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There, the pit was finally finished. A cube about 20 feet to a side should be sufficient. The man was exhausted from digging, but he shifted the leftover dirt into a neat pile before collapsing and dropping his shovel. What was the next step? Oh, of course, collect the cats.
As the man tracked down all the stray felines he'd seen around the city, he thought back to the manual of martial arts techniques he'd discovered. Amazing that the owner of that old antique bookshop had been so willing to part with such an amazing instruction book. Some of the techniques described sounded incredible... the Neko-ken most of all.
The cat was such a dextrous creature. Dangerous when it wished to be, soft and cuddly otherwise, always in control... It was not a coincidence that the phrase "feline grace" had become a cliché. To have the power of a cat would be to embody the very principles of martial arts. And soon the boy would do just that. Rather fitting, really. He'd prove to the family how strong he could truly be.
The man dropped the last cat into the pit and dropped a wooden plank over it. The addition of a large boulder ensured that the cats would not escape. Now, all that remained was to buy the fish sausages, let the cats starve for a few days, and the Neko-ken would be within their reach.
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"Are you sure about this?"
"Trust me, boy. When have I ever led you astray? Now just hold still while I wrap these around you..."
"What's this technique called again?"
"The Neko-ken. Fitting, don't you think?"
"Very funny. So what've I gotta do?"
"You'll figure it out." And with that, the man slapped the boy on the back, just hard enough to knock him off balance.
"Hey!! What --"
The meat-wrapped child dropped down into the darkness... and the man listened and waited...
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"And what, I ask again," Sohma Kyou asked the cats rhetorically, "am I supposed to be doing down here?"
The cats regarded him pleasantly, chewing on the sausages, but had no answer.
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Author's Note
Disclaimer: Ranma ½ belongs to Takahashi Rumiko, whereas Fruits Basket belongs to Natsuki Takaya. I think.
I had another R½/FB fusion idea, involving Haru and Kagura eloping, but the time frame wasn't even remotely close to working out, and I didn't feel like throwing in random time travel, so I scrapped it. I'll just let you in on the punchline here: they named their kid "Ryouga".
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Mystery Fusion Theater 3002
4/14/2003 -- Completed