Cat Fist Fury

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Note: This chapter will be a bit on the dark side.

< >: Thoughts

[" "]: Cat language

                                 Chapter 21

                             Happi Days No More

Ranma reentered the dimensional interface to meet Bastet and saw that the
Cat Goddess was not alone. Beside her was a small white housecat with a
plume of blue hair on its forehead. 

"Welcome back, my avatarrrr." Bast purred. "You have done very well so
farrr in your training. Now you will be going up against a more experienced
fighter in the Neko Ken."

"So who's my opponent?"

"She's right here." The deity indicated to the cat beside her, then pointed
to another portal that was opening. "You will follow her to yourrr next
training grounds. Take care though. She is farr more experienced as a
fighter than Brittany Diggerrrs."

"Uh, how did you know about that?"

When the goddess smiled and said nothing, the Cat Fist fighter sighed and
nodded. Ranma was a little confused at the appearance of his next opponent,
but this was part of the training so he decided to go along with it. After
stepping through the portal, he found himself in a secluded valley
surrounded by trees and a waterfall nearby.

"Meow." The white feline said. ["We shall begin training in a moment."]

Ranma was startled for a moment, then remembered that he could understand
cats now. "Uh, sure. So what's your name?"

["I'm Felicia."]

At that instant, a bolt of lightning came down on top of her and her small
body began to expand and morph into a humanlike form. Ranma's eyes widened
as he saw an innocent-looking housecat transform into a female version of
his own hybrid form. The plume of blue hair grew, until it was a thick
mane, that went down to her waist. Her front legs elongated and the paws
grew opposable thumbs. Her hind legs also lengthened as her feet reshaped
themselves to mimic those of a human's. Her shiny white coat became sparse
and certain areas of her body became less covered with hair. In less than
an instant, Felicia's transformation was complete and Ranma found himself
staring at a 5'8" catwoman. Correction, he was blushing at a very
sexy-looking catwoman. He was on the verge of a major nosebleed.

Felicia was an exotic dancer in Las Vegas and kept herself in prime
condition for her shows. Most people believed that her form was just a
fancy cat costume instead of her true body. And what a body it was! She had
curves that most supermodels would die for and the way that her private
areas were covered by white fur; it looked as if she was wearing a very
skimpy bikini with a tail. Her ample breasts had some stripes of white,
which just barely kept within the realms of modesty. Her nether regions
were also scantily furred and Ranma had to force himself not to look up her
tail. Her face was heart-shaped, with green eyes tilted up like a cat's. On
the sides of her head were bands of fur that made it look like she was
wearing a kerchief. Near the top of her head, a pair of pointed ears
sprouted out, complementing her appearance.

Felicia chuckled as she saw how uncomfortable Ranma was. She also
remembered that she was currently emitting moderate amounts of pheromones,
which was probably giving him a hormone attack. She mentally began reigning
in those chemicals and spoke to him. "I'm sorry if I startled you."

The Neko Ken fighter shook himself back to reality. "Huh? Oh, not at all.
Heh, I should have known that Bastet would have me fighting against another
Felinar as part of my training." He nervously began scratching the back of
his head.

"Well, actually I'm not a Felinar." Felicia replied. "I'm from a tribe of
cat-people that have been around as long as the Kyrn, though we are native
to this world. There aren't that many of us left now. We do know of the
Neko Ken as we have very strong ties with Bastet. She showed it to us at
about the same time as she started taking in the Felinar as her followers.
But enough about me for now. Are you ready to start training?"

"Sure." Ranma got into a ready stance as Felicia held up her hands and
extended a set of red, two-inch long claws. 

"Oh and by the way, Kojiro is it? I would prefer if you were to fight me in
your hybrid form. If you're going up against the kohlinjar of the Felinar,
you better get used to fighting in that body."

Ranma nodded as he triggered the transformation. In an instant, he had
become a seven-and-a-half foot tall mass of sinewy muscle and feline fury.

This time it was Felicia's libido, which went into overdrive. Ranma had not
yet learned how to consciously control the pheromones that he emitted as a
hybrid. The catwoman's thoughts were along the lines of... VA-VA-VA-VOOM,
OOH BABY, and HUBBA-HUBBA!

"Er... Kojiro?"

"Yeah?"

"I think the first thing on the agenda is to get you to control those
pheromones of yours."

"Phero-what?"

Felicia blushed a bit as she turned her back. "Let's just say that right
now, I'm thinking of a... heh-heh, different kind of cat action, and I am
not referring to the Neko Ken."

Meanwhile, back in Nerima...

"White Claw! I challenge you!"

The Felinar looked down from his hotel window and saw some strange boy with
that runt Happosai. After taking a moment to assess the boy's overall power
levels, he shrugged and called down to Ryoga, "Who are you and why are you
challenging me?"

"I'm here to get the sign to the Tendo Dojo!" Ryoga shouted.

"Do you now?" White Claw smirked. "As I recall, that challenge is reserved
only for members of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. They only
have three chances left to get it back."

"He's a member of our school." Happosai claimed. "As the founding Master of
the Anything Goes, I can vouch for him for I personally trained him."

"I see." White Claw looked back to Ryoga again, then detected something
that made him frown slightly. He then gave another shrug and said, "Very
well. I shall accept your challenge. What is your name, boy?"

"Ryoga Hibiki!"

The Felinar smiled as he remembered that name from the files he had
scanned. In addition to getting all related data about Ranma, he had also
had his minions check out all people with a connection to him. 

A few minutes later, in the empty lot behind the hotel, White Claw and
Ryoga faced each other off. Happosai was watching from the sidelines with a
grin. Everything was now set and going according to the ancient lecher's
plan.

Happosai had with him a chemical hallucinogen that he had stolen from some
alchemists during his trek through China. This powder, once inhaled, would
cause the subject to visualize his worst fear. Since Ryoga was now trained
in the Neko Ken, that fear would naturally be cats. At the right moment, he
would throw it at the lost boy, thereby causing him to revert into his
feral state. As this would catch White Claw off guard, the old pervert
would then attack him behind, thereby winning the challenge. Of course, if
White Claw were to transform into his hybrid or tiger form, then all the
better! Nothing could go wrong now!

Unfortunately for Happosai, his meddling with the already unstable psyche
of Ryoga was about to result in absolute disaster. The Neko Ken training,
the magic mushrooms and the Formula 110 shampoo had already destabilized
the lost boy's tentative hold on reality and now the final ingredient was
about to be added.

"So are you ready to lose?" Ryoga said with confidence.

"You should not be counting your victory until you have won it." White Claw
replied coldly. "I warn you. You may have started this, but rest assured, I
will finish it. Are you ready to die?"

"You're the one who's going to die, after what you did to Akane!" With
these words, Ryoga charged with his umbrella, aiming for White Claw's head.

The Felinar however, dodged the strike and then delivered a vicious slash.
Ryoga pulled back his hand after feeling a burning sensation. The umbrella
fell to the ground. The lost boy looked down in shock to see that he was
holding a shortened bamboo handle cut so close to his hand, that a large
gash appeared and started dripping blood. 

White Claw smirked as he said, "I could have just as easily sliced off your
hand, Hibiki. Is that all you have to show me?"

"Shut up!" Ryoga threw away the useless handle and tried to throw another
punch. Emphasis on the word 'tried' as White Claw calmly caught the fist by
raising an open palm. In an instant, he closed his hand over Ryoga's and
applied pressure.

CRUNCH! SNAP! CRACKLE! POP!

"ARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!" Ryoga screamed out as he yanked his broken hand
back. He had believed that the Breaking Point training had made him
resistant to any kind of impact or pressure, but he hadn't counted on White
Claw's inhuman strength. The last time he encountered anyone as powerful as
that was with his hated foe, Ranma.

"What's the matter? I thought that someone trained by the Grandmaster of
the Anything Goes would be much more of a challenge." White Claw sneered as
he continued to toy with Ryoga. 

Ryoga grimaced as he held his crushed hand, then glared at his opponent.
"I'm not finished with you yet! Not by a long shot! I'll make you pay for
what you did to Akane!" He stepped back a few more feet before focusing his
battle aura.

"So it seems that P-Chan still wants to prove himself to the girl that he
sleeps with." White Claw snickered.

Ryoga became shocked at White Claw's causal revelation of his deepest
secret. "W-W-What the...? H-H-H-How did you know...?"

The kolinjar shrugged as he said, "I have my ways. I happen to have many
connections and it was a simple matter to gather data on Ranma, his friends
and his enemies." It was true. White Claw's spies had been keeping a watch
on everyone who was connected to Ranma and had witnessed Ryoga's
transformation, when he was accidentally splashed by a woman throwing out
some old mop water. "I also know about the pledge to unite the Tendo and
Saotome families. I hear that you are quite against that pledge and wish to
win Akane Tendo for yourself. Wouldn't it be such a pity if she were to
learn the truth about her precious little P-Chan? I think I will tell her
when she comes to challenge me again. After I scar that pretty little face
of hers, of course."

"You bastard! SHI SHI HOKODAN!"

White Claw disappeared from sight as Ryoga launched his depression-fueled
chi blast. He reappeared behind Ryoga. Though it looked like her teleported
there, he actually moved too fast for the naked eye to track.

Just as Ryoga turned around to counter, he gasped out as he was hit by
several hard punches to the chest and abdomen, followed by an uppercut
slash to the face. Ryoga's head snapped back and blood went spraying as
White Claw continued to pick him apart.

Happosai gulped as he saw White Claw deliver combination after brutal
combination at the Lost Boy, alternating between punches, slashes and
kicks. It was only due to his stubbornness that Ryoga remained standing.
However, his opponent was not letting him have even the barest of instants
to retaliate. One final backhand to the face, and Ryoga was sent flying
into a wall, causing a huge depression. The cement crumbled as Ryoga's
bloodied and battered body slid painfully to the ground.

White Claw dusted off his hands nonchalantly and said in disgust. "Such a
pity. I would have thought by now you would have shown me your true power."

Amazingly, Ryoga staggered back to his feet, his face a bruised and crimson
mess. His left eye was swollen shut and there was a hideous, vertical gash
running up his face from the chin to the forehead. The rest of his body was
dripping blood from several deep cuts and apparently, some of his ribs had
been broken and he was breathing hard. His clothes were tattered and red
with blood. Ryoga was in no shape to battle, but thoughts of Akane spurred
him on.

"You... haven't... beaten... me... yet..."

Happosai saw that it was now or never. Taking a small bag out of he gi, he
hurled it at Ryoga. The dust within the bag was primed to explode on impact
as Happosai readied to attack.

However, a hand flashed out and deftly caught the bag before it could reach
its target. White Claw then tossed the bag away and looked toward Happosai
with a grin. "There will be no need for that. I shall unleash Hibiki's Neko
Ken myself. I think that this would be very amusing, don't you?"

Happosai's eyes widened at the words of White Claw. He had known all along?

The Felinar nodded as he said; "Did you really think that I, the kolinjar
of the Felinar could not tell if a person had undergone the Neko Ken
training? I suspected that you might try something like this in your bid to
defeat me. I would not have believed that anyone would willingly submit to
be put under that kind of torture, but I guess Hibiki proved me wrong.
Now..." The Cat Fist fighter turned on Ryoga, then triggered his
transformation. In an instant, he took on his hybrid form. 

Ryoga felt new energy surge within him. However, this kind of energy was
directly associated with absolute panic. 

ARRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH! GET AWAY FROM ME!" The Lost Boy started scrambling
away from the cat-man as adrenaline raced through his body, making him
ignore the pain of his injuries. However, his body was still sluggish from
being pounded.

White Claw smiled as he continued to slowly approach him. As Ryoga's fear
began to rise to its breaking point, the kohlinjar pushed him over the edge
and transformed into a tiger.

At that point, Ryoga's eyes glazed as he pitched forward and huddled down.
At that moment, White Claw transformed back into his human form and waited.
Then it happened.

"ROWRRRRRRRRRR!"

Happosai looked on in anticipation. He had been waiting for this moment.
Once Ryoga saw White Claw, he would surely attack him. Then as White Claw
was busy with the boy, he would get him behind and...

At the instant, as Ryoga raised his head and looked forward, White Claw
smirked and leapt high, out of his opponent's line of sight. The
bandanna-wearing martial artist scanned the area with feral eyes and caught
sight of... Happosai.

"Uh oh!" Happosai eeped as he saw the boy's eyes turn crimson with rage.
With a speed that was beyond human, Ryoga let off a screech and lunged at
his intended prey.

The citizens of Nerima all became on edge as they heard a scream of
absolute terror and disbelief echo out in the distance.

Somewhere else?

Ranma was breathing hard as he continued to train with Felicia. The
catwoman was far more a challenge than even Brittany Diggers. The Neko Ken
fighter found himself hard-pressed to keep up with her. She possessed
enough strength to overpower a platoon of highly trained marines without
breaking a sweat, though that still put her below his strength level.
However, she compensated for the difference in power with greater speed,
agility and skill. Her fighting techniques were nothing to sneeze at
either.

Ranma was caught off guard as she suddenly crouched down, focused her chi
and lashed out with a sidekick.

"SAND SPLASH!"

The ground in front of her exploded at Ranma like a wave and he felt a
nasty sting in his eyes as the dirt and sand blasted into him. Felicia took
this opportunity and dash at him in a rolling attack. The catwoman slammed
into him like a spinning buzzsaw, knocking him back a few feet before
ending the move in an uppercut slash.

Ranma recovered swiftly by holding up his arms and protecting his face.
Looking up and seeing that she was wide open in her uppercut slash; he
countered with his own version.

"RISING CLAW!"

Felicia desperately twisted to avoid the uppercut version of her opponent's
Rip Claw Slash technique. She winced as she felt something sear across her
left flank. She flipped backward and away from him to get some more
fighting room. She landed on her feet (naturally as all cats do) and looked
down at her side. There was a wicked-looking gash on her side but it wasn't
as bad as it seemed. Her healing ability was comparable to most
lycanthropes and the wound was already starting to heal. 

"Not bad Kojiro. You're good, but you still need to improve." With that she
lashed out with a viscous flurry of swipes, followed by a sweep. Ranma was
still smarting from the last attack and nearly didn't evade the sweep.
"I've noticed that you tend to rely on your hands and don't move as much as
you used to."

"Oh really?" Ranma replied.

"Yes. Bastet told me all about you. You used to practice the Anything Goes
Martial Arts, Saotome style. That fighting style emphasizes on aerial
attacks and agility. I have a feeling that when you became a Felinar, you
started to rely more on your tiger powers and claw techniques. You need to
add some kicks and use more agility. Otherwise, White Claw is going to tear
you apart like the last time."

Ranma paused for a moment and then nodded. He had been using the powers of
the Neko Ken a lot lately and even with his strongest claw techniques,
White Claw still took him down with relative ease. He made a mental note to
diversify his techniques and restart his training regimen in the Anything
Goes, particularly mid-air combat.

Back in Japan, three hours later?

Soun and Genma were playing their usual game of shogi, while trying to
figure out a way to get the dojo's sign back. Meanwhile, in the dojo, Akane
was training hard, breaking bricks, training dummies and going through a
few forms in preparation for her next bout with White Claw. In her mind,
she seethed with rage at the arrogance and cockiness the kolinjar displayed
during the two times he defeated her so easily. She was supposed to be the
best in Nerima, damn it! She was the heir to the Tendo school of the
Anything Goes! The last two times were just flukes. She hadn't been ready!
Third time was the charm, right? It was matter of pride that she regains
her birthright! White Claw would be defeated by her hand alone!

"HIYAAAAHHH! HIYAAAAAHHH! HYAAAAAHHHH!"

Each time her hand came down, another stack of bricks would bite the dust,
or rather become dust. The floor of the dojo soon became littered with
piles of rubble. After reducing more than sixty stacks to mounds of debris,
Akane paused as she wiped her brow and took in a few cleansing breaths
before going through another round. It was then that she sensed that she
was not alone and saw Nabiki leaning against the front door. She frowned as
she saw the disapproving look on her sister's face.

"What do you want Nabiki? Can't you see that I'm busy?"

Nabiki sighed and said, "Akane, give it up. There's no way in heaven or
hell that you'll be able to defeat that White Claw guy. If our fathers and
Happosai couldn't beat him and the Amazons are keeping their distance from
him, then you don't stand a chance."

"What are talking about? I'll beat him for sure the next time we meet!"

Nabiki shook her head again. "No Akane. You can break as many bricks and
training dummies as you like, but that won't make the slightest difference
against a fighter like him."

"I'm a martial artist too!" Akane shot back.

"So? Do you think White Claw cares? Do you honestly believe that you can
beat him and his Neko Ken when you couldn't even beat Ranma? White Claw is
a LOT better at the Cat Fist! Face it Akane. Even if you were to train all
your life, you still wouldn't come close to hitting him, let alone
defeating him. It's time for you to swallow that martial artist's pride of
yours and realize the truth. The dojo is dead. Best thing for us to do is
to sell it, since we don't have the sign."
"Nabiki, the dojo is more than just a building!" Akane said hotly. "It's a
symbol of our family's style and represents our future! You may not be able
to understand anything that doesn't involve money, but I do! And I WILL get
our sign back!"

"Akane, I can't believe just how stubborn and pig-headed you are! The dojo
wasn't worth anything to begin with! Daddy never taught any students and no
one wanted to learn the Anything Goes, because they saw it was connected to
Happosai! Who'd want to learn it with that kind of publicity? I may not
understand the significance the dojo is to you, but I do understand how to
be sensible and rational. The dojo did nothing for us, so I see no reason
why we should keep it, when the money we could have gotten from its sale
would've helped this family out!"

"Is that all that you care about, money?" Akane shouted.

Nabiki took on a very serious expression and replied, "No Akane. Money is
not the only thing I care about. I care about my family. Daddy, Kasumi and
you. I don't want any of you to get hurt and if you face off against White
Claw again, for something as stupid as winning back the dojo's sign, then
I'm pretty sure that he won't go easy on you. And don't argue with me,
saying that he cheated because I know that he was just toying with you so
far. Next time, he might? even kill you." The last part came out in a
strained and trembling tone.

Akane was taken aback at the way Nabiki's normal Ice Queen fa?ade seemed to
crack as her sister fought to remain calm.

Nabiki took a deep breath to calm herself, and assert control. She then
walked slowly back to the house while saying, "Think very carefully on what
I just said Akane. Is your life worth risking for a piece of wood?"

Akane was about to reply when she heard the phone ring from inside the
house. A few moments later she heard a cry of disbelief and shock from her
father.

"WHAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT?!"

An hour later at the Nerima Hospital Ward, the Tendo family was talking to
their family doctor, Dr. Ono Tofu. Normally, the bespectacled physician
would be gibbering nonsense at the sight of Kasumi, but the situation was
dire enough for him to keep a level head.

"How did this happen, Doctor?" Genma asked.

Dr. Tofu took a deep breath and replied. "Late this afternoon, Happosai and
Ryoga were brought here after being found in an empty lot. Both were in
critical condition and suffered injuries that would have killed a normal
person ten times over. It was only due to their unique constitutions and
martial arts training that allowed them to survive three hours of emergency
surgery."

"Ryoga? He's hurt too? How did it happen?" Akane asked.

Tofu shook his head. "I'm not sure. Judging by the deep cuts and wounds, it
looks like a wild animal had mauled both of them. Happosai had the most
severe injuries."

""How bad was it?" Genma inquired. Of course he was not asking in concern
for his dreaded master's health, but rather because Happosai still had the
best chance to get the sign back.

The shiatsu practitioner winced as he read from a medical report. "He
suffered THREE DOZEN broken bones, and almost all of them were broken in
several places each. His arms and legs were mangled almost to the point in
which they'd have to be amputated. He's got several deep gashes along his
sides and front, which caused him to lose massive amounts of blood. Right
now, he's almost on full life-support. However? that's not the worst of his
injuries."

"Worst?" Kasumi asked in a trembling voice.

Tofu took another deep breath and said, "Even if his legs were to make a
full recovery, they have been rendered useless. His spinal cord had been
slashed in FOUR places. He'll never walk again."

"What?!" Soun and Genma gasped.

Akane was also in shock with her father and his friend. Though she hated
the little pervert, she had to admit that he was a great martial artist.
For someone to have done this to him?

"Dr. Tofu, what about Ryoga? How is he?"

The doctor shook his head again and said, "Ryoga didn't suffer as badly as
Happosai, but the injuries he sustained were considerable. His right hand
had been crushed, nearly half his ribs are broken, he's got a severe
concussion and I'm afraid that he will have some ugly scars on his face,
chest and legs. He also lost some blood, but not as badly as Happosai did.
Eventually, he should be recovered enough to leave this hospital in about a
year or so."

"Then he'll be all right?" Akane said hopefully.

"No Akane. In the state he's in? I don't think he'll ever be all right. In
fact, it might be more merciful to kill him."

"What do you mean?" Akane asked fearfully.

Dr. Tofu took a very deep breath and said, "When Ryoga was brought in, we
had to physically restrain him and use very high amounts of sedative."
"Why?"
"Ryoga? was acting like a cat. He slashed at anyone who tried to get near
him and we had to drug him to calm him down before he aggravated his
injuries further."

""Acted like a cat?" Soun repeated, then turned to Genma. "Saotome, didn't
you mention something about your son acting like a cat when he went through
the Neko Ken?"
"Well, I? er, uh? that is?" Genma stammered as he began to feel himself
pressured. The disapproving look he got from Dr. Tofu didn't help matters.

"Neko Ken? I thought as much."

"Do you know about it, Dr. Tofu?" Kasumi asked.

Tofu nodded. "Yes, my sensei had mentioned it to me once and how it works.
I have seen some patients that were also Neko Ken victims. The slashes that
Happosai and Ryoga received resemble those made by the chi claws of the
technique. I didn't think anyone would be foolhardy in training someone in
it."

Everyone began to stare at Genma, who quickly started waving his hands and
said, "Don't look at me! I never taught Ryoga the Neko Ken!"

Nabiki then began speaking. "Well, aside from you and Ranma, the only other
person that could have trained Ryoga would be Cologne of the Amazons, or?
Happosai. Cologne doesn't strike me as being foolish enough to train him,
so that would leave Happosai."
Tofu nodded. "Yes, that would be my guess as well. Ryoga did try to attack
Happosai when we brought them in, and Neko Ken trainees usually attack
their trainers as they consider them as threats for putting them into a pit
of starving cats in the first place." 

"Ryoga will be able to get back to normal, won't he? I mean Genma told us
that his son was able to come out of acting like a cat." Akane asked.

Tofu shook his head once more. "No, I'm afraid that whatever pushed Ryoga
over the edge had caused his sanity to permanently snap. I've seen a Neko
Ken fighter become so immersed into the feral state that he becomes totally
incapable of reason. Ryoga? will never be able to act like a human ever
again. He'll attack anything that is perceived as a threat and not even a
loved one or trusted other can bring him out of it. He's now a danger to
everyone."

To be continued?

Author's notes

As Ranma's training in the Neko Ken draws to its end, he's soon going to
have his hands full, not only with White Claw but also with an insane Ryoga
(not that Ryoga had all pistons working to begin with). Stay tuned as Ranma
learns the true Cat Fist and prepares to meet his rivals.