Untamed Neko
who says a good edit makes for easier reading. Many thanks to warpwizard for his time. The results should be obvious.
Ch1
Genma tried his best to tune out the occasional whimpers from his boy as he draped fish sausage over Ranma's shoulders. At age seven Ranma was shaping up to be an excellent martial artist. He absorbed knowledge like a sponge, learning everything that Genma had to teach him. The things Genma couldn't teach him, he actively searched for and learned on his own. This was not, however, how Genma judged a true martial artist. Drive and skill aside, what defined a true martial artist, in Genma's opinion, was love of the art. He loved the art, loved learning obscure techniques, loved developing his own and pushing his limits. Most of all he loved teaching the art. Which was why he was draping chains of fish sausage around Ranma's shoulders for the fifteenth consecutive time this month.
According to the book he had picked up on the teaching of the Neko-ken, it should have been simple. Wrap the student in fish sausage and throw them into a pit of staving cats once a day for an hour until they learn the technique. When he first discussed the training with his son, the boy was all for it. The thought of learning such an unbeatable technique made both of them drool. Since there was an age restriction, however, only Ranma could attempt to learn it.
To ensure that Ranma had the best possible chance at learning the technique Genma had spent the last year concentrating on drilling Ranma only in the essentials: endurance and stamina, power and strength, and most importantly a drive to be the best and conquer any weakness. A strong fighting spirit was essential to anyone who called themselves a martial artist. Genma decided that his son was ready to learn the technique shortly after the boy had managed to swim to China, crossing the Sea of Japan whilst carrying his backpack at the age of seven.
In hindsight it seemed that Genma had been a little too successful in drilling his son on the importance of eliminating weakness and pushing boundaries, after all Ranma was only seven and pretty impressionable. After the first week of Neko-ken training Ranma still hadn't learnt the technique, even worse he had started to develop a fear of cats. Neither Genma nor Ranma could afford such a weakness, so, spurred on by the desire to push his limits and the thought of learning a technique that Genma hadn't and couldn't learn, Ranma insisted that they continue.
After the second week Genma wanted to give up, no technique was worth this, this amount of pain, fear, and misery. His son wasn't sleeping; the fear of cats smothered his waking and sleeping mind. Ranma's pride and determination, even at seven was strong; he insisted that they continue and he had never been able to refuse his son something he wanted so much, especially when it had to do with the art. Genma prayed that Ranma learn the Neko-ken soon; the sounds that he was forced to endure while his son was in the pit would haunt him for the rest of his life. With that thought on the edge of his mind, he threw his son into the pit and slammed the wooden cover shut. Over the last two weeks he had been forced to repair and strengthen it repeatedly as his son's efforts to escape in the midst of panic grew. 'Was any technique worth this?' he thought, as the screams and the sound of a feeding frenzy with his son at the center started.
******
The silence was almost deafening, normally there was always sound coming from the pit. Whether it was cats fighting over food, the sound of Ranma trying to get out or the screams - ah god the screams - of his son cowering in terror, desperately trying to protect his eyes, throat, groin. Now there was silence, he counted the minutes from the sound of his heartbeat, what could have happened in there? One second he was trying unsuccessfully to block out the sounds that had started to give him nightmares the next, nothing. Just as he was about to rush to the pit and slam open the cover he heard a "meeeeoooowwww". It was inhuman and it terrified him. The pit burst open in a shower of splintering wood and metal reinforcements in a display of strength he had not seen since the Master shudder.
And there was Ranma, perched on an overhanging tree branch: standing on all fours, back arched and hissing, then he was gone. Two thoughts ran through Genma's brain at that time; the first was 'Is this the legendary catfist?' the second followed the memory of the inhuman eyes and feral expression that adorned Ranma's face -'WHAT HAVE I DONE TO MY SON!?!"
_____________________________________________________________________
Cologne was worried, which was a rare occurrence - not many things could disturb this particular 290 odd year old Amazon matriarch warrior. The tales that had been drifting into the village was, however one of them. Stories of a cat monster, a demon, making its home in the nearby expanse of forest to the west of them. Well no, that wasn't quite enough to get her this worried; those stories combined with the fact that whole villages were being deserted as the 'cat monster' slowly expanded his territory into the surrounding lands was. Especially since they relied heavily on trade from those same villages. This had happened a few times in the past, usually it was just a local psychopath escaping justice and a hunting party would quickly end the problem - not this time though. Yes, it was time to organize a hunting party of their own to deal with this problem. Even that was not so simple, as she had heard tales of previous hunting parties being sent when the cat monster was initially reported, and it seemed that this demon was territorial and very dangerous. Which meant that this 'monster' was particularly dangerous, almost enough to believe that it was a demon. Cologne was old enough to have encountered enough of them to not discount their existence. Time was running out however, if she didn't act soon then the demon's territory would enclose their own village within months and that would mean fighting on home soil, which was not an option.
'Tomorrow,' she nodded to herself, 'Yes, tomorrow a hunting party would be sent to deal with the problem. After all, nothing could stand in the way of the great Amazon nation.' Suppressing a sudden chill, Khu Lon decided the larger the party the better, and that her grand-daughter Conditioner would lead them. Who better to lead them to victory after all than the greatest warrior of her generation, the greatest in the village, with the exception of the elders, of course.
******
Genma sat in one of the abandoned villages just outside of the invisible line that marked the start of his son's territory. He couldn't understand it; nothing in the Neko-ken manual mentioned a student becoming a cat in mind if not body. Sure his son's speed and strength had increased to unbelievable levels, levels that only his great skill in the art had enabled him to match - but what good was it when his son's mind had effectively been destroyed. Genma had hoped that the technique would wear off but that hope had died when he had attacked and killed local hunting parties that had invaded what he had considered his territory. What Ranma had become was opposite to the ideals that Genma himself subscribed to and had tried to teach to his son. The use of the art to protect those that needed protecting from those stronger than they. Killing was almost never done and then only in extreme circumstances.
He faced a dilemma then, what to do. By the code he should be protecting the villages from his son but Ranma was his blood and only heir. The fact that Nodoka would kill him didn't have any bearing on his thinking at all hehehe - who is he trying to kid.
For the next five months he had attacked his son in his lair almost daily and it had taken all of his skill and then some to survive those encounters. Genma didn't let himself be fooled, he had survived, but only because his son had started to see him as a playmate who retreated when too tired to continue. He was proud to say that he had grown as a martial artist in that time - five months of fighting for his life can have that effect. Neko-Ranma may have seen him as a playmate, but most of the techniques that Genma used were just as dangerous as those chi claws that Neko-Ranma employed. Just as Genma had improved over the last five months, so too had Neko-Ranma. His speed had increased along with his ability to blanket the area in his Ki, giving him the ability to monitor any events in what he considered to be his territory. This Ki-blanketing technique not only allowed Ranma's Ki reserves grow at an amazing rate, but also gave him immediate warning of intruders making it next to impossible to plan any ambush.
As Neko-Ranma's control over his ever-growing reserves increased, so to did the area affected by his Ki-blanketing technique, leading to an increase in his territory. Whole villages were engulfed, and while no massacres took place, Neko-Ranma hunted amongst them until they learned and fled their homes. A month of watching his son kill those that were not fast enough to flee his territory and he made a decision. Genma determined to use his secret techniques and end the menace that was his son. He loved Ranma dearly, but sadly he had lost his son 6 months ago to the Neko-ken training. His training and his code would not let him stand by and watch his son hunt down and kill at will amongst the population of China. Genma almost cried in relief when news of the 'cat demon' and the 'missing persons' sparked a mass panic leading to the desertion of most of the villages that were even remotely close to his son's current territory, hopefully preventing any further killings. Tomorrow he would end it - one way or another. Genma knew however, that even with his secret techniques and how powerful they were, against his son's massive speed, strength and almost inhuman Ki reserves, his chances were slim in a battle for survival.
******
Conditioner was tense; when she had been chosen to lead the battle group by elder Cologne, she had been proud that her skills had been recognized. Then she had seen the size and the makeup of the group she would be leading. Smaller, less skilled groups had been chosen to raid Musk territory. Cologne had assured her that the problem must be dealt with, and when dealing with a possible demon there was no such thing as overkill. It made sense, and what single demon could stand up to fifteen of the best Amazon warriors of their generation? In fact, she felt quite safe with so many of her sisters surrounding her, even facing the fact that she was headed to fight a demon.
All that changed when she crossed into it's territory. Nothing visibly marked the transition and yet the high level of Ki that flowed through the area was oppressive. 'What being can afford to waste so much Ki over such a large area?' she wondered. Could whatever they were facing be expecting them? It certainly knew they were there if they had just stepped into his Ki field. Glancing at her sisters, all of whom had at least limited abilities to control and sense Ki, she could see that they were equally disturbed. As she entered the large grove of trees that marked the inner sanctum of the beast's territory, she was getting a real bad feeling about the mission, and she could see that the rest of her sisters were having similar doubts. 'I wonder if I'll ever see my darling Shampoo again...' Conditioner thought, as the remains of the previous hunting party dropped amongst them from the treetops, announcing the start of an attack.
"Three thousand years of tradition will not fall as easily as those weak males, demon!" she shouted as she and her fellow sisters reacted as the trained warriors that they were, by organizing an appropriate defense and counter attack that they hoped would lead to the demon's demise.
******
Never had Genma imagined that he would be using his silent thief techniques to sneak up on and kill his son, but he had no illusions about the outcome of a fight between himself and Ranma with Ranma in his current state, if he didn't use his full bags of tricks. His son was more than a match for him when the change first took place, now, six months later, with so much time to perfect his techniques and even improve them, he would be almost invincible. His son always could master and improve upon techniques at a speed that phenomenal.
He was so used to his son's Ki permeating the area, that the sudden absence of it took him by surprise. Even amidst the height of his battles with his son, the Ki field had been maintained. It's sudden lack could only mean trouble. Genma faded back into view, just in time to hear war cries and the sound of battle. Some fools were trying a frontal assault. It was suicide - never the less, Genma ran to their aid, after all, they had the same goals as he. At least with help he increased his chances of success, he thought as he started frantically firing vacuum blades at the blur he had once considered his son.
_____________________________________________________________________
Blood, it was everywhere, all over his naked body, in his hair, eyes, and mouth. Ranma looked around. He was in the middle of what looked like the aftermath of a very large, very violent battle. The clearing he was in was clearly the result of that battle: trees had been smashed, vaporized and... shredded?, clearing the area in which he currently lay. The ground was pockmarked with holes and littered with bodies. Ranma had never seen a dead body before, and at the tender age of seven, he found the sight of the dismembered and disemboweled bodies very disturbing. 'How did I get here? The last thing I remember is those damn cats.' Ranma just lay in the middle of the battleground, still a bit disoriented from waking up in a different location and having apparently experienced some time loss, trying to find a trace of memory that could tell him what happened. 'Wait a minute!' Ranma thought. 'Cats... the fear's gone. Does that mean I mastered the technique?' Ranma forced himself to look at the bodies again, or the remains in some cases. Nothing about the location helped him place where he was, maybe the bodies would.
"POP!!" he screamed when he saw his father rapidly bleeding out his life on the edge of the clearing. "WHO DID THIS!?" Ranma noticed that he was quickly getting hysterical and forced himself to calm down. It would not help him or his father if he lost it.
As Genma looked at his son, his vision fading, he almost smiled in joy as the spark of humanity reappeared in his boy's eyes. "The true horror of the catfist. Son, become the heir that I was training you to be, continue the ten-year journey we began together and finish it. I'm sorry Tendo I..." It was the last words the world would hear Genma speak, as he died in a fit of coughing as his punctured lungs filled with blood. It was also the trigger that forced Ranma to remember the months he was trapped in the catfist. He remembered all the people he had murdered, his own father among them in the end. The memories of the daily fights with his father, the expansion of his territory and the hunts, all returned in a rush of images. Now, with his humanity back, he shivered at the thought of those memories; on an intellectual level the idea of cannibalism and the other things he had done disgusted him. On a more primal level though, he recognized that what he had done was to ensure his own survival. To a predator of his size and needs, a large territory to support him was crucial. He had done no more than any other wild animal in his position would have. That was the crux though: he was human, and maybe if he had better control...
Another thing about his memories Ranma found strange was the string of victories over his father. He had almost thought of Genma as a martial artist god. In everything martial arts related, certainly he had never seen another martial artist even come close to matching his father's skill level, especially not the level of skill he could remember his father using against him while he had been under the thrall of the Neko-ken. Yet he had been able to match him through the use of speed and ferocity. The Neko-ken was truly an unbeatable technique; one that Ranma was determined to master, now more than ever. The amount of damage he had done when he had lost control was tremendous. Ranma shook his head. If he had been stronger, none of this would have happened. His father would still be alive to guide him on his own path to Anything Goes mastery.
No, the last thing his father would want would be for him to lose himself in guilt and remorse. Genma had loved the art, he had been willing to give his life to it. While it had been he who had killed him, it helped to think of it as a glorified training accident. Instead, he would do as his father asked him to do on his dying breath, he would become an heir that his father would be proud of and finish his training journey. Between the memories of the last six months and the Neko-ken, he would be a martial artist his father would be proud to call his son. Plus, the world was full of styles for him to learn. The Neko-ken was a powerful style of fighting, but it was instinctive. Ranma needed to gain conscious control over it before he could even begin to make it his own, and that, he decided, he would make a top priority. This type of mindless slaughter must never happen again. With a last look at the mangled bodies that lay around his father's body, he started walking west, after all, one direction was as good as any other.
____________________________________________________________________
Cologne surveyed the battlefield between her granddaughter, fellow warriors and the demon. It was obvious that they were unsuccessful in destroying the demon, but the lack of activity in the area demonstrated that they were quite successful in driving it away. But how? It seemed that the battle group was hopelessly outmatched, and yet the demon was gone. Cologne hated mysteries, especially when they directly affected the security of the Amazon nation, and a demon of such power as to be able to destroy fifteen experienced warriors was something to be wary of. One that not only had such power, but actively flaunted it by destroying said warriors was one to be hunted. The fact that she had sent those warriors to kill the demon, and that it most likely acted in self-defense, didn't change the fact that it challenged the might of the Amazons. The body of the foreigner was a clue. Could it be used to determine the identity of the demon, or at least its reason for leaving? Only time and some research would tell. Now that some of the villages were returning to their homes, it would be easier to gather that information.
This tragedy brought about a great opportunity however: if her great granddaughter were to bring back the head of this demon, she would be undisputed in her claim for matriarch when she herself passed on the title. Not only would that clearly demonstrate her great granddaughter's power, but her cunning as well. Yes, a quest worthy of the next matriarch. Only the dead witnessed the grin that cracked her old face as thoughts of Shampoo's future triumphs filled her head.
A/N: - I took more time on the author's notes since I got a complaint about the rushed state of my previous author's notes. I hope this is better.
- I modeled Ranma's Neko behavior after that of a panther, with a little modification. In case you hadn't guessed, by killing his father, his trainer, he gained some mastery over the neko-ken. While in his feral state he had full mastery, that like any other skill grew and increased in strength over time. It was all instinctual, however, once he regained his humanity he lost all of the skill he had gained. Now he has been snapped out of his feral state he effectively needs to relearn it. Along with putting together his own Anything Goes style from what he remembers from his fights with Genma. It should be noted that for anything combat related Ranma has a photographic memory.
- It should be obvious that Genma would view what is occurring very differently than Ranma. At this time Ranma has the mentality of a cat, a predator. He is simply hunting for food and the larger prey represent a better feed. Genma sees his son killing using a martial arts technique and this he finds morally reprehensible.
- How would you behave after waking up in an unfamiliar place surrounded by a massacre? At age seven, Ranma's behavior is probably as believable as any other. Shock can make people do some strange things, no matter how old or mature.
- Ranma was mature for a seven year old. Some of that has to do with living alone with his father, combined with constant traveling, mostly though it has to do with his limited mastery over the Neko-ken.
- Some might think I'm being extremely kind to Genma. Well I am, but then I've watched the anime, which doesn't portray him nearly as bad as the manga. Also, I'm the author, so it is my privilege.
*************
So where now? Well, I've got a few ideas, a few possible ideas, and depending on response and or suggestions...
who says a good edit makes for easier reading. Many thanks to warpwizard for his time. The results should be obvious.
Ch1
Genma tried his best to tune out the occasional whimpers from his boy as he draped fish sausage over Ranma's shoulders. At age seven Ranma was shaping up to be an excellent martial artist. He absorbed knowledge like a sponge, learning everything that Genma had to teach him. The things Genma couldn't teach him, he actively searched for and learned on his own. This was not, however, how Genma judged a true martial artist. Drive and skill aside, what defined a true martial artist, in Genma's opinion, was love of the art. He loved the art, loved learning obscure techniques, loved developing his own and pushing his limits. Most of all he loved teaching the art. Which was why he was draping chains of fish sausage around Ranma's shoulders for the fifteenth consecutive time this month.
According to the book he had picked up on the teaching of the Neko-ken, it should have been simple. Wrap the student in fish sausage and throw them into a pit of staving cats once a day for an hour until they learn the technique. When he first discussed the training with his son, the boy was all for it. The thought of learning such an unbeatable technique made both of them drool. Since there was an age restriction, however, only Ranma could attempt to learn it.
To ensure that Ranma had the best possible chance at learning the technique Genma had spent the last year concentrating on drilling Ranma only in the essentials: endurance and stamina, power and strength, and most importantly a drive to be the best and conquer any weakness. A strong fighting spirit was essential to anyone who called themselves a martial artist. Genma decided that his son was ready to learn the technique shortly after the boy had managed to swim to China, crossing the Sea of Japan whilst carrying his backpack at the age of seven.
In hindsight it seemed that Genma had been a little too successful in drilling his son on the importance of eliminating weakness and pushing boundaries, after all Ranma was only seven and pretty impressionable. After the first week of Neko-ken training Ranma still hadn't learnt the technique, even worse he had started to develop a fear of cats. Neither Genma nor Ranma could afford such a weakness, so, spurred on by the desire to push his limits and the thought of learning a technique that Genma hadn't and couldn't learn, Ranma insisted that they continue.
After the second week Genma wanted to give up, no technique was worth this, this amount of pain, fear, and misery. His son wasn't sleeping; the fear of cats smothered his waking and sleeping mind. Ranma's pride and determination, even at seven was strong; he insisted that they continue and he had never been able to refuse his son something he wanted so much, especially when it had to do with the art. Genma prayed that Ranma learn the Neko-ken soon; the sounds that he was forced to endure while his son was in the pit would haunt him for the rest of his life. With that thought on the edge of his mind, he threw his son into the pit and slammed the wooden cover shut. Over the last two weeks he had been forced to repair and strengthen it repeatedly as his son's efforts to escape in the midst of panic grew. 'Was any technique worth this?' he thought, as the screams and the sound of a feeding frenzy with his son at the center started.
******
The silence was almost deafening, normally there was always sound coming from the pit. Whether it was cats fighting over food, the sound of Ranma trying to get out or the screams - ah god the screams - of his son cowering in terror, desperately trying to protect his eyes, throat, groin. Now there was silence, he counted the minutes from the sound of his heartbeat, what could have happened in there? One second he was trying unsuccessfully to block out the sounds that had started to give him nightmares the next, nothing. Just as he was about to rush to the pit and slam open the cover he heard a "meeeeoooowwww". It was inhuman and it terrified him. The pit burst open in a shower of splintering wood and metal reinforcements in a display of strength he had not seen since the Master shudder.
And there was Ranma, perched on an overhanging tree branch: standing on all fours, back arched and hissing, then he was gone. Two thoughts ran through Genma's brain at that time; the first was 'Is this the legendary catfist?' the second followed the memory of the inhuman eyes and feral expression that adorned Ranma's face -'WHAT HAVE I DONE TO MY SON!?!"
_____________________________________________________________________
Cologne was worried, which was a rare occurrence - not many things could disturb this particular 290 odd year old Amazon matriarch warrior. The tales that had been drifting into the village was, however one of them. Stories of a cat monster, a demon, making its home in the nearby expanse of forest to the west of them. Well no, that wasn't quite enough to get her this worried; those stories combined with the fact that whole villages were being deserted as the 'cat monster' slowly expanded his territory into the surrounding lands was. Especially since they relied heavily on trade from those same villages. This had happened a few times in the past, usually it was just a local psychopath escaping justice and a hunting party would quickly end the problem - not this time though. Yes, it was time to organize a hunting party of their own to deal with this problem. Even that was not so simple, as she had heard tales of previous hunting parties being sent when the cat monster was initially reported, and it seemed that this demon was territorial and very dangerous. Which meant that this 'monster' was particularly dangerous, almost enough to believe that it was a demon. Cologne was old enough to have encountered enough of them to not discount their existence. Time was running out however, if she didn't act soon then the demon's territory would enclose their own village within months and that would mean fighting on home soil, which was not an option.
'Tomorrow,' she nodded to herself, 'Yes, tomorrow a hunting party would be sent to deal with the problem. After all, nothing could stand in the way of the great Amazon nation.' Suppressing a sudden chill, Khu Lon decided the larger the party the better, and that her grand-daughter Conditioner would lead them. Who better to lead them to victory after all than the greatest warrior of her generation, the greatest in the village, with the exception of the elders, of course.
******
Genma sat in one of the abandoned villages just outside of the invisible line that marked the start of his son's territory. He couldn't understand it; nothing in the Neko-ken manual mentioned a student becoming a cat in mind if not body. Sure his son's speed and strength had increased to unbelievable levels, levels that only his great skill in the art had enabled him to match - but what good was it when his son's mind had effectively been destroyed. Genma had hoped that the technique would wear off but that hope had died when he had attacked and killed local hunting parties that had invaded what he had considered his territory. What Ranma had become was opposite to the ideals that Genma himself subscribed to and had tried to teach to his son. The use of the art to protect those that needed protecting from those stronger than they. Killing was almost never done and then only in extreme circumstances.
He faced a dilemma then, what to do. By the code he should be protecting the villages from his son but Ranma was his blood and only heir. The fact that Nodoka would kill him didn't have any bearing on his thinking at all hehehe - who is he trying to kid.
For the next five months he had attacked his son in his lair almost daily and it had taken all of his skill and then some to survive those encounters. Genma didn't let himself be fooled, he had survived, but only because his son had started to see him as a playmate who retreated when too tired to continue. He was proud to say that he had grown as a martial artist in that time - five months of fighting for his life can have that effect. Neko-Ranma may have seen him as a playmate, but most of the techniques that Genma used were just as dangerous as those chi claws that Neko-Ranma employed. Just as Genma had improved over the last five months, so too had Neko-Ranma. His speed had increased along with his ability to blanket the area in his Ki, giving him the ability to monitor any events in what he considered to be his territory. This Ki-blanketing technique not only allowed Ranma's Ki reserves grow at an amazing rate, but also gave him immediate warning of intruders making it next to impossible to plan any ambush.
As Neko-Ranma's control over his ever-growing reserves increased, so to did the area affected by his Ki-blanketing technique, leading to an increase in his territory. Whole villages were engulfed, and while no massacres took place, Neko-Ranma hunted amongst them until they learned and fled their homes. A month of watching his son kill those that were not fast enough to flee his territory and he made a decision. Genma determined to use his secret techniques and end the menace that was his son. He loved Ranma dearly, but sadly he had lost his son 6 months ago to the Neko-ken training. His training and his code would not let him stand by and watch his son hunt down and kill at will amongst the population of China. Genma almost cried in relief when news of the 'cat demon' and the 'missing persons' sparked a mass panic leading to the desertion of most of the villages that were even remotely close to his son's current territory, hopefully preventing any further killings. Tomorrow he would end it - one way or another. Genma knew however, that even with his secret techniques and how powerful they were, against his son's massive speed, strength and almost inhuman Ki reserves, his chances were slim in a battle for survival.
******
Conditioner was tense; when she had been chosen to lead the battle group by elder Cologne, she had been proud that her skills had been recognized. Then she had seen the size and the makeup of the group she would be leading. Smaller, less skilled groups had been chosen to raid Musk territory. Cologne had assured her that the problem must be dealt with, and when dealing with a possible demon there was no such thing as overkill. It made sense, and what single demon could stand up to fifteen of the best Amazon warriors of their generation? In fact, she felt quite safe with so many of her sisters surrounding her, even facing the fact that she was headed to fight a demon.
All that changed when she crossed into it's territory. Nothing visibly marked the transition and yet the high level of Ki that flowed through the area was oppressive. 'What being can afford to waste so much Ki over such a large area?' she wondered. Could whatever they were facing be expecting them? It certainly knew they were there if they had just stepped into his Ki field. Glancing at her sisters, all of whom had at least limited abilities to control and sense Ki, she could see that they were equally disturbed. As she entered the large grove of trees that marked the inner sanctum of the beast's territory, she was getting a real bad feeling about the mission, and she could see that the rest of her sisters were having similar doubts. 'I wonder if I'll ever see my darling Shampoo again...' Conditioner thought, as the remains of the previous hunting party dropped amongst them from the treetops, announcing the start of an attack.
"Three thousand years of tradition will not fall as easily as those weak males, demon!" she shouted as she and her fellow sisters reacted as the trained warriors that they were, by organizing an appropriate defense and counter attack that they hoped would lead to the demon's demise.
******
Never had Genma imagined that he would be using his silent thief techniques to sneak up on and kill his son, but he had no illusions about the outcome of a fight between himself and Ranma with Ranma in his current state, if he didn't use his full bags of tricks. His son was more than a match for him when the change first took place, now, six months later, with so much time to perfect his techniques and even improve them, he would be almost invincible. His son always could master and improve upon techniques at a speed that phenomenal.
He was so used to his son's Ki permeating the area, that the sudden absence of it took him by surprise. Even amidst the height of his battles with his son, the Ki field had been maintained. It's sudden lack could only mean trouble. Genma faded back into view, just in time to hear war cries and the sound of battle. Some fools were trying a frontal assault. It was suicide - never the less, Genma ran to their aid, after all, they had the same goals as he. At least with help he increased his chances of success, he thought as he started frantically firing vacuum blades at the blur he had once considered his son.
_____________________________________________________________________
Blood, it was everywhere, all over his naked body, in his hair, eyes, and mouth. Ranma looked around. He was in the middle of what looked like the aftermath of a very large, very violent battle. The clearing he was in was clearly the result of that battle: trees had been smashed, vaporized and... shredded?, clearing the area in which he currently lay. The ground was pockmarked with holes and littered with bodies. Ranma had never seen a dead body before, and at the tender age of seven, he found the sight of the dismembered and disemboweled bodies very disturbing. 'How did I get here? The last thing I remember is those damn cats.' Ranma just lay in the middle of the battleground, still a bit disoriented from waking up in a different location and having apparently experienced some time loss, trying to find a trace of memory that could tell him what happened. 'Wait a minute!' Ranma thought. 'Cats... the fear's gone. Does that mean I mastered the technique?' Ranma forced himself to look at the bodies again, or the remains in some cases. Nothing about the location helped him place where he was, maybe the bodies would.
"POP!!" he screamed when he saw his father rapidly bleeding out his life on the edge of the clearing. "WHO DID THIS!?" Ranma noticed that he was quickly getting hysterical and forced himself to calm down. It would not help him or his father if he lost it.
As Genma looked at his son, his vision fading, he almost smiled in joy as the spark of humanity reappeared in his boy's eyes. "The true horror of the catfist. Son, become the heir that I was training you to be, continue the ten-year journey we began together and finish it. I'm sorry Tendo I..." It was the last words the world would hear Genma speak, as he died in a fit of coughing as his punctured lungs filled with blood. It was also the trigger that forced Ranma to remember the months he was trapped in the catfist. He remembered all the people he had murdered, his own father among them in the end. The memories of the daily fights with his father, the expansion of his territory and the hunts, all returned in a rush of images. Now, with his humanity back, he shivered at the thought of those memories; on an intellectual level the idea of cannibalism and the other things he had done disgusted him. On a more primal level though, he recognized that what he had done was to ensure his own survival. To a predator of his size and needs, a large territory to support him was crucial. He had done no more than any other wild animal in his position would have. That was the crux though: he was human, and maybe if he had better control...
Another thing about his memories Ranma found strange was the string of victories over his father. He had almost thought of Genma as a martial artist god. In everything martial arts related, certainly he had never seen another martial artist even come close to matching his father's skill level, especially not the level of skill he could remember his father using against him while he had been under the thrall of the Neko-ken. Yet he had been able to match him through the use of speed and ferocity. The Neko-ken was truly an unbeatable technique; one that Ranma was determined to master, now more than ever. The amount of damage he had done when he had lost control was tremendous. Ranma shook his head. If he had been stronger, none of this would have happened. His father would still be alive to guide him on his own path to Anything Goes mastery.
No, the last thing his father would want would be for him to lose himself in guilt and remorse. Genma had loved the art, he had been willing to give his life to it. While it had been he who had killed him, it helped to think of it as a glorified training accident. Instead, he would do as his father asked him to do on his dying breath, he would become an heir that his father would be proud of and finish his training journey. Between the memories of the last six months and the Neko-ken, he would be a martial artist his father would be proud to call his son. Plus, the world was full of styles for him to learn. The Neko-ken was a powerful style of fighting, but it was instinctive. Ranma needed to gain conscious control over it before he could even begin to make it his own, and that, he decided, he would make a top priority. This type of mindless slaughter must never happen again. With a last look at the mangled bodies that lay around his father's body, he started walking west, after all, one direction was as good as any other.
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Cologne surveyed the battlefield between her granddaughter, fellow warriors and the demon. It was obvious that they were unsuccessful in destroying the demon, but the lack of activity in the area demonstrated that they were quite successful in driving it away. But how? It seemed that the battle group was hopelessly outmatched, and yet the demon was gone. Cologne hated mysteries, especially when they directly affected the security of the Amazon nation, and a demon of such power as to be able to destroy fifteen experienced warriors was something to be wary of. One that not only had such power, but actively flaunted it by destroying said warriors was one to be hunted. The fact that she had sent those warriors to kill the demon, and that it most likely acted in self-defense, didn't change the fact that it challenged the might of the Amazons. The body of the foreigner was a clue. Could it be used to determine the identity of the demon, or at least its reason for leaving? Only time and some research would tell. Now that some of the villages were returning to their homes, it would be easier to gather that information.
This tragedy brought about a great opportunity however: if her great granddaughter were to bring back the head of this demon, she would be undisputed in her claim for matriarch when she herself passed on the title. Not only would that clearly demonstrate her great granddaughter's power, but her cunning as well. Yes, a quest worthy of the next matriarch. Only the dead witnessed the grin that cracked her old face as thoughts of Shampoo's future triumphs filled her head.
A/N: - I took more time on the author's notes since I got a complaint about the rushed state of my previous author's notes. I hope this is better.
- I modeled Ranma's Neko behavior after that of a panther, with a little modification. In case you hadn't guessed, by killing his father, his trainer, he gained some mastery over the neko-ken. While in his feral state he had full mastery, that like any other skill grew and increased in strength over time. It was all instinctual, however, once he regained his humanity he lost all of the skill he had gained. Now he has been snapped out of his feral state he effectively needs to relearn it. Along with putting together his own Anything Goes style from what he remembers from his fights with Genma. It should be noted that for anything combat related Ranma has a photographic memory.
- It should be obvious that Genma would view what is occurring very differently than Ranma. At this time Ranma has the mentality of a cat, a predator. He is simply hunting for food and the larger prey represent a better feed. Genma sees his son killing using a martial arts technique and this he finds morally reprehensible.
- How would you behave after waking up in an unfamiliar place surrounded by a massacre? At age seven, Ranma's behavior is probably as believable as any other. Shock can make people do some strange things, no matter how old or mature.
- Ranma was mature for a seven year old. Some of that has to do with living alone with his father, combined with constant traveling, mostly though it has to do with his limited mastery over the Neko-ken.
- Some might think I'm being extremely kind to Genma. Well I am, but then I've watched the anime, which doesn't portray him nearly as bad as the manga. Also, I'm the author, so it is my privilege.
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So where now? Well, I've got a few ideas, a few possible ideas, and depending on response and or suggestions...
