Cat Fist Fury

Disclaimer: Ranma and whoever else in this story belongs to the ones who
Created them. There, I said it.

< >: Thoughts

Chapter 19

Rite of Passage

"Okay, so what do I have to do in this Rite of Passage?" Ranma asked as he
followed Red Fang down a path through the woods. They had been traveling
for several days as they made their way through the mountainous regions
near Red Fang's home.

"All will be revealed to you in time." The old Felinar answered as he led
Ranma on. "When we reach our destination, you must do as I tell you. The
Felinar Rite of Passage is not something to take lightly and will tax your
very being to the limits."

"Have you ever gone through this?"

"Yes. All warriors of the Felinar must undergo this ceremony in order to
attain true mastery over the Neko Ken. I went through it when I was seven.
You are a special case though. You are probably the only Felinar warrior
over the age of ten that has yet to undergo the Rite of Passage."

"Will stop calling me that! I'm not a Felinar! I just fell into a cursed

spring and..."

Red Fang turned around and stopped Ranma's words with a glare. The way he
looked at Ranma made him feel as if he had just irritated a tiger that was
already angered. He pointed a finger at Ranma's chest and said in a cold,
firm tone. "Do not keep deceiving yourself, Kojiro. You are Felinar. It
matters not that you were not born in our clan. It seems that we can see
you as a Felinar by adoption. The power and spirit of our clan burns within
you. When you fell into that spring at Jusenkyo, the soul of that
long-departed Felinar had been set free. In return, you had gained his
power and form. Since you already had ties to the Neko Ken, the transfer
was made more complete. Have you ever wondered why you did not change with
water?"

"Well, yeah but Dr. Diggers had explained it to me and..."

Red Fang shook his head. "Diggers had assumed incorrectly. If that truly
was a Spring of Drowned Saber-toothed Tiger, then the trigger from water
temperature would have remained intact. You had gained the full
transformation powers and surface control of the Neko Ken. Only a Felinar
warrior could have such abilities. However, since you had not undergone the
Rite of Passage, you lacked the emotional balance and spiritual control to
harness the full potential of our fighting style. You are one of us. Make
no mistake about it."

"But..."

"The discussion... is CLOSED."

Ranma was about to protest further when he then noticed that they were
coming toward a mountainside. As they neared a rocky ridge, he noticed a
small cave that was off to one side. Red Fang gestured toward it and the
two Cat Fist users made their way to the entrance.

Back in Japan...

"NO MASTER!!!"

Soun and Genma had to physically tie down Happosai to the floor after
jumping him. It had been over a week since Happosai had been defeated by
White Claw, but the old pervert was nothing, if not persistent. After
seeing that female Felinar Tigara, the founder of the Anything Goes was
determined to have her and the promised other girls as well. He had never
seen such beauty before and she had a sensuous aura about her that made him
mad with lust. Whether it was due to her voluptuous figure, the skimpy
clothes she wore, the pheromones she had released (probably all of the
above), it was clear that Happosai would stop at nothing to get her.

As a result, as soon as he healed from his last bout with White Claw,

Happosai had challenged him again for the same stakes. And he lost...
again....

and again... and again. In a week, the Tendo family was down to three

chances to regain their dojo's sign, as the ancient lecher had wasted three

in rapid succession. Each time he lost, Happosai suffered injuries that

were more severe than the last. However, White Claw used only enough force
each time to defeat him as if he were just a mouse to be toyed with. As of
now, Happosai still had several large bruises and cuts that had not yet
healed completely. He was straining at his bonds to get out and challenge
White Claw, but his injuries had weakened him so much that Genma and Soun
had little problems in keeping him down.

"Please Master! Control yourself!" Soun blubbered as he tightened the

ropes. "We have only three chances left to get the sign back!" Though he
and Genma were sorely tempted to finish off the freak, they still needed
him to win back their sign as he was the best representative of the school.
However, if he were going to waste their chances like this, there would be
no hope whatsoever in regaining the sign.

"Who cares about the sign?! Let me go you ingrates! How dare you treat your
master like this?" Happosai roared. "I will challenge White Claw and..."
"No Master!" Genma cried out as he began adding heavy chains and such to
hold down the lecher down. It was apparent that Ranma's father was getting
desperate. Without the dojo, he had no excuse to freeload off his friend
Soun. Well, that and the fact that his son was supposed to marry Akane and
carry on the dojo. "Please Master, calm down! The future of the Anything
Goes depends on us getting the sign back!"

Happosai became infuriated at being denied and then somehow wriggled out of
his bonds in an instant. The two fathers blanched as they turned around and
saw their master bounding out the door.

"Tigara, baby! Here comes Happy!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

Soun and Genma went off in hot pursuit before Happosai could reach White
Claw.

Nabiki shook her head as she saw her father and his useless friend
disappear in a trail of dust. She then went to the dojo where she saw Akane
training hard and breaking dozens of stacks of bricks.

"HIYAH! HIYAH! HIYAH! HIYAH!"

After reducing more than a hundred bricks into gravel, Akane went over to
where she left a towel and wiped her brow. She then looked back at the huge
pile of rubble and said to herself, "Just you wait White Claw! I'll show
you just what a real martial artist is capable of!"

"Oh? And I thought White Claw already knew how to be a real martial
artist."

Akane looked over to where she heard her sister's sarcastic voice. Nabiki
was standing by the doorway with her arms crossed and shaking her head.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Akane replied with the same sarcasm.
"I'll beat that jerk and get the sign back!" Akane declared with anger.
"You'll see!"

"I doubt it. You can break all the bricks you want, but that won't mean
squat against him. Happosai has already tried four times and look what
happened to him."

Nerima had suffered extensive property damage when Happosai and White Claw
had clashed. The ancient pervert had fought more fierceness with each bout

but he was still no match. He was considered fast, but the Neko Ken
fighter's speed was nothing short of inhuman. Added to the fact that he was
incredibly strong, and used those devastating claw techniques, he was
virtually unstoppable! Happosai had used his more devastating techniques
against him, but the Felinar simply countered each one. The old master had
even used the Moxibustion Point on him during their last fight. The Felinar
had let him get close, then to Happosai's horror, he simply shifted to his
hybrid form and slashed him into a quivering, bloody mess.

Nabiki sighed as she watched her sister go though a series of katas. No
matter how much she improved, there was no way she could get good enough to
beat White Claw. At this rate, the Tendo School of the Anything Goes
Martial Arts would die by next week.

There were also other things to think of as she had later discovered that
Ukyo Kuonji had also left Japan earlier that week. She had left no clue as
to where she went other that her store would be closed until she returned.
Nabiki immediately became suspicious as she had sent her lieutenants out to
find out her whereabouts. Her flunkies had reported that she had boarded a
plane for China. 

In China...

Red Fang gestured to the cave entrance. "This is as far as I can go with
you, Kojiro. You must enter here on your own. However, to begin the Rite of
Passage, you must be in your cat form."

"And then what?" Ranma asked.

"You will see. Now go in."

Ranma gazed at Red Fang for a long while, trying to determine any
underlying motives. Because he had very little choice in the matter and
there was Tung Kwai to think of, he triggered his transformation and became
a huge, black saber-toothed tiger. With cautious steps, he entered the
cave.

At an airport near Beijing, Ukyo disembarked from the plane and looked
around. Remembering the directions that Shang had given her at where the
temple that Ranma may have went to, she flagged down a cab to begin her
search.

Meanwhile...

Ranma wondered as he moved deeper and deeper into the cave. As the light
began to surrender toward the darkness, he became very thankful of his
superior night vision and sense of smell. His ability to see into the
infrared spectrum made it very easy to see shapes in the darkness. His ears
twitched back and forth, scanning for the slightest disturbance as he
pressed on. Then suddenly, it happened.

Just as his sixth sense went off, a sudden flare of light appeared before
him, enveloping him before he had a chance to react. Ranma was too startled
and was blinded from the glare. A sudden blast of hot air enveloped the
cave. On instinct, Ranma tried to shift back to human form, but to his
shock, he found that he could not. He tried again, but was still stuck in
his feline form. He began to feel a sense of d?j? vu as he remembered back
to that time after Jusenkyo, when he discovered that hot water would not
change him. He was just starting to panic when the bright light lost some
of its brilliance and he could see again. He looked around and found that
he was now standing in... a desert?

Ranma saw that he was now in the middle of miles and miles of sand. Above
him, the hot sun was beating down on him from its zenith and hot gusts of
wind blew across the dunes. The transformed martial artist knew that
wearing a fur coat was not the best thing in the blistering heat. He had to
seek some shade, and water, and he had to do it fast. Looking around, he
saw something in the distance, just over the horizon. It looked like some
kind of structure, and he headed toward it. It looked like it was miles
away, but Ranma did not have any other options. He hoped that it was some
kind of oasis or some kind of place where other people were. At the very
least, it would offer him some shade.

Several hours later...

Ranma huffed and panted as he finally saw that he was just a few hundred
yards away from his goal. He had spent a long time crossing the vast
expanse of sand between him and the structure, and at times, he thought
that he wasn't going to make it. However, his determination carried him
through as he withstood the intense heat and lack of water. He did not try
to run toward his destination, as that would have worn him out all the
faster. Taking an easy and measured pace, he had made his way, slowly, but
steadily toward the structure. Even so, the hot sands burned at his paws
and the lack of moisture made him collapse several times during the
crossing. The rays of the sun bore down on him mercilessly and would have
given a normal human one heck of sunburn. However, being stuck as a cat was
just as bad, if not worse. His fur coat was trapping in the heat and made
the journey nearly unbearable. His larger form also meant added weight to
move and with every step, Ranma felt himself steadily becoming weaker. 

Through it all, Ranma finally made it and looked up at the structure. His
expression was one of disbelief when he saw that it was a huge statue of a
cat... with a man's head on it? 

Ranma gazed in confusion as he took in the enormous idol. Its surface was
pockmarked from the ravages of time and erosion. The body resembled that of
a lion as it lay on its belly, but the head was definitely human and was
wearing some kind of headdress. He noted that the nose was missing and
assumed that it must have worn away over the years. Judging by the age of
the stone it was made of, this statue must have been created thousands of
years ago. 

Ranma shook his head as he turned his attention to more important things,
such as finding water. He was now ready to drop dead from dehydration and
he had to cool off. However, he could see no sources of water nearby and
despaired. He had made that torturous trek for nothing and now, he was
going to die from lack of thirst in a desert. What a way to go! After all
that he had endured, he was going to die alone and against something, he
could not fight back with his fists or claws.

"So, how do you like the Sphinx?"

Ranma whirled around when he heard the voice and saw... her.

The person resembled his own hybrid form and was wearing strange garments
that Ranma had never seen before. The clothing she wore resembled a skirt
and tunic ensemble but was colorfully decorated with gold and precious
stones. In her hands was a staff that was curved and was colored pearly
white. She smiled down at him, baring slight fangs and Ranma noticed that
she had emerald green eyes that were slanted like a cat's. Her body was
also lightly furred but her coat was a golden hue, not midnight black like
Ranma's. He noted that she had a long tail, swishing back and forth near
the small of her back. She wore no shoes and the Cat Fist fighter couldn't
help but notice how... er, well-formed she was. She was very exotic
looking, just as Brittany Diggers was and Ranma could not help but notice
her... ah, generous assets. He quickly shook his head and tried to think of
something else, but the heat was really getting to him. (And I'm not
talking about the sun!)

The female cat being smiled as she noted Ranma's uneasiness. With a wave of
her hand, she somehow made a large bowl of water appear. As soon as Ranma
saw it, he went down of it and began lapping it up. The cool, refreshing
liquid was gulped down in seconds as the tiger sated his burning thirst. As
soon as the last drop was licked up, Ranma looked back up at his
benefactor.

"Congratulations, RRRRanma Saotome. You had made it to the Sphinx and
thereby passed the first part of your RRRRite of Passage."

Ranma's head came up and his eyes widened when he heard her call him by his
real name. 

The cat being shrugged as she said, "Oh, I'm sorrrry. Do you prefer the
name of Kojiro Shinkara?"

Ranma's eyes widened even more.

The cat being chuckled as she replied, "Please forgive my speech. I do tend
to roll my R's a bit. In answerrr to the questions that you are thinking,
yes I know all about you. I have known of you since the day yourrr stupid
father threw you into that pit of cats."

Ranma shuddered at the memory as the stranger continued.

"I must say, that I was most displeased when Genma starrved my subjects
like that and then threw you in with fish sausages."

<Subjects? What she talking about? > Ranma thought.

The catwoman nodded at Ranma's expression. "Oh, where arrre my mannerrrrs?
I forrrrgot to introduce myself. Since you are a Felinarrrr, I assumed that
you would already know of me. I am Bastet or Bast if you wish; Goddess of
Pleasure, Cats, Protector of Men and Pregnant Women. Welcome to Egypt."

If were possible, Ranma's eyes became the size of flying saucers. This was
Bast?! The goddess that the Felinar worshipped?! The one who created the
Cat Fist?! And how the heck did he get to EGYPT?! When the rest of her
title sunk in, Ranma became more confused. A protector of pregnant women
was the one who created one of the deadliest and most unstable of martial
arts in the world?

Bast was enjoying the look of the saber-toothed tiger's face. She chuckled
warmly and said, "Yes, I am the same person who helped create the Neko Ken.
You see the Cat Fist was actually created by a fellow goddess of mine,
Sekhmet. She happens to be a goddess of war. However, I had refined it to
the form that you and the Felinar are currently using. I had also created
the Rite of Passage in order for the Felinarrr to truly reach their
potential and understanding in the discipline. That is why the Felinarrrr
reverrre me. However, I have grown very disappointed in how the clan has
behaved over the last few centuries." She then assessed the huge cat before
her and nodded thoughtfully. "Perhaps you will be able to change things for
the betterrr."

Ranma was at that point so confused, that he was about to turn around and
head for the hills. However, before he could make a move, Bast suddenly
disappeared and reappeared behind him. She began to gently stroke him from
behind the ears as he hand glowed with a warm light. Ranma felt warmth that
reminded him of when Ukyo had stroked his belly and melted in her hands. It
felt so good that all the tension he had faded away and the huge predator
fell into a blissful slumber.

Bast smiled again as watched the peacefully sleeping cat. <Yes, Ranma will
do fine! First, he must complete the Rite of Passage. By crossing the
desert in his cat form, he has shown determination and the will to survive.
He will need it, for the second part of the trial shall push his very soul
to the limit. However, should he succeed, he shall become my greatest
avatar! >

The Cat Goddess waved a hand and the two of them vanished from view.

Some time later?

Ranma awoke and found himself in his human body once more. He also noticed
that he was in a large chamber that had strange images painted on the stone
walls. A few torches hanging on each wall dimly illuminated the room and
there seemed to be no exit to this place. The room was huge, almost the
size of his school's soccer field. The Cat Fist fighter slowly got to his
feet and approached the nearest wall. He looked closely at the images on
the stone and saw that they were pictures of large cats, locked in battle
with humans. He noted that the images only showed the side profiles of the
beings as well as a many symbols that he didn't recognize. He began
recalling the strange cat woman who claimed to be Bast. He also remembered
what she said about him being in Egypt. If that really was the case then he
assumed that this must be what the Egyptians called hieroglyphics. Ranma
had learned about them during his world history classes. He wondered just
what was going on when his senses started alerting him to an imminent
danger. He was not alone.

The Neko Ken martial artist whirled around into a ready stance as soon as
his sixth sense went off. His eyes began scanning the shadows for any sign
of an attacker. The torches only lit certain parts of the large room,
leaving much of the place in dark shadows. He listened in with his
sensitive hearing for the slightest disturbance. His nostrils flared for
any strange scents and his body tensed up; ready to meet anything that
would challenge him. 

"Meow."

As soon as Ranma heard that sound, he saw a pair of green eyes appear from
the depths of one of the shadows. They were soon joined by another pair,
and then another. Ranma didn't know what was going on, but he suddenly got
a sickening feeling of d?j? vu. He could only remember one such instance in
which he experienced a similar scene of darkness with hungry eyes staring
at him. The Neko Ken training.

His sharp hearing picked up the faint sound of padded feet as something
stepped out into the light. He focused his sight on the creature when it
became visible. It was a small, black cat. Another and then another soon
joined the first feline. More black cats began to appear from the shadows
as they began to slowly approach the martial artist. Ranma tensed up even
more as they neared him. He could see their eyes as they regarded him
warily. However, unlike that last time ten years ago, there was no hint of
maddened hunger from starvation. It was more like curiosity and something
else that he could not identify.

The horde of cats stopped a few feet from him as they surrounded him from
all sides. With his back to the wall, Ranma mentally counted their numbers
and estimated that there were more than a hundred cats present. All of them
were black and varied from kitten-sized, to the large tomcat versions. He
wondered what they were thinking and a small part of his mind was telling
him that they were sizing him up before the attack. Though he had long
since overcome his fear of cats, he had no wish to relive the experience of
the stupid training that Genma had put him through when he was six. These
cats would get a lot more than they bargained for if they attacked him. As
if in warning, Ranma began powering up his battle aura. 

However, the cats didn't even flinch at the sight of Ranma's chi energy. In
fact, they seemed to be even more fascinated. For a long moment, Ranma and
the cats stared at each other, neither side daring to make a move. Then,
the cat nearest to him became bold and simply walked up to his legs. The
tabby rubbed its side against him and gave a very low purring noise.

Ranma's body had become incredibly stiff when the cat made contact. He had
almost lashed out with a kick, but stopped himself, as the cat made no
offensive moves as it continued to rub its body against him in an
affectionate manner. Soon another of the cats followed suit and approached
the first. The others slowly began to follow and Ranma was at a loss of
what to do as the felines let off a series of contented purrs and gently
rubbed against his legs. 

After more than five minutes with no hostility, Ranma decided that he was
in no danger and decided to return the cats' affections. Kneeling down, he
picked up a small cat and cradled it in his arms. He began to absently
stroke its ears and rub its belly as the other cats continued to show their
friendliness. After a while, Ranma became so relaxed that the constant
purring and physical contact almost made him drop off to sleep. However, he
knew that he was here for a reason, so he eventually had to disengage from
all this warmth. A small part of his mind regretted leaving the company of
the felines. With the exception of that time with Ukyo, Ranma had never
felt so content and at ease as he did at that moment. He gently set the
small cat down and started to rise.

As if on cue, the cats stopped rubbing against him and backed away. As
Ranma watched, the felines began returning to the shadows and soon, even
his enhanced senses could not detect their presence. He wondered if that
had been the so-called Rite of Passage that Red Fang had been talking
about.

<Was that it? >

As if in answer to his thoughts, the voice of Bast was heard from the
shadows. "Not quite. There's still one more little detail."

That was when Ranma heard a low and menacing growl. Then he looked up to
where the sound came from and saw? it.

<Kami-sama, is that? me? >

Ranma had seen his reflection before in mountain streams and from the
mirror inside the Jusenkyo Guide's hut. However, unlike those images, this
was very real. Sitting before him on its haunches, just a few feet away,
was a huge, black, saber-toothed tiger!

<Whoa! Am I really that BIG?! > Ranma backed away as he regarded a cat that
was the size of a Buick. Its huge, canines glistened in the scant light as
its eyes gazed at him as if he were next on the menu. The Cat Fist fighter
knew that in his current form, he wouldn't stand a chance against the beast
and decided that his hybrid form would be more suited to the task, if the
big predator decided to attack him.

"If you're thinking about transforming, then forget it."

Ranma looked about to try to figure where the voice of Bast was coming
from. "Bastet? Where are you?"

"I'm nearby." Bast replied. "In any case, this is the final step to the
RRRite of Passage. Your journey to reach full control over your Felinarrr
side is almost complete. And if you think to change into your cat or
hybrrrid form, then think again. The tigerrrr standing before you is yourrr
cat side. I separated the two sides when you werrre asleep. You must deal
with this as you arrre. Good luck."

At that moment, the tiger let off a roar and lunged at him with a speed
that was beyond anything humanly possible. Fortunately, Ranma had trained
past anything that was considered human and managed to dodge the blow. The
swipe however, still tore a gaping hole in his shirt, just barely missing
the skin. Ranma made a leap over the cat to get some more fighting room. 

Just as Ranma landed a few meters behind the cat and turned around, the
tiger let off another roar and its eyes glowed a bright red. Ranma knew
what was about to happen and scrambled out of the way as twin chi beams
were fired at him. 

"Two can play at that game!" Ranma shouted as the beams blasted the area
when he was a moment ago. "CAT'S EYE BEAMS!"

Ranma's own chi beams were nowhere near as strong as the tiger's but they
still packed a wallop. Unfortunately, the tiger was more agile and easily
dodged the attack. Before Ranma knew it, the big cat rammed into him and
drove him to the floor. The martial artist found himself pinned to the
floor with a huge feline over him and trying to stab into him with those
huge fangs. He just barely managed to keep those huge teeth from making
contact as he gripped the tiger's head between his hands and held it back.
However, Ranma's strength was still below that of the saber-tooth's and
those massive jaws were moving ever closer toward his throat.

The Cat Fist fighter decided that a different form might be able to shake
his attacker off and he began focusing his inner power to trigger the
transformation. However, he became shocked that the change did not occur.
This almost made him lose his grip on the tiger's head and those fangs just
barely grazed his neck.

"I told you before, RRRRRanma. Transforming won't work." Bastet said
solemnly.

Ranma began to get desperate as he struggled to keep the feline's jaws from
making contact. He then remembered back to when he had fought Brittany
Diggers and how she had gotten into a similar position. Planting his feet
underneath the tiger's belly, he pushed off with all his might and managed
to roll away, as the tiger was thrown off. He then scrambled away and got
into a ready stance, just after the cat had gotten onto its feet again. The
tiger then suddenly glowed with a red aura and then shifted its form,
becoming taller and standing on its hind legs.

Ranma was caught off-guard when the cat had shifted to its hybrid form. He
suddenly found himself looking at a mirror image of himself when he was
transformed and was knocked to his feet when the thing threw a punch.
Rubbing a sore jaw, he sprang back to his feet and began throwing a few
claw techniques, punches and kicks. However, the cat-being made not a sound
as it countered each and every one of his techniques.

"RIP CLAW SLASH!"

His opponent countered and delivered its own version toward Ranma's
midsection.

"QUICK SWIPE!"

Ranma found a large hole in his shirt after his foe retaliated with its
own.

"TIGER CLAW FRENZY!"

Ranma winced as he felt his arms receive several small cuts to them. After
more than five minutes of intense fighting, he leapt back and assessed his
opponent, who waited for his next move in the exact same stance.

<Damn! This guy knows all my moves! Wait a second! What am I saying? Of
course he does! He's me! There's a big problem though. He's a lot stronger
and faster than I am in his hybrid form. And it looks like any hits that I
make aren't even fazing him! >

Ranma regarded his double with frustration. Apparently, the cat-being
wasn't showing any pain or even acknowledging the serious damage it had
sustained. Its face showed no emotion as it continued to punish Ranma.

The human form of Ranma was far worse off and it would only be a matter of
time before he succumbed to the injuries. He was rapidly losing a lot of
blood from all the cuts he had received and his muscles were extremely sore
from high-powered punches and kicks.

<Damn! I'm at a disadvantage as a human! The hybrid and cat forms are much
more powerful than mine is and I can't keep up with their speed and power!
Maybe? I should surrender and? no! I won't! There has to be some way! >

Just then, the hybrid form of Ranma attacked him again with incredibly fast
blows that nearly caught the martial artist flat-footed. Ranma just barely
managed to block all but one, which hit him in the gut and made him gasp
and bend over. That was when the hybrid laced both hands together and laid
its opponent low with a double-fisted blow to the back of Ranma's head. 

Ranma went down, his vision was swimming from the impact. When he hit the
floor of the chamber, he then felt something tearing at his back. He
realized that his foe must have used its claws to slash at him. Several
more slashes and hard blows followed, but Ranma refused to scream out in
pain. However, he knew that he was losing. Every time the hybrid hit or
slashed at him, he could feel his body begin to grow weaker. He was now
just barely hanging onto to consciousness as he felt a hand grip his neck
and haul him off the ground. As his battered and slashed body was held up
by the scruff of his shirt, the hybrid's face still betrayed no emotion as
it reared back a clawed hand and was about to deliver the death blow.

Ranma knew that this was it. And ironically, he was in the same position as
Happosai had been, when Ranma had been maddened by rage. His friend Shang
had stopped him that day from becoming a murderer. However, there was to be
no help for him this time. As the hybrid's hand began to glow with chi,
Ranma decided to accept his fate. What was the point fighting against it?
He had been denying that part of himself ever since he fell into that
spring in Jusenkyo. Though the power of the Neko Ken had benefited him
greatly, it had also made him fearful of losing control. The recent events
of the past couple of weeks were proof enough. The constant fear of killing
someone out of anger or rage had always made him wary of other people. He
was especially scared if anyone close to him were put in danger because of
his awesome, yet deadly power. Shang, Kosho, Kai, and especially? Ucchan.
He wouldn't be able to live with himself if his oldest and closest friend
were to come to harm because of him. If he was to be killed by this aspect
of that fearsome discipline, then so be it. He wasn't going to fight that
aspect of himself anymore. It seemed fitting and at the very least, he
could finally achieve the peace he so wanted. It was a pity that it would
be the everlasting peace of death.

<Ucchan? I'm so sorry. > With the image of Ukyo firmly established in his
mind, Ranma closed his eyes and waited for the end.

It never came. For a long moment, Ranma waited in silence. He decided to
peek and saw that the hybrid had yet to deliver the final slash. It just
stood there, holding him up with one hand and the other reared back. Ranma
was a bit confused as to why his opponent was just standing there.

"Well? W-What are you waiting for? Do it. I'm not going to fight you
anymore. It's pointless to fight against something that's a part of me.
And? heh, you are me, right? So's the tiger." Ranma managed a half-hearted
smile and weak chuckle, despite the fact that his life was about to end.

The hybrid's face then took on a look of puzzlement then nodded. Ranma was
surprised to see this as he said, "What?"

It was then that Bast suddenly appeared beside them. At that same moment,
the hybrid released its grip on Ranma, allowing him to drop to the floor.
Because of the injuries he had sustained, Ranma fell hard on his butt and
winced as more pain shot through his body. He managed to look up at the cat
goddess as she and the hybrid looked down at him.

"What the??" Ranma gasped out in confusion as the hybrid then disappeared
from sight, leaving only Bast and himself in that room.

Bastet smirked and displayed her fangs a bit as she said, "Congratulations
Kojiro Shinkara. You have completed the RRRRite of Passage. I officially
acknowledge you as Felinarrr and your worthiness to be? my avatar."

That was the last thing that Ranma heard before darkness claimed him.

Some undetermined time later?

Ranma awoke to find himself in the shade of the Sphinx as the sun was just
dipping below the horizon. He saw that Bast was standing over him and then
noticed that he was feeling no pain. He looked down at himself and saw that
all his wounds had been healed and his clothes were undamaged and clean. He
looked back up to Bastet, who smiled at him.

"Rise my avatar."

"Avatar?" Ranma asked. "What? how? did you??"

"I shall explain? so please rise my avatar."

Ranma did so and dusted himself off as he faced the Egyptian deity. "What
did you call me? How did I get here? What just happened??" He stopped when
Bastet held up a clawed hand.

"In orderrr." Bastet replied when her avatar was silent. "One, I called you
my avatar. Two, I brought you here afterrr healing you. And three, you have
just completed the RRRite of Passage."

"The? Rite of Passage?"

Bast nodded. "Corrrect! All Felinarrr who wish to learn the secrets of Neko
Ken must first overcome certain aspects of their cat sides in orderrr to
achieve true mastery. The journey across the deserrrt as a cat is for
endurance and measures determination. The second part is to see if you
werrrre able to accept that feline aspect of yourself, both in peace and in
battle."

Ranma thought back to the time in that room, then understood. The cats were
sort of a test and his submission to his tiger and hybrid forms must have
been the final part of that acceptance. It made sense now. How could he
learn to control his powers, if he did not learn to accept that side of
himself? When he had conceded that the hybrid and the tiger forms were
indeed part of him, then that was all he really needed.

Bast nodded as if in agreement to those thoughts. "Your fatherrrr is an
idiot. The Neko Ken was not for humans to learn. It was originally made for
certain types of werecats, but when the Felinarrr came to me for help, I
set up this RRRite of Passage to aid them in balancing their humans sides
with their cat natures. This was what they needed to truly understand the
power of the Cat Fist. The Neko Ken training you had gone through when you
were young was wrong. He thought he could forrrce you to understand the
techniques by throwing you into that pit. The Neko Ken cannot be forrrced.
It can only be learned by those who have a spiritual connection to cats.
The Felinarr have such a connection and since you have successfully
completed the RRRite of Passage, you have proven yourself as a Felinarrr."

Ranma was about to object when the cat deity held up her hand again and
shook her head. "Do not say that you arrrre not a Felinarrr when you
arrrre. You had just admitted before that your cat forms are a part of you.
Denying them now would only undo the work you had achieved in passing the
rrrritual. Accept it."

The Neko Ken martial artist thought about what he had just endured then
finally nodded and replied with great reluctance. "I am? Felinar."

"Excellent. Now that you have finally admitted the truth, I must now ask
you to become my avatar."

"Avatar?"

Bastet nodded. "Though many Felinarrr have undergone the RRRRite, only a
few are specially chosen to be my avatars, or representatives. I have not
chosen any avatars among the Clans for some time now, since I have grown
very displeased at what they have become in the last few centuries. It
seems the time has come for me to choose a new avatar to help guide my lost
subjects. And I have chosen? you."

To be continued?

Author's notes

Whew! That was quite a bit to write but I'm glad that it's done now. Next
chapter, Ranma begins his formal training in the true Neko Ken as White
Claw stirs up even more trouble back in Japan. Also, a certain lost boy
gets involved in the Tendo's attempts to regain their sign.