Cat Fist Fury

Disclaimer: It wasn't my fault, really. 

< >: Thoughts
<" ">: Chinese language

                                  Chapter 18
                           The Origin of the Neko Ken
                                    Part 1

     Ranma wiped his brow after he lifted a huge stone block and set it 
down into place to form part of the outer wall. He was only wearing a 
pair of black pants. His skin glistened with sweat as the hot noonday 
sun beat down on him. He had been working nonstop since dawn, 
but didn't show any appreciable signs of tiring. The Shaolin priests 
had decided to break for lunch, but Ranma had continued working. 
He was enjoying the constant exertion of labor as it helped work 
away the tension of his recent past. 
     It had been a week since Ranma had left Japan and come to his old 
acquaintances at the unfinished temple. Since arriving at this simple 
fishing village near the eastern coast of China, Ranma had been living 
with the monks and had been helping out in constructing the temple. 
For a while, he had discovered a rare peace as none of the problems 
he had in Tokyo had followed him. He had been given a respite from 
those troubles.
     His old mentor in meditation, the head Shaolin priest Tung Kwai, 
had welcomed him with open arms and had helped him as he tried to 
regain the focus he had learned a year ago. Ranma still refused to tell 
the aged priest about his defeat at the hands of White Claw. Tung 
had decided to give his old student some space, but he knew that 
Ranma would have to open up eventually.
     <"It is time to rest, young tiger."> Tung said as he brought a tray 
of food for Ranma.
     <"I'm not tired, Master Tung."> Ranma waved off the offered tray 
and continued to stack the stone blocks.
     <"Even a strong lad such as yourself must rest and eat.">
     Ranma paused as he looked at the food on the tray. It was then 
that his stomach growled a bit. The Neko Ken fighter smiled, as he 
shook his head and sat down to eat with the priest. As they ate, they 
conversed quietly as Ranma finally decided to give his mentor the 
details of why he had left Tokyo.
     <"Well now Kojiro? or do you prefer the name Ranma?"> 
     Ranma shook his head and replied. <"I would be most happy if 
you were to never call me by that name again.">
     The priest nodded as he saw the slight anger and pain in the boy's 
eyes. <"Very well, young tiger. Kojiro it is. In any case, how do you 
like being here so far?"> 
     <"It's been great, Master. Compared to what I had experienced 
back in Japan, I really don't mind the hard work. Sometimes, I wonder 
if I should ever go back. There's not really anything back there that I 
want or need."> Ranma felt a bit of sadness at leaving his friends 
behind so abruptly, especially Ukyo. 
     <"Speaking of things that you left behind, do you not think that 
it's time you told me as to what  appened in Japan and what made 
you return to us? As I remember a year ago, you left our temple when 
you had thought you had achieved the spiritual guidance you 
needed to control the raging spirit within you.">
     <"I thought I had, but now some people had entered into my life. 
One person I was glad to see. Another I hoped I'd never see again 
and?">
     <"One who had defeated you in battle with the same fighting 
style, the Neko Ken."> Tung finished.
     Ranma nodded as he took a deep breath and began his story.

Meanwhile, back in Japan?
     Akane moaned as she lay in her bed. Kasumi was at the moment 
wiping her brow with a damp towel Beside her, Genma, Soun, and 
Nabiki stood by as they looked down at the proud, yet extremely 
temperamental heir to the Tendo Dojo (which incidentally had no 
right to be called a dojo with its sign gone).
     "Ow! That White Claw guy cheated! I wasn't ready!" Akane 
moaned, as her eldest sister applied some iodine to some new cuts 
she had gained after challenging the person who had taken their sign.
     Nabiki shook her head and said, "You charged in there when you 
weren't ready? Akane, I can't believe just how stubborn you are. This 
was what, the second time you lost to him in one week? He's given 
us ten chances to get the dojo's sign back and we now have seven 
left. You think that by just rushing in and swinging your fists, that 
you can beat this guy? Daddy and Mr. Saotome have been training 
all their lives and even they couldn't beat him." She gestured to the 
two men, who were also sporting bandages on their heads, arms and 
upper torsos.
     "I'll get him next time!" Akane rose to sit up, but she winced as the 
pain of her cuts and bruises came back to her, forcing her to lie down 
again.
     "Akane, please you must lie still and give your wounds time to 
heal." Kasumi said in a concerned tone.
     "Oh Akane! How proud you have made me by your valiant efforts 
to restore our family's honor!" Soun started a weeping spree that 
made Niagara Falls look like a leaky faucet. 
     Genma however, was a bit more in touch with reality as he began 
assessing the situation. "Well, that may be Tendo, but that doesn't 
change the fact that this White Claw happens to be a lot more 
formidable than even the Master." Genma shuddered at the thought 
of the ancient lecher. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on 
who you asked, Happosai was still recovering from the mauling that 
Ranma had given him. Even so, Happosai may not be enough to 
defeat this Neko Ken master. If White Claw was able to trounce 
Ranma, then the outlook for the Anything Goes School of Martial 
Arts seemed dim.
     For the past week, Akane had trained hard and then challenged to 
get the dojo's sign back. Predictably, her anger and wounded pride, 
rather than her common sense had been leading her.

Flashback?
     "I've come for the dojo's sign!" Akane shouted as she came to the 
hotel where White Claw was staying. After losing that first time, 
Soun's daughter had exploded into a fit of rage and vowed to get the 
sign back. She had started by going through hours of intense 
training, which mainly consisted of breaking stacks of bricks and 
other inanimate objects. 
     The Neko Ken fighter's elderly servant gestured for her to follow 
him to an empty lot behind the hotel where White Claw was 
practicing. Genma and Soun were with her as they served as 
witnesses to the match. White Claw was dressed in a simple white gi 
and smiled mockingly at his opponent. He saw the look in her eyes 
and then assessed her.
     "Hmmm. You've got to be kidding. Do you seriously think you 
could defeat me with such pathetic skills?"
     "Shut up and fight!" Akane went into a stance.
     The Cat Fist warrior shrugged as he stood in a neutral position 
with his arms crossed and waited for his adversary to make the first 
move. "Very little kitten, let me see your claws."
     "Arrgh!" Akane yelled as she rushed at her foe with fists flying.
     WHAM! BAM! SLASH!
     "Well, that was good half-second of amusement." White Claw was 
just brushing off his hands as Akane was in a crumpled heap behind 
him. Her clothes had been ripped apart and were in tatters, as she lay 
sprawled on the ground. Her body was covered in small cuts and 
bruises as she moaned in pain and disbelief.
     "Akane!" Soun cried out as he and Genma rushed to her side and 
crouched to see to her injuries.
     "Ho hum. I would have though she'd last at least two seconds." 
White Claw remarked with boredom. "It seems that she hasn't been 
training very hard. Then again, what can I expect from a school that 
has her father and Genma Saotome for members? Absolutely 
pathetic."
     "What?! How dare you insult the Anything Goes School of 
Martial Arts?!" Soun said as he got up and faced off against White 
Claw. He had ascertained that his daughter was relatively all right, as 
she only had the wind knocked out of her. "For the honor of our 
school and our family, I challenge you!"
     "Oh really?" The Cat Fist martial artist smiled as he assessed 
Akane's father. "Then I take it, you also wish to challenge me to 
regain your dojo's sign?"
     "I do! I, Soun Tendo of the Tendo School of the Anything Goes 
Martial Arts do hereby challenge you!" Soun went into his battle 
stance.
     White Claw shrugged and said, "Well, since you are a member of 
the Anything Goes, I can accept your challenge for the sign, but I 
don't think it would be much of a fight. Why don't we make things 
more? interesting?" His smile became even more evil-looking. "You 
and your friend may attack me both at the same time. You can use 
any technique you wish. There are no rules to this challenge."
     "Huh?" Genma said as White Claw looked at him.
     "You are a member of the Anything Goes, Genma Saotome. You 
also have the right to challenge me for the sign." Genma was a bit 
surprised from this sudden generosity, and Soun pounced on this 
chance as he whispered to his friend. 
     "Saotome! This is our chance! Between the two of us, we can take 
him!"
     "I don't know Tendo. It's too easy." Genma was a bit uneasy at 
this opportunity.
     "One man against two masters of the Anything Goes? Come on 
Saotome! We can beat him!"
     Genma looked back at the Neko Ken fighter who had just 
produced a long strip of cloth and was in the process of tying his 
right arm behind his back. The head of the Saotome clan was a little 
confused.
     White Claw smiled as he finished with his task. His right arm was 
securely tied behind his back with the cloth looped around his neck 
and across his chest. 
     "How about I add this as a handicap? I'll only fight you with one 
arm tied behind my back. I'll sweeten the deal even more. I know all 
about your plans to join the two schools, but Genma's son is very 
unwilling to fulfill it. If you can defeat me, I promise that I can get 
Ranma for you, and drive away that perverted Happosai away for 
good." 
     Soun and Genma's eyes widened at the thought of the schools 
being joined and being forever free of the lecher. "R-Really?" Genma 
stuttered.
     "I give you my word of honor." White Claw said solemnly. "I have 
already defeated Ranma, so it wouldn't be any problem for me to 
bring him back. I also happen to know where he is. And it wouldn't 
take much for me to destroy Happosai either. How about it?" White 
Claw then turned his back to them and said. "Well come on."
     The temptation proved to be too great as the two disciples of 
Happosai charged at him. When they were about to strike, White 
Claw smirked and?
End of flashback?

     Nabiki shook her head as she returned her gaze to the sorry pair. 
Even with his back turned to them and one arm behind his back; 
White Claw had made short work of Genma and Soun. 
     "You should have known better than to have accepted that deal. 
And since he counts the two of you as one challenge each, we now 
only have seven chances to get our sign back."
     Genma let out a depressed sigh. Nabiki was right. They really 
should have known better. Soun's dreaded Demon-Head attack had 
proven to be totally ineffective, and White Claw had used that one 
free arm to slash the two of them like a paper shredder. Ranma's father 
had been forced to unlock several of his sealed techniques, but they 
too were ineffective. Genma's secret techniques of the Umisenken 
and the Yamisenken were rendered useless. The vacuum blades were 
as nothing to the chi-powered claws of their opponent. White Claw 
was not so easily distracted by the more dirtier tricks and Genma 
found himself totally outclassed. He was just too fast, too savage 
and almost impossible to get close enough to land any blows. He 
would be slashing away before they even got a chance to counter. 
There was just no way that they could counter White Claw's Neko 
Ken techniques. Happosai could have been able to stand up to him, 
but even then Genma wasn't sure if the ancient lecher could beat him. 
Other than an incentive to regain the dojo's sign, the old, perverted 
founder of the Anything Goes may not be willing to fight White 
Claw. In any case, Happosai would still be in the hospital for some 
time yet. 
     No, it was clear that they needed someone who could match White 
Claw in that powerful fighting style. They needed Ranma.
     Back in China, Ranma had just finished with his tale about his 
encounter with White Claw. 
     Tung took on a very ominous, and serious look as he finished with 
his meal and began sipping from a teacup. <"So, this? White Claw 
person knows of Cat Fu, does he?">
     Ranma nodded sadly. <"I used every technique I had created from 
what I knew of the Neko Ken, but he brushed them aside like they 
were nothing. Even my strongest attack didn't work. And? he used 
some kind of attack called the?">
     <"Cat Fist Fury."> Tung said simply.
     Ranma was more than surprised as he turned to face his mentor. 
<"M-M-Master Tung, you know??">
     The elderly priest let off a tired sigh and nodded, as he put down 
the teacup and faced Ranma. <"I am sorry Kojiro. I should have told 
you what I knew of the Neko Ken when you first arrived here. When 
you came to us to learn our meditation techniques to control the 
raging spirit within you, I saw from the start that you had a foothold 
in the true Cat Fist, which is not just a single technique, but a very 
ancient and powerful fighting style. It was foolish of me to think that 
the Felinar Clan would not take notice of you, but you were so young 
and innocent; unaware of the raw power that you had inadvertently 
tapped into. I had thought that our meditation techniques would keep 
that power within you under control and therefore go unnoticed, but 
I see that the beast within cannot be restrained completely.">
     <"True Cat Fist? Felinar Clan? What are you talking about?">
     Tung took another deep breath and waited for a moment before 
responding. <"Listen well, young tiger. It was due to an oath that I 
had taken more than sixty years ago that I could not tell you of this. 
However, since there is no other way that I can explain it to you, I 
must break that oath."> Tung gazed upon a nearby stone slab and 
then made a casual wave at it. Ranma's eyes narrowed as he saw 
Tung's fingers curl and glow with a faint light. His hand missed the 
block by a good foot, but then suddenly, lines appeared across the 
slab's surface. The stone fell apart into five neat slices as if it were 
like a loaf of bread.
     Ranma gazed at his mentor with awe and shock. <"Master? why 
didn't you tell me that you knew the Neko Ken?">
     Tung gave him a small smile as he held up a hand and replied. 
<"This? What I know is just a minuscule fraction of the power that 
you and White Claw possesses. I am a mere novice compared to you. 
However, when I had finally managed to find the means to control 
this relatively simple technique, more than twenty people had been 
hideously scarred and killed? including my own mother.">
     <"Master, what are? you trying to say?">
     Tung shook his head sadly as he began his story. <"When I was 
nine years old, I too had been training to be a martial artist. Like 
yourself, my teacher had come across a copy of the training manual 
for the dreaded Neko Ken and had tossed me into a pit of starving 
cats. I was pushed beyond the limits of my sanity and became a 
mindless, feral beast that would attack anyone that I perceived as a 
threat. When I emerged from that pit in my feral state, I could see 
nothing but a red haze and started slashing at anything and anyone. 
My? mother had come to visit me to check up on my progress 
and?"> The priest bowed his head and shuddered as the horrid 
memories of his past came back to him.
     <"Did she??"> Ranma found herself at a loss for words.
     Tung held back his tears as he struggled to compose himself. 
Finally he nodded as he said, <"She died in an instant when I slashed 
across her face."> He sniffled and choked back a bit before 
continuing with his tale. <"When I finally came out of that catlike 
state, I was so horrified to have become the unintentional killer of my 
mother and a group of innocent bystanders that I fled from 
civilization. I lived out the next year of my life like a hermit and 
avoided contact with anyone. I did not wish to risk being overcome 
by the Neko Ken's madness and endanger others.">
     Ranma thought for a moment, then nodded. He could understand 
the danger of the Cat Fist if it were turned on innocent bystanders. 
The only person to have suffered from his own madness was his 
father Genma. Since Genma was a martial artist, he was able to 
withstand his attack. Of course at the time, Ranma was only a boy of 
six when the Neko Ken madness manifested itself. He shuddered at 
the thought of accidentally killing someone who had no martial arts 
training.
     <"I would have remained isolated from the rest of the world if not 
for a kind man named Red Fang.">
     <"Red Fang?">
     <"Red Fang is what members of the Felinar Clan called him by. He 
was the one who taught me how to overcome my fear of cats and 
helped me gain control over the madness of the Cat Fist. However, 
when he revealed that the Neko Ken was a martial arts discipline in 
itself and offered to train me in it, I refused to learn anything more of 
it. I feared that I might be tempted to use that power and kill another 
innocent being in anger or lose control again. Since then, I had sworn 
never to use the Cat Fist again.">
     <"That's the second time you've mentioned this Felinar Clan. 
Exactly who or what are they?">
     Tung sighed again as he picked up his teacup and took another 
sip of it. <"The Felinar Clan is a very ancient and mysterious group of 
warriors that had created the Neko Ken fighting style. Their history 
dates back even further than the legendary Chinese Amazons. From 
what Red Fang had told me, the clan has been around for more than 
20,000 years.">
     <"Twenty thousand years?! No way! That can't be possible!">
     Tung shrugged as he took another sip of his tea. <"That is what 
Red Fang told me. I didn't believe it myself? until he transformed 
into a huge, red saber-toothed tiger right before my eyes!">
     By now, Ranma's face had turned pale. <"He? he transformed? 
Like me?">
     Tung nodded. <"Yes, Kojiro. Exactly like you. You see, about two 
hundred centuries ago, saber-toothed tigers still roamed the Earth, 
though in very few numbers. The Felinar Clan had adapted a fighting 
style based on those ferocious cats. They had even developed a way 
to actually transform into powerful tiger shapes and even a hybrid 
between man and cat."> Tung noticed Ranma suddenly becoming 
agitated and ascertained the reason. <"Ah, I see. You too must have 
realized that you could achieve a hybrid state."> Ranma reluctantly 
nodded. <"I thought as much.">
     <"But Master, this can't be true. I mean, martial arts has been 
around for a long time, but not THAT long! There's no way on Earth 
that they could have made a fighting discipline 20,000 years ago! I 
thought that people would still be living in caves and hunting with 
spears and stuff.">
     <"And? who said that the Felinar Clan was from Earth?">
     Ranma took on a skeptical and confused look. <"Wait a second? 
are you saying that the Felinar are aliens?">
     Tung cocked his head for a moment and responded. <"That's? a 
crude way of putting it, but yes. I prefer the term, otherworldly, but 
they are from the stars.">
     <"Begging no disrespect, but you've got to be kidding.">
     <"I expected this kind of reaction, so I took the liberty of calling in 
an old friend of mine. I believe you know of him as well.">
     <"Who?">
     Tung looked over to a pathway that lead into the forest and smiled 
as he saw a couple of people approaching. He gestured over to them 
while speaking to Ranma. <"Ah, here they are now.">
     Ranma looked over to where the two visitors were approaching 
and his eyes widened in shock. The first person was a tall man with a 
neatly trimmed beard and wore black clothing. The Neko Ken fighter 
instantly recognized the man as Dr. Theodore Diggers, who smiled at 
him and waved. Beside him was a person that looked like Brittany 
Digger's hybrid form, but was male and had striped fur instead of 
spots. He was dressed in a sporty outfit, was well-muscled and 
lacked a tail. However, he was quite feline as far as he had whiskers, 
fur and pointed ears.
     "Good day to you, Kojiro. It's been a while." Dr. Diggers said as he 
and his companion approached Ranma and the priest. He held out his 
hand, which Ranma wordlessly shook while still staring at Stripe. The 
archmage nodded at his confusion and gestured to Brittany's 
husband. "Oh where are my manners? I'd like to introduce you to my 
son-in-law, Stripe of the Kryn."
     "Hi there." Stripe greeted good-naturedly.
     Ranma continued to stare.

A long while later?
     "So let me get this straight." Ranma said after Dr. Diggers and 
Stripe had finished with explaining about the Kryn. He had also told 
the archmage and the Kryn about his encounter with White Claw. 
"Fifty thousand years ago, these Kyn? landed on Earth with another 
race called the Atlanteans and set up the city called El Dorado?"
     "That's right Kojiro." The archmage nodded as he sipped from a 
cup of tea. "Tung and I go way back and he called me the day after 
you arrived here. When I left Japan after our meeting, I decided to 
look more into the Neko Ken and its origins. That's when Stripe here 
told me about the Felinar Clan."
     Stripe nodded. "That's right. What Tung here told you is true. 
Around the time when we landed on Earth, expeditionary groups 
were sent out to search for a place to settle. The main group finally 
came to South America and founded the city of El Dorado. However, 
a small group was sent to Asia and wasn't heard from again until the 
era when the Roman Empire fell. By that time, they had developed 
into a new subspecies of Kryn that could transform into huge cats 
and even created a fighting style that you know as the Neko Ken."
     "Whoa." Ranma was more than flabbergasted at this new 
information.
     Stripe continued on with his story. "The Kryn at El Dorado have 
had limited contact with the Felinar Clan, which what they now called 
themselves. We have maintained peaceful relations with them, but 
they still prefer to remain distant from us and we've very little 
information about them or their fighting style. From what we've been 
able to gather, the Felinar have been isolated for millennia until 
around 1525 BC. I believe that they were revered in Egypt, China, 
India and other parts of Asia. In Egypt, they were thought to be 
messengers of Bast, the Cat Goddess, but they always kept their 
appearances to a minimum. They were seen as mysterious, 
mythological beings and great warriors. Besides my people, very few 
others knew that they existed. However, around five hundred years 
ago, they suddenly vanished from sight and that was when people 
maddened by the Neko Ken had started popping up. Apparently, 
some individuals had attempted to duplicate the Neko Ken, but since 
they only had myths and legends to go on, it's obvious that some 
things were misread or done wrong in the training procedure."
     Ranma nodded at that, remembering how his idiotic father had 
neglected to read that final page. "So where are they now?"
     "The Felinar still exist today. They've only resurfaced about a 
hundred and fifty years ago and keep to themselves. They are fewer 
in number, but they do have vast connections and holdings 
throughout the world. They also seem to appear only when a person 
is stricken by the Neko Ken. There are several unreported cases in 
which a person is driven mad by the Neko Ken and then disappear 
without a trace."
     Ranma trembled a bit as he remembered what White Claw had told 
him about what had happened to people who had been trained in the 
Neko Ken. "Do you think that the Felinar are the ones responsible?"
     "Most likely. However, by this time, my people have not heard 
from the Felinar as they refuse to answer any of our communications. 
The last message that we received from them was five hundred years 
ago and it had said that the clan was being led by a new faction. We 
suspect that these people and their descendants have been running 
the clan since then, and were the ones responsible for making all 
those Neko Ken sufferers vanish. Apparently, they are very 
protective of their fighting style. From what you told me, this White 
Claw person must be the current kohlinjar."
     "Kohlinjar?"
     "That's the Felinar's term for ultimate champion. That also makes 
him the clan enforcer." 
     "So what's this all got to do with me?"
     "Apparently, the clan's present doctrine includes eliminating all 
outsiders who know of the Neko Ken. Since you have more skill in it 
than most, you have become a prime target."
     "Now wait a minute! I hadn't intended to learn the Neko Ken in the 
first place! That was all my dumb father's fault when he threw me into 
that pit of cats! It was by just pure dumb luck that I landed in the 
Spring of Monster Tiger. Lately, the Neko Ken has been giving me 
some problems, and I've considered giving it up completely."
     "It doesn't matter." Dr. Diggers said. "Even if you were to never to 
use the Neko Ken again, the Felinar would still hunt you down 
because of the potential you possess."
     "So what can I do?" Ranma asked with apprehension. "White 
Claw beat the living daylights out of me, and he's now just waiting for 
me to come back and fight him again. If what you say is true, then 
he'll come after me if I don't show up, will he?" Ranma knew that 
White Claw was just toying with him, since he didn't have the skills 
to defeat him. 
     Stripe nodded. "The Felinar are quite relentless. The way I see it, 
the only way you can get out of this is to beat White Claw. 
According to their laws, if the kohlinjar is defeated by an outsider in 
single combat, then he must step down from his position. 
Furthermore, the outsider would be given honorary status in the clan 
and recognized as one of its warriors, thereby becoming exempt from 
the death order. Mind you, we don't have a complete understanding 
of their laws or how much has changed since we last heard from 
them."
     "But, White Claw is incredibly strong. Even if I hadn't been tired 
out when I fought him, he was still better than me. He knows all about 
the Neko Ken. I don't."
     "Then you must learn from someone who does know." Tung said.
     "Who?" Ranma asked.
     "The same person who told me about the Neko Ken and the 
Felinar. Red Fang."

Meanwhile, back in Japan?
     "So now the Kryn are involved."
     "Yes Master." The servant replied. "Our spies had sighted the 
leader of the Kryn and Dr. Theodore Diggers heading toward the area 
where Ranma Saotome had last been seen."
     "Interesting." White Claw stroked his chin as he gazed out the 
window of his hotel room. "No matter. I expected that my opponent 
would learn of the Felinar eventually. Hmmm, it will be very 
exhilarating to face him again." White Claw gave his servant a smug 
smile. "I will battle this Ranma at his fullest potential. Killing a weak 
opponent sickens me. Ranma Saotome will provide me with the 
ultimate challenge! A victory worth savoring."
     "But sir? he may just defeat you."
     "As I said before, what good is the title of kohlinjar if it is not for 
the risking?"
     "But sir? if he does defeat you, then he will become the NEW 
kohlinjar, not just an outsider exempt from the death order."
      White Claw chuckled. "Yes, who would have thought that he was 
already a Felinar. I was very surprised to learn of it when I read that 
report on him."
     The servant nodded as he said. "Yes, when we did that 
background check on him, we found out about his trip to Jusenkyo. 
When we questioned the guide, he had informed us that Ranma 
Saotome had fallen into the Pool of Drowned Monster Tiger."
     "Yes, well that was twenty thousand years ago and the Guides did 
not know about our clan. They named it the Spring of Drowned 
Monster Tiger, when it should have been called the Spring of 
Drowned Felinar. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

To be continued?

Author's notes
     Well, that takes care of part one. Part two will reveal more about 
the Felinar Clan and the Neko Ken as Ranma meets up with Tung's 
mentor, Red Fang. Stay tuned!