Cat Fist Fury

Disclaimer: Disclaimers are all the same. Once you've seen one, 
you've seen them all.

* *: Thoughts

Chapter 18
Origin of the Neko Ken
Part 2

     "Who hoo! What a haul, what a haul!"
     Now normally, the sounds of Happosai coming home from a panty 
raid, would cause Soun Tendo to moan in despair as he and Genma 
would grovel at their perverted master's feet. The ancient lecher had 
recovered from the mauling he had received from Ranma, and was 
now trying to make up for lost time. Amazing what groping a few 
pretty nurses can do for the three-hundred-year old founder of the 
Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. The hospital couldn't get rid 
of him fast enough..
     As Happosai entered the den with his bag of ill-gotten women's 
unmentionables, he noticed that his two disciples had taken very 
little notice of him as they stared at the shogi board between them. 
By the looks of the game, they had not been very focused on the 
board and had not moved or stolen each others pieces. The old 
lecher was puzzled and soon became angered at the lack of respect 
they were showing toward their master. It seemed that Happosai 
would have to remind them.
     "Soun... Genma..." The old man said in a very low and menacing 
tone.
     The two looked in the direction of their master with very dismal 
expressions. It took them about a minute before recognition, and the 
conditioned response from years of humiliation and terror, kicked in.
     "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!! MASTER!!!"
     In a flash, the two were bowing and scraping at their master's feet.
     "Forgive us Master! We had no idea that you had returned!" 
Genma groveled.
     "We are so very happy that you have recovered!" Soun added.
     Happosai glared at the two with irritation for a long while before 
finally saying, "Your momentary lapse in properly greeting your 
master is forgiven, FOR the moment." Both disciples gulped at that 
statement. "Now would you tell your master exactly why you did not 
greet my return at the moment I came in?"
     Both Genma and Soun looked at each other with fear and 
apprehension as they tried to think of the best way to explain their 
predicament.

Some time later...
     Happosai blew out a puff of smoke from his pipe as he sat on a 
cushion before his sniveling pupils. "So you lost the dojo's sign. 
How pathetic. Then again, I should have known that something like 
that would happen to you idiots." He then held up his pipe to take 
another puff. "So who took the sign?"
     "His name was... White Claw." Soun replied with dejection.
     "WHAUUUUUUGGGHHHHHH!" Happosai choked when he heard 
the name, spitting his pipe out. "HACK! ACK! COUGH! COUGH!" 
The old master went into a series of coughing fits for a full minute. 
When he finally cleared his voice, his eyes were bugged out and his 
skin had paled. "WHAT?! DID YOU SAY WHITE CLAW?!"
     Genma and Soun were surprised. They had never seen their master 
in such a state. If this White Claw could make even the greatest evil 
in all of Japan become this agitated, then things must be bad. 
     Near the entrance to the den, Akane and Nabiki were listening in 
on the conversation and they too were amazed to see Happosai in 
this state. They leaned forward to listen more closely.
     "M-M-Master? What's wrong? Do you know this White Claw?" 
Soun asked.
     The ancient founder of the Anything Goes took several deep 
breaths and took out a couple of panties to rub against his cheeks to 
calm himself down. When he finally got control, he said in a slow and 
nervous voice. "Tell me the whole story."
     A few minutes later, Happosai nodded as he took a sip of tea. "I 
see. Well, I'm not surprised that White Claw defeated you two and 
Akane so easily. He's not a man, he's more like a monster."
     "B-B-But who is he?" Genma stammered.
     Happosai took a deep breath and became what he rarely did. 
Serious. "White Claw belongs to a clan of extraordinary fighters that 
had its roots in China. They're not very well known, since very few 
have ever come across them and lived to tell about it. I am one of 
those people. It has been more than a hundred and ninety-five years 
since I heard of the name White Claw, but even then, he was a 
formidable adversary. He was virtually... unbeatable."
     "A hundred of ninety-five years ago?" Genma said in confusion. 
"That can't be right. The person who calls himself White Claw today 
doesn't look like he's that old. He doesn't look like he's a day over 
twenty-five!"
     Happosai shrugged as he said, "There have been rumors that says 
that members of the Felinar Clan are extremely long-lived and age 
very slowly with time. Take me and Cologne for example. We've been 
around for three centuries now. "

Meanwhile at the Nekohanten...
     "It no use, Great-grandmother." Shampoo replied. "No can find 
Airen anywhere. Rumor of him being defeated by another called 
White Claw. They say he also know of Neko Ken."
     "Really? Hmmm... very interesting... tell me more." Cologne said as 
her great-granddaughter continued on with.

Back at the Tendo residence...
     Happosai continued with his story. "The Felinar Clan is so ancient 
that no one really knows how long it's been around. I'd say it would 
be a safe bet that they've existed far before the first Chinese Dynasty, 
the Roman Empire and even ancient Greece. The first recorded 
appearance of the clan was around 1525 BC in Egypt. There have 
been legends of great catlike warriors. As you may or may not know, 
cats were revered in Egypt and the Felinar Clan were seen as avatars 
of the great Cat Goddess Bast. As you may have guessed, they were 
the creators of the dreaded Neko Ken."
     "The... Neko Ken?" Genma repeated.
     "Yes, Genma. The same Neko Ken that you had taught to Ranma. 
However, as you know, the training method usually renders the 
trainee mentally unbalanced with a fear of cats. No one has been able 
to correctly duplicate the Felinar techniques that make the Cat Fist so 
effective. The reason why I know about them is due to a slight...uh, 
error in judgment that I made when I was still young and foolish."
     Soun and Genma gave their master a sarcastic look. Since when 
had Happosai NOT done something that didn't end up in disaster?

Flashback to two centuries ago...
     "So, you think to test yourself against the grandmaster of the 
Anything Goes Martial Arts, eh?" A younger Happosai sneered as 
he set aside his bag of women's undergarments and stolen treasures. 
He wasn't worried about facing his opponent. The man couldn't be no 
more than twenty or twenty-one years old and looked a bit on the 
lean side. The pervert had more than a century's worth of experience 
under his belt.
     The man growled as he took a strange stance that Happosai did 
not recognize. "I have heard that you are quite formidable and I wish 
to see if the rumors are true. Besides, you had committed a serious 
crime by stealing some of the treasures of our clan. The penalty for 
this transgression will be quite severe."
     "Hah! As if a stripling like you could defeat me! Some of your 
treasures are worth a fortune and I'll never part with my silky 
darlings!" The future mentor of Soun and Genma took out a pair of 
panties and rubbed them affectionately against his cheek, giving 
himself a boost in energy. 
     The man smirked as his battle aura began to show. "Let us see if 
you still hold your 'silky darlings' in such high regard when they are 
drenched in your blood!" In a flash, he charged forward with claws 
extended and battle aura blazing.
     Happosai nonchalantly held up an arm with his pipe extended. 
This was too easy.

One minute, thirty-five seconds later...
     "AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!"
     The man was now standing over the battered and bleeding form of 
Happosai, who was face down on the ground in a pool of scarlet that 
was becoming larger with every moment. His body twitched and 
convulsed as his opponent bent down to pick him up by the scruff of 
the neck. When his eyes met Happosai's, he said in a mocking tone. 
"Is this the best that the Anything Goes has to offer? I am so 
disappointed."
     Happosai was just barely conscious and feeling quite woozy from 
the massive loss of blood he had sustained. He could barely keep his 
eyes focused on the man, but they became wide as saucers as the 
man shifted to his hybrid form.
     "W-W-What the...? What kind of monster are you? Who are 
you?" When the old lecher saw the pointed fangs, whiskers and fur, 
he began to feel like a mouse before a very hungry, and angry cat. A 
feeling that he would later experience again, 195 years later.
     The man smiled evilly as he replied. "I am White Claw. Kolinjar of 
the Felinar Clan. Now that you have experienced a taste of the Neko 
Ken, perhaps you will respect my clan and its power. For your crimes 
against the Felinar, the penalty would have been immediate 
execution." Happosai shivered at these words. In his present 
condition, he was completely helpless. His techniques had been no 
match for the awesome fury and deadly moves of the true Neko Ken.
     "However, I am feeling generous today, as I have recovered our 
stolen property and had a light workout. You weren't much, but you 
lasted longer than my other opponents. Therefore, I think I'll just let 
you off with a..." White Claw cocked his head in thought, then 
replied, "Slap on the wrist."
     Happosai was relieved to hear of this, but was then slammed face-
first into the ground. A moment later, he felt an excruciating burning 
sensation on his back. The pain was so unbearable that it caused him 
to black out into blessed unconsciousness.

End of the flashback...
     "I nearly bled to death that day." Happosai recalled. "I had found 
myself totally outclassed against White Claw. Since that first 
encounter, I had trained hard to try and improve my skills. I had also 
delved into the history of the Felinar Clan to find a weak point in their 
fighting style. When I came across an old copy of the Neko Ken 
training manual, I had thought I had the answer. When I read the 
whole thing however, it turned out to be a dead end."
     Genma winced at the statement.
     "White Claw and I clashed on two other occasions since then, but 
I could never match his power or skills. He would always beat me 
down to within an inch of my life and then scar me. After the third 
defeat, I finally wised up and left the Felinar Clan alone."
     "You... gave up, Master?"
     Happosai nodded as he took off the top of his gi and showed his 
back to Genma and Soun. Both were reviled at the wrinkled surface, 
but then caught the sight of three large and jagged scars that were 
cut diagonally across the back. "Of all the injuries I have sustained 
throughout my long life, these scars have never completely healed." 
He then put his top back on and turned to face his students. "Now 
listen up. I'm telling you this for your own good. If White Claw has 
your sign, then you can just kiss the dojo goodbye. He's far too 
powerful a fighter to be beaten."
     "But Master! For the future of the Anything Goes, we must regain 
the sign!" Soun cried out.
     "I couldn't even beat White Claw long ago in my prime, and who 
knows how much more powerful he's become since then. Besides, the 
Neko Ken is considered one of the most deadliest fighting styles in 
the world! Face it, the only way we could regain the sign is if we had 
a member of the Anything Goes that also knew of the Neko Ken."
     Soun brightened at this. "Well, then the answer is simple. We'll 
have Genma's son Ranma get our sign back. He knows the Neko 
Ken."
     "Good luck in trying to find him, Daddy." Nabiki said as she and 
Akane decided to get into this conversation. Both girls entered the 
den and sat down beside their father. "In any case, Ranma has 
already been beaten by this White Claw person and he's fled the 
country. No one knows where he is now."
     "Oh the shame of it! My son is a sniveling coward!" Genma 
started crying out to the heavens. 
     "Who cares about that freak!" Akane remarked with irritation. "I'll 
get our sign back, just you wait and see!"
     Nabiki shook her head tiredly. "Akane, do you have a flatline for a 
learning curve? You are nowhere near RANMA in terms of skill, 
power or anything to do with the martial arts, and White Claw BEAT 
HIM! He beat our fathers and Happosai! HE BEAT YOU IN UNDER 
A SECOND, TWICE! Face it Akane, there's no way in this lifetime 
that you could ever beat his Neko Ken!"
     "Hmpf!" Akane turned her head in disgust at her sister's scathing, 
yet accurate assessment of her skills.
     "Oh Saotome! What are we going to do?!" Soun burst out into a 
considerable waterfall of tears that soon threatened to flood the floor 
of the den.
     Genma shook his head sadly and in despair. If only that ungrateful 
boy of his would just accept his responsibility to the Anything Goes 
and his engagement. Now the fat panda's dreams of a long and 
luxurious retirement of living off the Tendo Dojo was in jeopardy. 
*Oh what did I do to deserve such a miserable excuse for a son?*
     At the hotel where White Claw was staying at, the person in 
question was getting bored. Ranma had yet to return and challenge 
him to a rematch, and the Tendos had yet to issue a new challenge to 
regain their sign. It had been a week since he trounced Soun, Genma 
and Akane and things were becoming dull. He needed to spice things 
up a bit. It was then that he received some news from his manservant. 
Apparently, Happosai had been released from the hospital and was 
back to terrorizing the neighborhood with his acts of thievery and 
panty raids.
     Happosai... oh yes, now I remember! He was the one who had 
been stupid enough to try and steal from the clan a couple of 
centuries ago. As I recall, my great-great-grandfather had faced him 
off on several occasions! Well now, if he was good enough to get the 
attention of the first White Claw, then perhaps he'll give me some 
entertainment. After all, he is the founder of the Anything Goes!

The next day...
     "Whoo hoo! What a haul! What a haul!"
     Happosai was gleefully skipping along with his bag of women's 
delicates. As he rounded a corner to head back to the Tendo home, 
his load suddenly became lighter. He stopped suddenly and looked 
over his shoulder. His eyes widened as he saw that he was holding 
an empty sack with a huge rip in the bottom. Panties and bras were 
now scattered all over the ground and some were blowing away in 
the breeze. He then saw a figure that was casually leaning against a 
wall and was smirking at him.
     "My silky darlings!" Hapoosai gasped with horror as his ill-gotten 
loot began to blow away. He then glared up at the stranger. "Who are 
you?" Happosai demanded with anger. "Did you do this?!"
     White Claw nodded as he casually took a stance and replied. "I 
did. But what I did to that bag was nothing compared to what I'm 
going to do with you, Happosai."
     The old pervert snorted with disdain as he took a stance. "So, the 
little punk wants a piece of me, eh? Well you're going to learn the 
error of interfering with my affairs! For the crime you have committed 
against my poor, defenseless treasures, I'm going to..." He then 
stopped in mid-rant as he got a good look at his opponent. Wait a 
minute... this guy looks familiar. Where have I seen that face before? 
He paused to recollect and then his eyes widened in shock and 
horror. No! It can't be! NOT HIM!!!
     White Claw became even more smug as he saw Happosai's 
expression. "Ah, I see you recognize my resemblance to my great-
great grandfather."
     "Great-great grandfather?" Happosai said with surprise.
     "Why yes. I am White Claw, the fifth."
     "The fifth?"
     "Yes, that old tale about the members of the Felinar Clan being 
ageless is just that, a tale. I am the fifth to take up the name of White 
Claw, but I assure you, I am just as powerful as my ancestor was. 
Perhaps even more so."
     Happosai breathed out a sigh of relief. This wasn't the one who 
had scarred him all those years ago. He still got the willies whenever 
he thought of him. Though the resemblance between the present 
White Claw and his namesake was uncanny. As he stared the fighter 
in front of him, he began to notice the subtle differences between the 
first White Claw and the present one. White Claw had gold eyes 
while his ancestor's were pure black. His hair was silver instead of 
dark crimson. However, the fierceness of his ancestor burned brightly 
in this new White Claw and there was no mistaking his power in the 
Neko Ken. Happosai could tell from his stance and aura. After being 
mauled by Ranma, the old lecher wasn't exactly eager to go up 
against another Cat Fist fighter.
     "What do you want?"
     White Claw smiled as he replied. "I wish to engage you in combat 
to test your skills and see if you were as good as my great-great 
grandfather had told me. Perhaps you would challenge me for the 
sign of the Tendo Dojo? You are the founder of the Anything Goes, 
after all."
     The ancinet pervert snorted and said in a nonchalant tone. "As if I 
care for Soun's dojo. The Anything Goes doesn't depend on having 
a dojo and its not like Soun has any students other than his 
daughter."
     "You won't fight me for it?" White Claw said with a little surprise.
     "Heck no! As far as I'm concerned, you can throw the sign into the 
fireplace. The dojo means nothing to me. I only stay there for my 
amusement. Soun and Genma are quite pathetic and it doesn't matter 
to me whether they lose the dojo or not."
     "I see." White Claw said with thought. "Well then, perhaps if I 
were to give you a bit of an incentive to fight with me for the sign?"
     "Yeah, right. As if I'm crazy enough to go up against a Neko Ken 
Master. What could you possibly have that would make me want to 
fight you for a wooden board?"
     "Perhaps... this?" The Neko Ken fighter gestured to one side and 
someone stepped out into view from around a corner.
     Happosai's eyes bugged out when he saw the woman as she 
seductively leaned against the wall and gave him a playful wink. She 
was dressed in a revealing, bikini-type outfit that just barely covered 
up her lush charms. Her breasts swayed and bounced with each 
slight movement and her smooth curved hips accentuated her long, 
slender legs. She had her dark hair done in a long ponytail and her 
large, hazel eyes were tilted at a very sensuous angle. She glided over 
to where White Claw was standing and placed a hand on his broad, 
muscled chest and then gave him another wink.
     White Claw nodded his head to her and before the old pervert's 
eyes, she gave a small meow and transformed into her hybrid form. 
She became taller and more muscular, but her form became even 
sexier as her clothes were stretched to their absolute limit. Her skin 
became lightly furred and took on a light tan color with red stripes. A 
tail appeared below the small of her back, which swayed and twitched 
as she did a graceful pirouette. Her top was now barely able to 
contain the bounty that her already well-endowed breasts had 
become. Her bikini bottoms was a thong-style and Happy thought he 
would have a heart attack when he got a full view of her rear. The 
catwoman was pumping out pheromones like nobody's business and 
White Claw knew that Happosai was hooked.
     "WHOA MOMMA! HOTCHA! COME HERE BABY!"
     Happosai was like a human missile as he leapt forward to give the 
female a glomp to end all glomps! However, he was stopped in midair 
as White Claw casually plucked him by the scruff of the neck. As the 
old lecher kicked his legs and tried to pry himself from White Claws 
inhuman grip, he gave off a short laugh of amusement. To be so close 
to such beauty was torture for him! 
     "LEMME GO! LEMME GO!!"
     White Claw shrugged as he nodded to the to his servant. "That 
will be all, Tigara."
     "As you wish, Kolinjar." Tigara touched her lips with two of her 
fingers and blew her master a kiss before leaping high to an 
astounding fifty feet. She was then gone in an instant as she 
bounded away via rooftops.
     "NOOOOO!!!! COME BACK, SWEETIE!!!" 
     With a simple flick of his wrist, White Claw tossed the lecherous 
master of the Anything Goes to the ground and said, "IF you are able 
to defeat me, Happosai, not only will you regain the dojo's sign, but I 
will let you have let you have a dozen of those lovely girls as a 
bonus."
      "A-A-A d-d-dozen?!" The old pervert couldn't believe what 
White Claw was offering. He was already wrapped in his own sick 
fantasies with just that one girl. To have a dozen of those beauties as 
his own...
      White Claw shrugged as he slid into a stance. "Tigara was just a 
small sample. We have many females such as her in our clan. So... 
now will you fight for the dojo's sign?"
      Happy looked at the direction where the feline beauty had 
disappeared. He had never before seen such loveliness in all of his 
life. Not even Cologne when she was eighteen could have stirred him 
up as much as Tigara had done now. The way she moved promised 
sensual delights undreamed of and if he could defeat White Claw, he 
would not only have her, but eleven more like her. What he could do 
with such visions of magnificence drove him beyond any previous 
levels of lust that he had experienced. The acts of perversions he had 
done in the past were as nothing to what he imagined he could do 
with Tigara and others like her. They were unlike any other woman in 
the world! He must have them! HE WILL HAVE THEM!
      "HIYAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"
      White Claw grinned. This had been too easy!

That night...
     Kasumi gasped as she answered the door and saw the bloody and 
bruised form of Happosai, lying prone before her and moaning in 
pain. On his back was a small piece of paper. As she called for her 
father and Genma to help her carry the aged master into the house, 
she reached out with a trembling hand. She bit back the feeling of 
nausea from the blood stains on the message as she read it out loud.
     Four down, Six to go.
     White Claw

Somewhere in China...
     Ranma shook his head as he traveled through the dense forests 
that was near the capital city of Beijing. It had been a few days after 
he had left the Shaolin temple. The directions that Tung had given 
him were vague at best and it had been more than fifty years since 
the monk had last seen Red Fang. Though Ranma wasn't sure if he 
wanted to find the old Felinar, he had no other choice. If he wanted to 
truly control the raging spirit behind the Ultimate Neko Ken, then he 
needed to find a person that belonged to the clan that created it. He 
shook his head for the umpteenth time as he continued on.
     Meanwhile, back in Japan, Ukyo Kuonji hung up the phone in her 
bedroom above her restaurant. She then made the final checks to the 
heavy backpack on her bed. With everything else squared away, she 
prepared to depart for the airport. Her destination would be China. 
Though she didn't know exactly where her Ran-chan had gone to, it 
was reasonable to assume that Ranma had went there. He had told 
her of his adventures after abandoning his father at Jusenkyo. It 
seemed the most likely place that he would go to and was the best 
lead she had. She had also asked his friends and Shang had 
mentioned that Ranma was fond of a Shaolin temple near the 
coastline. The Chinese boy had often talked with her fiancee during 
their sparring matches. 
     Though the idea of going blindly into China would seem foolhardy 
to some, Ukyo was used to the idea. After all, she had spent ten 
years searching for Ranma before. This was no different. However, 
now the driving force was concern and tenderness, not revenge. 
     *Speaking of revenge, there's just one more loose end to tie up 
before I go.* Ukyo first headed to the Tendo Dojo to settle an old 
score with a certain Genma Saotome.

Back in China?
     Ranma became a bit edgy as he began to sense something was 
watching him. Traveling through the wilderness had begun to 
sharpen his catlike instincts that had become lax from living in Tokyo. 
He stiffened a bit as he approached an extremely dense grove of trees 
near a hillside. Looking past the branches and up the hill, he could 
see a small cabin in the distance. It was surrounded by some large 
boulders and a ridge. If Tung had not told him at what direction to 
approach it, Ranma would have never had spotted it from below. 
Apparently, Red Fang preferred his privacy. 
     *That must be it.* Ranma thought as he began to make his way 
toward it. Ten minutes later, he walked up the path that led to the 
structure, then paused again as he used his instincts and senses to 
scan the area. He knew he was being watched, but he couldn't tell 
where his stalker was hiding. His sense of danger was now on full 
alert as he dropped his backpack and crouched down in a ready 
stance. He waited for what seemed to be an eternity for any sign of 
whoever or whatever was watching him. Then it happened.
     From some dense bushes on Ranma's left, a huge red shape 
exploded forth with a roar that almost caught him off guard. The Neko 
Ken fighter just barely managed to duck out of the way as he saw the 
flash of razor-sharp claws take a swipe at his head. Ranma quickly 
rolled out of the way and came back on his feet as he turned to face 
off against the beast. His eyes widened as the huge cat landed and 
turned to regard him.
     The saber-tooth was huge! It was slightly larger than Ranma's 
own feline form, but had a copper-colored fur coat with some gray 
hairs highlighting its face, paws and the tip of its tail. It had green 
eyes that seemed to stare right through him. Large front canines the 
size of daggers were glinting in the afternoon light, giving them a 
lethal shine. Ranma could see that the big cat was worn and its fur 
wasn't as thick as his own. It was a faded reddish color and wasn't as 
lustrous as the Tokyo Tiger's. He could see the telltale scars of 
sustained injuries and the signs of age taking its toll. This tiger was 
definitely a veteran of many fierce battles and had lived for a long 
time. Seeing that the tiger was crouching and tensing up, Ranma 
knew that it was getting ready to pounce. Remembering what Tung 
had told him, Ranma took a neutral stance and spoke to the growling 
predator.
     "Red Fang, I presume? I bring greetings from Tung Kwai."
     This caught the cat's attention as it suddenly stopped growling 
and regarded Ranma with a curious gaze.
     Ranma nodded as he continued. "Yes, I know him, just as you did 
when you taught him how to control the Neko Ken. I've been 
subjected to that training as well, and I have been told that you can 
help me with it, as well as face a person called? White Claw."
     This really got Red Fang's attention as he sat down on his 
haunches and closed his eyes. A moment later, the beast glowed with 
an eerie red light and then morphed. Ranma was very impressed as he 
had forgotten what the transformation had looked like from the 
outside. In less than a few seconds, the prehistoric tiger became an 
old man that looked to be around his late eighties to early nineties. 
He was about Ranma's height, but was a bit on the lean side. His hair 
was a pale gray with some red highlights near his temples. It was long 
and flowed down toward the middle of his back. He was dressed in 
simple garments which included loose gray pants, leather sandals 
and a tunic of white. His face was wrinkled and somewhat sad-
looking, but his eyes are what caught Ranma's attention. They had 
the most striking emerald shade that he had ever seen and he 
couldn't tear his eyes away from them. 
     The old man's brows furrowed as he gazed at his visitor. He 
assessed the boy's power and nodded as he said in a firm tone, 
"Follow me, young tiger. We have much to discuss."
     The old Neko Ken warrior turned his back and headed toward the 
cabin with Ranma close behind.

In Japan?
     WHAM!!!
     Genma Saotome went flying after his face had been introduced to 
Ukyo's battle spatula. He had just opened the door when the 
okonomiyaki chef unslung her main weapon, and asked, "Genma 
Saotome?"
     Genma tried to shut the door as his survival instincts kicked in. 
After years of running from the law and all those broken promises, 
the fat panda was quite wary of people who were asking for him. 
Before he could get the door even halfway closed, Ukyo kicked it 
open and then slammed the flat of the giant cooking utensil into his 
face. The Tendo family were in the parlor after tending to Happosai's 
injuries. The old pervert was resting in one of the guest rooms and 
they had just got up to leave when they heard a loud, metallic clang.
     Genma went crashing into the wall at the end of the hall as Ukyo 
went charging into the house with eyes ablaze with fury.
     "Your number's up pops!"
     The father of Ranma was just shaking his head to clear it, when 
Ukyo brought her weapon down again on his noggin. She then 
continued to slam her spatula down on him. The incessant clanging 
of metal against his dimwitted skull echoed through the house and it 
wasn't long before the Tendos came rushing to the scene. They 
stopped and stared in disbelief as they saw Ukyo repeatedly pound 
Genma, even after it was apparent that he was unconscious.
     "Do you realize how hard it is on a child's psyche to be 
abandoned like that?! You are going to pay for every year, every 
month, every day that I suffered when you left me! YOU HEAR ME?!"
     The Tendos had to rush in and physically restrain the enraged 
chef before she could bring the sharpened edge of her spatula into 
play. A minute more and she would have made panda okonomiyaki 
out of him!

Some time later?
     "WHAT?! SAOTOME, HOW COULD YOU?!" 
     Genma winced as Kasumi applied the last of the bandages to his 
head. He didn't like the way his friend was going into that Demon 
Head of his. Off to one side, Ukyo growled at him. After calming 
down a bit and realizing that Genma was unconscious and couldn't 
feel her wrath, she had explained to the Tendos about what had 
happened to her ten years ago.
     "So that's why you were pretending to be a boy when you came 
here." Akane surmised.
     Ukyo nodded. "Yeah, he went and stole my family's yattai after my 
father had offered it up as my dowry! He agreed to engage me to 
Ran-chan and ruined me for marriage when he abandoned me! I swore 
to renounce my femininity and get my revenge on both him and his 
son."
     "Ran-chan?" Nabiki asked.
     "That's what I used to call him. He called me Ucchan. I spent the 
last ten years of my life as a boy while searching for him and his 
worthless father." 
     "Well, if you like, I can tell you about him, for a price." Nabiki 
smiled as she saw an opportunity. She knew who Ranma was, after 
all.
     Ukyo gave her a smug smile as she replied, "Not interested. I 
already know about my Ko-chan." She gave a happy sigh as she 
thought about him.
     "You? know about Kojiro?" Nabiki saw yen signs disappearing 
before her.
     "Of course I do. He is my fianc?e after all."
     This quickly got Soun's attention. "Now just a moment! There's 
something you should know! Ranma is engaged to my Akane, and 
when he marries her, the two of them will carry on the Anything Goes 
School of Martial Arts! It's already been decided! As a matter of 
honor, he will follow through!"
     "And what about my family's honor? Do it mean any less?"
     "The pledge to unite our schools was made before any of our 
children were born! We have seniority!"
     "That doesn't mean anything!" Ukyo shot back. "Ranma's father 
has already taken my dowry and spent it! All you had was a verbal 
pledge! And maybe you should know that my family wasn't the only 
one that Ran-chan's dad had promised him to!"
     "W-W-W-What a-are y-you talking about?" Soun was taken 
aback by this. When hearing about Ukyo's claim, he had become 
angered that his friend had not told him of this. However, he wasn't 
totally surprised as he had chalked up Genma's behavior as a side-
effect from training under Happosai. Now there was more?
     "I-I-I only did that once, Tendo!" Genma said quickly as he began 
looking for an escape route.
     "Oh really?" Ukyo said sarcastically as she began ticking off with 
her fingers. "Tell me, does the name Daijkoku mean anything to you? 
The family that you sold Ran-chan to for a fish, rice and two pickles? 
How about Shiga, Sentaro, Wu or the dozen or so other families 
you've cheated? Ko-chan told me all about them!"
     "Saotome?" Soun growled at his friend, giving him an icy stare 
before turning back to Ukyo. "I was unaware of all of this, but the 
fact remains that Ranma must marry my daughter Akane! I am sorry 
about your misfortune, but?"
     "I told you before, I'm not marrying that FREAK!" Akane 
bellowed as she had been totally ignored throughout this exchange.
     Ukyo almost brought her spatula to bear on Akane, but then 
remembered herself. Instead she said in low and menacing tone, 
"What did you just say?"
     Akane's anger was making her say things before thinking as she 
totally missed the hostility being directed at her. "He's a freak! He 
changes into some monster and there's no way I'm going to marry 
someone like that! He's also a coward since he's run away!"
     Ukyo was steaming at this time as she clenched her fists. *How 
dare she insult my Ko-chan! I outta?* Ukyo then got a thought and 
smiled as she stood up and said, "Fine then. It seems that you don't 
want him. I'll be glad to take him!" She then turned to Soun. "Mister 
Tendo, since your daughter has denounced her engagement to 
Ranma, in front of witnesses, I don't consider the Tendo's claim as 
valid."
     Soun was quick to the denial. "The Tendo claim to Ranma still 
stands!"
     Ukyo shrugged as she said, "Think what you like, but consider 
this. Ranma's already renounced his name. He doesn't consider 
himself as Ranma Saotome anymore and had his name changed to 
Kojiro Shinkara. The vow Mister Saotome made is no longer valid."
     "Doesn't that make your claim also invalid?" Nabiki said.
     Ukyo shrugged again. "Maybe, but at least I still have a chance 
with him. He likes me, not Akane and he's so sweet and so darn 
CUTE when he's a tiger! He's my little T-chan!" Ukyo saw little 
hearts floating about. 
     "T-chan?" Kasumi asked.
     "T as in tiger and chan as in cute." Ukyo replied with a smile.
     *Oh brother!* Nabiki rolled her eyes. She thought he was cute as 
a saber-tooth? Formidable? Yes. Intimidating? For certain. But cute?
     "That's ridiculous! He can't do that!" Genma denied. "As his 
father, I'll just change his name back!" Genma sweated a bit as he 
imagined what certain people would do if they found out about this. 
*What would Nodoka say?* 
     Akane was getting very irritated by the moment. "Let him go! Who 
needs that freak!" She then directed her anger at Ukyo. "And you! 
You're just as weird as he is if you think he's cute! Why anyone 
would want to be with him is beyond me!"
     Ukyo took that particular insult personally and almost slapped 
Akane because of it. She couldn't believe that Akane was so dense 
and not see Ranma for what he was. So he transformed into gigantic 
prehistoric beast. So what? It didn't change who he was on the 
inside. Ukyo had been getting to know her Ran-chan, ? Ko-chan all 
over again and she liked what she found. Although he took fighting 
very seriously, he also had a playful side to him. Okay, so he was 
reluctant to admit that they were a couple, but at least he was willing 
to make up for the terrible mistake he made ten years ago. He was 
certainly no coward! Ukyo had seen the anguish in his eyes as he 
related his lack of control over the Neko Ken. He just needed some 
space, that's all. And he confided in her like he did with no one else. 
That had to count for something, right? At least she was willing to 
listen to him. Akane was just going with her own opinion that he was 
a freak. Well, that suited Ukyo just fine. She wouldn't want her 
Ko-chan to be unhappy to be saddled up with someone like that. 
Akane wasn't willing to listen to the whole story or get to know him 
before making her judgment about him.
     Ukyo found it strange to be thinking of Akane like that. When she 
had first arrived at Furinkan, she had felt sorry for her when she was 
constantly attacked by those boys and Kuno every morning. She 
didn't really know Akane that much during the first few weeks. But 
now she was seeing her true nature. She was letting her wounded 
pride get the better of her. She probably developed her dislike for 
Ranma from the tournament when he beat her so easily. Well if she 
didn't want Ranma, then she was making a big mistake. She was 
missing out on getting a really good guy. That much the chef knew 
for sure.
     Ukyo stood up and said, "Well, seeing that there's nothing else to 
talk about, I'll be going." She glared at Genma. "Don't think that this 
is over between us, Genma Saotome. I'm not going to end your 
miserable existence? today, but we will finish this. Also, if I were 
you, I'd be looking out for not only me, but also those other families 
you've conned. They might not be as lenient as me when they find 
out that you're here."
     Genma gulped as the thought hit him. She knew about those other 
arrangements. Who could stop her in telling them, or even? 
Nodoka? (gulp) "N-N-N-Now, I'm sure we can talk this? erk!" The 
rest of Genma's plea was cut off as he found the sharp edge of 
Ukyo's battle spatula up against his neck.
     The young chef glared at him for a long moment, before 
withdrawing her weapon and headed out the door. 
     Genma rubbed his neck while giving off a sigh in relief. Then he 
turned around and cringed as he beheld Soun in his full-blown 
Demon Head.
     "SAOTOME?"
     "Eep!"

In China?
     "I see." Red Fang nodded as he took a sip of tea. After inviting 
Ranma inside his cabin, the two had sat down to have some tea. 
During this time, Ranma had explained his training of the Neko Ken 
and the events that had happened afterwards. The Felinar warrior 
listened to the boy's tale and became especially interested when he 
was told of Ranma's dip in Jusenkyo and his encounter with White 
Claw. 
     "So, I was told that you had helped Master Tung with his Cat Fist 
and that you might be able to do the same with me." Ranma said as 
he wrapped up his story.
     "Indeed." The old fighter said as he took another sip of his tea. He 
then placed his cup down and looked into Ranma's eyes. "From what 
you have described, it sounds like you are suffering from the conflict 
between your human side and your cat side. That is to be expected 
for one who has conquered the physical and mental levels of the 
Neko Ken, but not the spiritual one. You must undergo the Felinar 
Rite of Passage in order to resolve your inner self. Furthermore, you 
cannot access the full power of the Neko Ken without it."
     "My cat side? Rite of Passage?"
     "Yes. Before I explain what those are, just how much do you know 
of the Neko Ken and our clan?"
     Ranma then began relating what he had been told by Dr. Diggers 
and Stripe. When he had finished, Red Fang nodded and then began 
his own explanations.
     "The Felinar Clan dates back to more than fifty thousand years, 
during the time of the first landings of the Kyrn. As you have been 
told, scouting groups had been sent out to survey the planet in order 
to find a suitable place to settle. In addition, some groups were sent 
to find others of our kind. You see, when the main ship crash-landed 
on this world, several escape shuttles had been launched and 
scattered on the Earth's surface. The ancestors of the Felinar had 
traveled deep into Africa, near what would eventually become Egypt. 
They were following the homing beacon from one of those escape 
shuttles. However, when the scouting group came across the 
wreckage, they had found no survivors. They were about to turn 
back and rejoin the main group in South America, but an accident 
with the shuttle's cryogenic stasis pods had caused the scouting 
party to become locked into suspended animation. That was when 
the Stripe's people had lost contact with them."
     "So, what happened then?"
     "The remaining Kyrn had tried to find their lost comrades, but due 
to malfunctioning equipment and loss of communications, they were 
unable to locate them. Eventually, after countless searches, they were 
forced to assume the worst of the scouting party and listed them as 
lost and probably dead. The centuries would pass and the main 
population of the Kyrn founded the city that you know of today as El 
Dorado."
     "Go on." Ranma urged.
     Red Fang nodded. "About thirty-thousand years later, the 
ancestors of the Felinar were finally released from their suspended 
animation due to a massive earthquake. However, they had 
discovered something terrible. The cryogenic system had caused 
extensive cellular damage to their DNA and that they were beginning 
to deteriorate. Additionally, they could not adapt to the many 
terrestrial diseases of the planet, since they lacked the proper 
antibodies and other immune components. In order to save 
themselves, they had to use their advanced biotechnology to infuse 
their genetic structures with those of native Earth organisms. The 
one that was genetically suited to our kind at that particular time 
period was?"
     "The saber-tooth tiger." Ranma finished.
     "Correct. We had also found some additional assets to our 
merging our DNA with the saber-toothed cats. You've probably 
already found out about our ability to morph into tigers, increased 
strength, speed, recuperative abilities and so on. You see, my 
ancestors used to look like this Stripe person you described, but over 
the millennia, we have long since mutated into a much more human-
looking appearance when not using our shape-shifting ability. The 
Kyrn that you know of in El Dorado have kept isolated for the most 
part from the outside world. We on the other hand, have been 
subjected to outside radiation, environmental factors and such. 
However, we did try to avoid contact with the local natives, 
especially mankind. We had later set up a small, hidden civilization 
near the borders of ancient Egypt. Since we had no contact with the 
rest of our people, we had assumed that we were the only Kyrn left."
     "Okay, so what about the Neko Ken? How did that come around?"
     "Ah yes. Although we had kept to ourselves for the most part, 
there were individuals that did go out and explored Asia, especially 
the more eastern regions. At the time, it was around 1700 BC or so. 
The people of China were just starting to form their civilizations and 
their unarmed fighting techniques. We had been observing mankind 
as it developed and their martial arts skills intrigued us. So much so, 
that certain members of the Felinar began developing a fighting style 
which utilized our catlike abilities. We soon formed formidable ways 
of unarmed combat that were the early stages of the modern Neko 
Ken. However, we were still unable to harness the true potential of 
this fighting style. We lacked? how do I describe it? We had based 
the Neko Ken on the saber-tooth tiger, but we were not truly in touch 
with that aspect of our being. Though we could transform into tigers, 
we were not true cats. We were only using their forms as a means to 
an end. We needed to get a spiritual connection to that part of 
ourselves. Without it, we became easily prone to battle rages and 
such, much like what you are experiencing now. The instability 
caused by our more primal urges almost made us give up trying to 
develop the Neko Ken any further. Were it not for a young warrior 
that had traveled to Egypt in 1525 BC, the Neko Ken may have never 
become a reality."
     "Fifteen twenty-five BC?" Ranma repeated. He thought for a 
moment, then said, "Hey, that was when the first recorded sighting of 
the Felinar was, wasn't it?"
     "That's right, Kojiro. A Felinar member by the name of Panthara 
Kir had traveled to ancient Egypt. Since the people did worship cats 
as divine, that in itself caught his interest. He was especially 
interested in the legend of Bast, the Egyptian Cat goddess. He 
believed that she was real, and guess what? She is!"
     "A goddess? Oh come on now."
     "She does exist, make no mistake. Panthara Kir had found her. 
Though a series of rituals and long searches through countless 
temples that worshipped her, he finally came across an amulet which 
allowed him to contact her. Within one of the caves near the Valley of 
the Kings, he had summoned Bast and pleaded with her to resolve 
the terrible conflict within his soul. He too was under the madness of 
the Neko Ken's instability. She took pity on him and offered him a 
way to not only calm his raging spirit, but to also tap into the full 
potential of the saber-toothed tiger, on one condition. He and all 
those who seek to control the Neko Ken would become her avatars. 
Apparently, we of the Felinar had unknowingly tried to duplicate 
HER fighting style!"
     "You mean, the Neko Ken wasn't invented by the Felinar?"
     Red Fang shook his head. "No, the fighting style that we thought 
was original, was actually Bast's creation. It just by mere coincidence 
that we had developed many of the moves that she herself had 
created millennia before us. In any case, Panthara Kir accepted her 
terms. He underwent Bast's special rite to purify his soul and when 
he emerged, he gained the potential to truly master the Neko Ken. A 
few weeks of intense training later, and he became the founder of the 
Felinar Clan's branch of that mighty fighting style. The treatment he 
underwent would eventually become the Felinar Clan's Rite of 
Passage. All of our warriors must undergo this ceremony. And since 
you are one of us and have the Neko Ken in your possession, you 
too must undergo the process to complete yourself."
     "Hold on a minute!" Ranma held up his hands. "I'm not a Felinar! 
I'm just some guy who fell into the Spring of Monster Tiger in 
Jusenkyo! It's just a coincidence that I'm similar to you."
     Red Fang shook his head. "No, Kojiro. You are Felinar. I sensed it 
immediately when we first met. Furthermore, if you were not Felinar, 
then I would have NEVER told you about the history of our clan or 
our fighting style. Though I am in exile, I am still loyal to my people 
and will not reveal our deepest secrets to outsiders!"
     "Exile?"
     "That is another matter. What is important is that you represent a 
great danger to not only others but to our clan as well! As I see it, 
there are but two options. Either you undergo the Rite of Passage 
and become a member of the clan or?"
     "Or what?" Ranma asked as he tensed up. He didn't like where this 
was going.
     "Or I would have to kill you." Red Fang said simply. "It our laws 
that no outsider may possess the Neko Ken. Though there is good 
reason, since you already know the side-effects of an ordinary human 
trying to attempt to master it."
     "What?! You mean that wrapping a kid in fish sausage and 
throwing him into a pit of starving cats is really how it's done?!"
     The Cat Fist fighter shook his head. "No. Those who tried to steal 
our techniques had misread the manual. The Neko Ken was never 
meant for ordinary humans. The real initiation into the training of the 
Cat Fist was to take a young child of our clan, and have him or her 
associate with various cats in different moods and such, in order to 
stimulate the child's feline powers. Over the next few centuries, some 
greedy martial artists had infiltrated our clan. Those who had 
witnessed our initiations, thought the method was too slow and not 
intense enough. They made modifications to the method and? well, 
I'm sure you already know what resulted from those changes."
     Ranma shuddered a bit at the memory. He knew all right. "But, you 
said that you would never reveal any of the Neko Ken's secrets to 
outsiders. What about Master Tung? You trained him to control his 
Cat Fist."
     The old Felinar nodded as he explained. "Indeed, but there were 
exceptions that had to be made for outsiders that were driven mad 
from the Cat Fu training. Whenever we came across individuals that 
had attempted to master our techniques, but instead gained an 
irrational fear of cats, we gave them two choices: as I have given to 
you now. We would offer them a chance to conquer their fear and 
become honorary members of the Felinar. This was also seen as a 
way of adding new blood to our clan. The other option is?"
     "You'd kill them." Ranma said with a hardened edge.
     "You must understand, that in just about all the cases that we 
were forced to end those lives, we had no choice. Those we had 
killed were permanently fixed in their feral states and we considered 
them as mercy killings, rather than to have innocent bystanders be 
slaughtered by their rampages. You could understand that, can 
you?"
     Ranma was about to object, then remembered the story about 
Tung's experience. He then got an image of himself in his battle rages 
and slashing at anything that got too close to him. People like Ukyo, 
Shang, Kai, Kosho and others came to mind. He shivered a bit as he 
thought about accidentally hurting or killing any one of them. "But, 
does that mean that Master Tung is a member of the Felinar? You did 
help him overcome his fear of cats."
     Red Fang shook his head. "No, Tung Kwai is not of the Felinar. 
Though I had helped him overcome his instability, he refused to learn 
more and turned down membership. However, we have come to an 
understanding. He has sworn to me that he will not use what little he 
knows of the Neko Ken in front of outsiders. So far, he has kept his 
word, though I suspect he has shown it to you. How else would you 
know of me?"
     "But, that would mean?"
     Red Fang held up his hand. "Since you are Felinar, I do not count 
Tung's showing you his Neko Ken technique as a breach of our 
agreement. That is, if you accept the Rite of Passage. If you do not, 
then I will have to kill both you and Tung as it is my duty as one of 
the grandmasters of the Neko Ken."
     Ranma blanched at the mention of Red Fang as a grandmaster, but 
became even more apprehensive at what he said before. "You'd kill 
Master Tung?!" Ranma quickly stood up.
     "As much as I am fond of him, I will carry out my obligations." He 
affirmed as he too rose. "So now you have a choice. What will it be?"
     Ranma glared at the aged fighter before him and began 
considering attacking him. Though he looked very old, the mention 
of him being a grandmaster of the Neko Ken caused him to pause. 
Ranma had already fought Happosai and he had been a tough one, 
despite his extreme age. Furthermore, this person knew how to calm 
Ranma's tormented soul, and knew more about the Neko Ken and the 
Felinar than he did. There was Master Tung to think about. The 
Shaolin priest wouldn't stand a chance against the Felinar, if what 
Red Fang was telling him was the truth. If not from Red Fang, then 
from another of the clan would hunt his friend down. Finally, there 
were also his close friends to think about. They would be in constant 
danger if he could not control his battle rages. For Ranma, there was 
only one choice to make. He swallowed his pride, bowed his head 
and gave Red Fang a slight nod.
     The old Neko Ken fighter nodded in return as he said, "Prepare 
yourself, Kojiro. Tomorrow, you shall begin the Rite of Passage and 
truly become a Felinar!"
     "Why do you keep calling me a Felinar? I told you, I fell into the 
Spring of Drowned Monster Tiger!"
     Red Fang's expression became deadly serious as he said in a 
quiet, yet firm tone. "No, Kojiro. You fell into the Spring of Drowned 
Felinar."
     Ranma's eyes became the size of saucers as his jaw dropped open.

To be continued?

Author's Notes
     Well, that was a doozy to write and I hope I've answered some 
questions along the way. In the next episode, Ranma's training in the 
true Neko Ken shall begin as Ukyo makes her way to him. In the 
meantime, time begins to run out for the Tendos as their bid to regain 
their sign becomes even more bleak.