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The Long and Winding Road.

Book 1: The Truth Behind the Neko-Ken

Chapter 4: What you get when you put a cat and a Ronin together

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Disclaimer: All the characters used so far in this story do not belong to me. They are the property of their respective owners and I am only borrowing them for a short while (okay, so the short while is a lie since I don't know how long it'll take me to finish my planned storyline). In the future more characters will be introduced some who will be my own creation while others will belong to their respective creators.

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I apologize to all of my readers for taking so long with this chapter but I'm currently having a problem with writers block for the 5th chapter and was trying hard to work em out. I've decided to release this chapter slightly ahead of date to help quench the reviewers thirst. It's only the next chapter or 2 that I'll be having trouble with since it will focus a good part of the story to come in the second book.

(Takes on announcer style voice.) "Now we return you to you reading pleasures."

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When Ren looked up the sight that greeted him was an enraged Ranma descending on him from above.

"Move, Ren!" Yoh yelled as he descended from the roof right behind Ranma.

Ren stood stock still for a second more staring into the now yellow cat-like eyes that had murder in them. That second however was all it took for Ranma to descend on him. With a kick Ren was sent flying back out of the gates into the middle of the streets.

As Ren was sent flying backwards Yoh landed behind Ranma and went to make a grab. Ranma ducked the grab without turning around and with a vault kick to the abdomen, sent Yoh back onto the roof.

Yohmei ran around the corner just in time to watch his grandson get launched onto the roof. 'What have we gotten ourselves into?' He questioned himself as he started spreading his mana to the leaves around him, summoning the Shikigami that he used for his oversoul.

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Ranma awoke again still in his mind.

"What the hell is wrong with me?

He looked around seeing that the gray feline was still in front of him. "Why is it always me?"

"Because you were the one I chose to follow the path of the true Neko-ken."

"So you're saying that when my idiot father threw me in the pit full of cats I was chosen by you as someone worthy to inherit the Neko-ken?"

The cat nodded.

"Ok, now I'm just confused. What would've happened if I wasn't deemed worthy?" The giant cat chuckled.

"You would've been permanently taken over by a lesser cat spirit that obediently listened to the person who put you through the training." Ranma shuddered at the thought of becoming his fathers slave. "However, since you have been chosen you will not be fully human for much longer."

"What do you mean?"

"Our souls have already begun to merge Ranma. Your body is beginning to change its features as we are talking."

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'What the...' Yohmei thought to himself. 'Only a minute ago Ranma seemed to have murder in his eyes and yet now he's happily playing around with my Shikigami as if they were toys.' Yohmei had of started off with about thirty Shikigami trying to knock Ranma out and he was now on his third batch with his mana running low. This continued for another two minutes until Yoh jumped back into action.

Now welding a boken Yoh activated his oversoul and began attacking Ranma in haste trying to land a blow. He was failing miserably of course since Ranma was just weaving around the attacks.

'This is not going to end well.'

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Ren woke up feeling fire in his gut. "Damn, I feel like I was hit by a train."

"You're finally awake Master Ren." It was Bason who said this.

"What the hell happened Bason?"

"You were kicked in the gut by Ranma after he jumped off of the roof sir."

"Are you sure he kicked me? It felt more like he used a sludge hammer to hit me." He got up as he said this.

"Look sir, Yohmei and Yoh have been trying to subdue Ranma for the last ten minutes. They've had no success so far." Ren looked over and watched as Ranma weaved around another of Yoh's sword swings before kicking him in the back launching him forward into the wall. Ren ran back into the yard where he approached Yohmei.

"What's happening here Yohmei? Why is Ranma fighting Yoh?" He watched for a few more seconds. "And why aren't you helping him?"

"Ranma knocked the wind out of Yoh with a kick right after he knocked you through the gate. I battled Ranma for a bit with my Shikigami but Ranma just seemed to play with them. I tried to knock him out with my shikigami but I just ended up spent. Just Yoh rejoined the fight shortly after and has been taking hit after hit since then."

Ren turned back to the battle after hearing this and watched as Yoh was knocked into the wall again rendering him unconscious. When he looked at Ranma he saw that Ranma had his eyes closed and his face looked happy, exactly like a young child having fun at a park.

Ren took out his Pike and decided to take the initiative with a charge. As he got close to Ranma he took to the air and began descending on Ranma with the handle of his pike.

Ren watched as Ranma suddenly disappeared in front of his eyes and was up in his face just as fast. Before he could recover Ranma had of completed the tackle and sent Ren flying backwards five meters. Ren flipped and landed on his feet. Without a moments hesitation he charged again. As he got close to the bolstering man cat he quickly dived to the ground narrowly avoiding a swipe of Ranmas hand/paw. Ren got up again and immediately noticed the new feeling of his weapon. Upon closer inspection his eyes bugged out. The blade on the pike was missing. He quickly glanced around looking for the missing blade and saw it falling from the sky towards Ranma, who was now standing between Yohmei and Ren. The blade flew just over Ranma's shoulder neatly cutting his shirt from the back of the collar over his left shoulder where the cut continued down his back. When the shirt fell off of Ranma, both Ren and Yohmei gasped.

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Back in the recesses of Ranmas mind a cry was heard.

"WHAT!" Ranma yelled at the giant cat.

"Don't worry it's nothing major. You're just going to end up growing some stripes on your back and face. Your body has already adapted to moving like a true Neko-ken warrior. It'll just come a little more naturally."

Ranma's jaw hit the ground and the cat continued.

"You still have plenty to learn, but I don't want it all coming at once so I'll teach you over time in dreams." The cat's smile grew. "Now that I've told you this I'll send you back to sleep."

All of a sudden Ranma started to feel tired and let out a yawn. He tried stay awake. There were questions he wanted to ask the feline, but he couldn't keep his eyes open.

As he drifted off he heard the cat say one more thing. "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the tail."

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Ren knew that Ranma just came close to dying but he didn't expect the martial artist to realize that. What did puzzle him now was the stripes that were beginning to sprout out of Ranma's back. He watched as they slowly spread around his sides and to his front until both sides of the stripes were three inches apart from tip to tip.

At that point Ranma got up from the cat like position and took on a normal martial arts stance. This puzzled Ren since up till that point Ranma was acting like an animal. The only thing that didn't change in Ranma were his eyes.

The next thing he knew, Ranma charged.

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Yohmei was just as shocked as Ren had been to see the stripes growing out of Ranma's back. 'Could this be some sort of soul combining?' To him his thoughts were confirmed when Ranma stood up and took on a normal martial arts stance. 'Well this is just great. Ren doesn't stand a chance against Ranma now, not that he had a chance before.'

As Ranma began charging at Ren he noticed one more addition that was beginning to sprout from the lower section of Ranma's back. A grey tail.

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Ren watched as Ranma came closer and decided to try taking things to the air again. When he jumped up though he was surprised to see Ranma give an extra burst of speed that placed him directly below Ren before he took to the air in a flurry of punches and kicks that only took them both higher into the air. Ranma ended his assault with an angled axe kick that sent Ren flying into the koi pond. When he came out he was absolutely pissed. Not only had Ranma made a fool of him the other day but he was doing it again in a way that was even worse. The worst part of it was that this wasn't even Ranma really. He knew he was fighting a shell that was being controlled.

"Is that all you've got?" Ranma asked in a voice that could only be described as empty.

'Ah yes, Anna did say something about a possession. Maybe this spirit is drawing on Ranma's memory and using the kata's that he practices. That must also mean that it's relying on me being as predictable as I've been in order to land all of its blows. Now let's try something different.' At that point Ren jumped out of the water landing just on its edge. "Nope, I've only just begun."

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After watching up to this point in the bout, Yohmei finally managed to close his gaping jaw and move towards Yohs unconscious body. He quickly checked for a pulse. When he confirmed that it was there, he proceeded to shake Yoh in order to awaken him.

Yohmei turned from Yoh to take in the changes to Ranma's body again when he noticed something he hadn't of before.

'Well that's interesting. Ranma's body is pumping out furyoku like I've never seen before.' He continued looking over Ranma for a few more seconds before coming to a new realization.

'That isn't just furyoku. The furyoku is mixed with something else that's amplifying its power.'

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Ren did a quick leap to the side which Ranma mimicked and while they were both in the air he did a side swing with his broken pike which Ranma easily blocked and used the new source of momentum to put a short distance between him and Ren. When both fighters landed they leapt straight for each other. Ren was ready for this though.

"Bason, integrate with your spear."

"Yes, sir." The spirit replied.

Both attacks met in the middle they struggled for a few seconds before Ren managed to overpower Ranma throwing him up in the air.

"He wasn't expecting that Ren." Yohmei shouted over to him. "Use the chance to knock Ranma into the pond. That may shock him out of the possession."

Ren nodded before using his oversoul rocket to follow Ranma into the air. Ren just went higher then Ranma and they both reached their peaks at the same time. Ren took aim and swung his weapon which was again blocked but caused the momentum he was hoping for. While Ren and Ranma were descending from the air, Ren and Yohmei watched as Ranma fell into the koi pond. They continued watching the surface for a few seconds until the ripples stopped. At this time they moved towards the edge of the pool becoming very worried. Ren walked up to the edge of the water and looked down into it

"I wonder if Ranma is alright." No sooner then when the words left his mouth, the surface violently exploded upwards knocking him onto his back.

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As Ranma drifted off in his mind scape he heard the cat say one more thing. "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the tail."

Ranma's eyes finished closing at that moment. Ranma was confused. For some reason he was wet, he couldn't breath and he now had the familiar female weight on his chest. The thing that got to her the most was that the water was way too cold. She quickly placed her feet against a rock in the bottom of the koi pond and pushed off launching herself out of the water and onto dry land. Upon landing he threw off a quick shake getting the water out of his hair and gave off a shout that filled Ren with more fear.

"That was cold, Damn it." The shirtless Ranma was looking around with fury plainly written across her face." How the hell did I get in there? I'm gonna make sure that he or she, whoever they are will see stars for the next week!" While this was being shouted everyone who was currently conscious and watching but Ranma (Yohmei and Ren) was able to see Ranma's new tail much better. It was standing on end after all.

Yohmei watched with amusement as Ren blanched a whole new shade of white before his nose exploded into a huge gout of blood and promptly fainted.

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Twenty minutes later, all of the people who were present at the estate for the battle were conscious and sitting around the table. Yoh being in the worst condition was sporting several bandages and was even wearing a sling on his left arm. Ren was had about half the amount of bandages that Yoh did but was still now sporting several fist shaped bruises on his face, which were given to him by an enraged Ranma after he fainted. It was only noted afterwards but there were two boxes of Kleenex literally shoved up his nose. The now male Ranma was a short distance from the table curled up in a ball and sleeping. (This slightly disturbed everyone.)

"So what exactly happened here?" Anna was the first to ask as she eyed Ranmas new ears, which were twitching in his sleep.

"Ren and I got the tar beaten out of us." Yoh replied chuckling a bit.

"You I mean!" Anna quickly retorted.

"I believe Ranma has undergone a spirit merge." Yohmei answered. "If you look carefully you'll notice that the spirits residue that was around Ranmas neck when he got here is now gone. However Ranma had no control over his body while the obvious changes were being made." Yohmei took on a more thoughtful look. "There's no way that I could think of that we could learn more now until we ask Ranma himself for more details on the Neko-ken. I guess we will continue this later when Ranma is awake."

After this statement Yohmei stood up from the table and began walking towards the doorway to the kitchen. He was stopped however by a new voice.

"That won't be necessary."

Yohmei stopped and looked around expecting to find another person. He kept looking until he noticed that Yoh was looking back towards Ranma. When he looked at Ranma he stumbled backwards at what he saw. It was a grey colored tiger with black stripes that sat up to half of his height. He managed to catch himself with the kitchens doorframe and pull himself upwards.

While he was taking a few seconds to recompose himself, Yoh beat him to the question he was afraid to know the answer to.

"Who are you?"

The grey tiger looked around at the varied emotions sported by the few faces staring at him. When he stopped looking around he locked his gaze on Yoh.

"I am the Neko-ken."

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End Chapter 4

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A/N: ….. I don't have anything to say really this time. Just the usual I hope you enjoyed the story and etc. I'm thinking I should figure out more to put in here. I guess I'll take opinions from reviewers. I believe you guys should be able to come up with some interesting ideas for me, so please e-mail me your ideas and put in the subject: "Author's notes ideas for The Long and Winding Road."

Now excuse me, but I have to go chase down my notes so I know what I'm going to write for the next chapter. (Pulls out a sledge hammer as a piece of paper floats by, which I give chase to.)