"In the struggle I was pushed off the edge of the
window and fell to the ground below.  And so I was
useless as my mistress was killed.  In my grief, I
wandered the the streets, living off scraps of
garbage.
   "Then one day while was searching a trash can for
my next meal, I witnessed an accident.  An old blind
man crossing the street was almost run down by a large
truck.
   "At the last moment a young man leaped at the blind
man and knocked him out of the truck's way.  As the
truck screeched to a jarring stop, a metal canister
bounced out of the back of the truck and struck the
young man near his eyes.
   "Another truck, owned by a local zoo, overturned in
an attempt to avoid the accident spilling a collection
of cages some of which opened.  Those animals wandered
away from the terrible racket, down into the sewer.
That was the seven of them as infants.
   "In the resultant confusion of the accident no one
noticed that the animals and canister had fallen down
to the opened sewer.  Aside from myself.
   "I followed them down into the sewer and found them
all crawling around in a glowing ooze that had been
released from the broken canister.  I did not know
exactly why, but I gathered them up and took them to
my den and washed off as much of the goo as I could.
   "I awoke the next morning to find that they had all
grown already.  Somehow that ooze had affected their
growth, and, as I learned later, it had also changed
me, making me seem human, as you see now.  And thus
better able to practice what I had seen.
   "They grew quickly and seemed very intelligent, but
even I was not prepared for what happened one day.
One of them said my name.  More words followed and
soon they were all speaking, then they were standing
up and trying to copy my movements.
   "I began training and teaching them, teaching all
that I had learned of the martial arts in watching my
mistress.  I have taught them weapons, martial arts,
stealth, and all I know of this world.  They have
since surpassed my lessons and each embarked on their
own paths as martial arts masters with their own
techniques in addition to what I have shown them.  I
choose names for them out of the pages of some
Japanese comic book.  It seemed appropriate as my own
name was in it as well.
   "Ukyou, the fox, who has mastered the art of
turning seemingly harmless items into deadly weapons,
most especially spatulas and other cooking utensils.
   "Ryouga, the bear, the strongest of them all and
the most determined and stubborn.  He'll never quit
until he has achieved victory.
   "Shampoo, the wolf, a masterful huntress and
skilled with all manner of deadly weaponry.
   "Mousse, the bat, a master of explosives and
paragon of preparedness.
   "Kodachi, the cobra, she seems only a little less
human than I, and she is most skilled in deception and
scouting.
   "Finally, the cheetah twins, Ranma and Ranko, who
have mastered nearly all the unarmed techniques I
know, and invented a few others.
   "Of course they do have their weak points," the
red-haired "woman" said.  Smirking as the teenagers
behind her sensed they were about to have their egos
deflated.  "Ukyou has neglected her unarmed skills.
Ryouga doesn't know when to hold back. Shampoo expects
everyone to do what she says.  Mousse is practically
blind.  Kodachi is a little anti-social and reckless.
The twins wouldn't know what to do with a weapon if it
yelled step by step instructions."
   "So you see, Miss Tendo," Nodoka said smiling.
"That is the story of this tired old cat.  Now we have
to decide what to do about you.  After all, we can't
have our existence revealed to the world at large.  At
least not yet."