at his pipe and saw that it had been sheared off and all he was holding was a tiny section of the mouthpiece. If Ranma had cut a few centimeters closer, Happosai would have had the nickname of Lefty. Looking down on the ground, he saw that the rest of his pipe had been reduced into tiny slices and blanched. He hadn't even seen Ranma cut off his weapon and that scared him. In another instant, he was again dodging for his life as Ranma continued to barrage him with slashes from his claws. Happosai tried to deliver punches and kicks, but because he had a shorter range without his pipe and Ranma was at least ten times faster in his hybrid form, none of his attacks could even come close. Furthermore, Ranma's endurance was far greater in his intermediate form and his opponent was starting to tire from the intense pace. Meanwhile, hidden in the shadows of a nearby alley, another figure was watching the fight with interest. He smiled as he saw Ranma's hybrid form move with unbelievable speed and ferocity. "TIGER CLAW FRENZY!" Ranma's arms became blurs as he slashed away at the ancient lecher. Happosai yelped as he tried to evade. He had experienced the Chestnut Fist before and had seen Ranma's technique on the video. He had thought he could handle it, but the Neko Ken martial artist was far faster as a pseudo-weretiger than as a human. As a result, Happosai winced as more than forty slashes hit home and dug into his flesh. He leapt away and looked down at his chest and arms. He went pale as he saw that his sleeves and front were tattered and he had several long, red marks on his chest and arms. Surprise gave way to anger as he yelled, "You'll pay for that!" Ranma either didn't hear him or didn't care as he charged at him again. It was then that Happosai became deadly serious as he began focusing his battle aura. Then it suddenly flared as he released a snakelike chi blast that resembled a dragon, but had the old lecher's face on it. The pavement curdled and split apart as it sped toward the Neko Ken fighter. Ranma stopped in his charge as he reared back with his right hand. He began focusing his chi and slashed forward, his hand trailing a bright blue light, which connected with Happosai's attack. "RIP CLAW SLASH!" Happosai was taken off guard as his chi blast was stopped and then cut in half! The energies of his attack exploded outward and dissipated like mist and that was when Ranma lifted his head and glared at him, his mouth curled back in a snarl. Without warning, twin beams of hot chi energy exploded from his eyes. Unlike the Cat's Eye Beams he used on Pantyhose, these beams were wider and much more intense. Happosai just barely managed to duck under the beams to avoid a direct hit, but he winced as he felt the searing heat pass over him. He heard a loud explosion behind him as the beams caused a large hole in the ground as they struck the pavement. "RAGING TIGER BOLT!" Soun and Genma's master had just gotten up when he heard that cry and saw a massive chi blast speeding toward him. The attack was barely avoided as Happosai leapt high. He then pulled out one of his secret weapons and shouted out, "HAPPO-FIRE BURST!" Ranma however, was much faster to react as he simply backhanded the fuse bomb right back up at the lecher as well as launching another one of his chi blasts after it. "RAGING TIGER BOLT!" BOOM! KABOOM! The old pervert was first blasted by his own fuse bomb, then got hit by Ranma's chi attack, causing him to be knocked down toward the ground. Ranma however, was far from finished with him. The battle rage that had taken control of him before again erupted as he sped toward Happosai to launch his final assault. "ULTIMATE NEKO KEN! FINAL ATTACK! BERSERKER RAGE!!!" Happosai didn't even have time to scream as he was subjected to the full power of Ranma's strongest technique, which became even more lethal in his hybrid form. Ranma tossed Happosai into the air and then leapt up to deliver the diagonal chi slashes that competed the technique. There was a bright explosion of chi energies and Happosai's body fell to the ground and bounced lightly before rolling to a stop. Ranma landed near his fallen form and picked him up by the scruff of his neck. He then studied him with an intense gaze and heard a slight and pathetic moan. Amazingly, Happosai had managed to survive an amplified Berserker Rage attack, though just barely. He had deep gashes all over his body and he had lost a considerable amount of blood. Ranma reared back a claw and focused his chi, intent on finishing Happosai off for good! "KOJIRO! DON'T DO IT!" Ranma was just about to give Happosai the unkindest cut of all when he heard Shang's voice. He paused and looked over his shoulder. He saw that Shang was slowly walking toward him while Kosho and Kai were cowering from behind a tree. The Chinese boy had his hands up in a nonthreatening gesture and said, "Don't do it Kojiro! He is beaten! Don't kill him!" Ranma looked back at his opponent and saw that he was indeed helpless. As he continued to stare at him, Ranma found that his battle rage was subsiding again. He had begun to think with a level head again and he started to tremble. His grip on Happosai relaxed and the lecher dropped to the ground. Ranma then looked down at his hands for the second time today and that storm of mixed emotions he had after beating Pantyhose came back to him. Ranma looked back and saw the terror in his friends' eyes as they looked down at the fallen master of the Anything Goes. When Ranma took a step toward them, they trembled and stepped back. Ranma quivered as the ramifications at what he'd almost done sank in. He had nearly killed Happosai in cold blood. He had been consumed at the rage he had felt and wanted to put a permanent end to it. As a result, his friends were now scared of him. In their eyes, he had become monster. For a long moment, Ranma just stood there and did nothing. Then he suddenly made an about face and bolted from the scene. He leapt to more than fifty feet and cleared the top of a three-story building and was soon gone from sight. Kosho and Kai were still in shock and didn't move, but Shang had gathered enough of his wits and ran to the nearest payphone to call for an ambulance. A few minutes later, the paramedics came and took Happosai, Soun and Genma to the nearest hospital. As it turned out, Happosai's students had only been knocked out and would recover soon enough. Happosai's stay however, would be of a much longer duration; at least six months. The old lecher would be receiving extensive stitches and blood transfusions from the injuries he had suffered from his mauling. Meanwhile, on the roof that was opposite to the high school, Cologne and the other Amazons were deep in thought, as they had witnessed the whole affair. Mascara and Cologne were very disturbed at how easily Ranma had dispatched one of their tribe's greatest foes. Controlling him would present a problem and they weren't as sure as before if Ranma would be good for the tribe. Even Shampoo and the others had become frightened at the sight, even though they had practically drooled at the sight of his hybrid form. This was going to take some serious consideration. Sitting on the edge of a distant roof, Ranma had returned to his human form and was deep in thought over the events of what had happened. He was relieved to find out that he still retained his strength when he returned to normal, but that wasn't the most important thing at the moment. No, the most important thing was that he had almost become a murderer. He had been completely immersed in his savage, tigerlike nature, and if it wasn't for Shang? "You were very impressive." Ranma became startled at the sound of the unfamiliar voice and quickly got his feet. He had been so immersed in his thoughts that he had totally ignored the faint danger signals that his sixth sense was giving off. He went into a defensive stance as he faced off against the newcomer, who was standing on the roof a few meters away from him. The stranger was about his height and was dressed in a pair of white Kung Fu style pants and a matching shirt with long flaring sleeves. He had long, straight, silver-blond hair that went past his shoulders. His eyes were gray and his face had a hardened look about him. He had a lean, but well-muscled body and by the way he was standing, Ranma could tell that he was a skilled martial artist. He wore black shoes and on the front of his shirt, on the left side was a small emblem that was in the shape of a tiger. "Who are you? What do you want?" Ranma asked. The stranger smiled as he placed his hands behind his back. "I saw you fight at that school. You are indeed a very good Neko Ken user." "Neko Ken? How do you know about that?" The stranger ignored Ranma's questions and said, "Though you are far better than most people who try to use my clan's fighting style, you could still improve. Your techniques are sloppy and you seem to hold back too much." "Your clan's style? What are you talking about? Just who the heck are you? What do you want? And how do you know about the Cat Fist?" The stranger took a stance and said, "I am called White Claw. I know of the Neko Ken because it is has been the fighting style of my people for thousands of years. And? " He smiled evilly at Ranma. "Since it is the laws of our people that no outsider may possess the knowledge of the Neko Ken, I therefore must kill you." To be continued? Author's Notes Well, that takes care of part one. In part two, Ranma gets involved in the fight for his life. We will also learn more about the origins of the Neko Ken and our Cat Fist fighter will have to undertake a long journey of soul-searching.