by Lerris Smith
Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2. This piece of work is purely for enjoyment purposes.
He awoke to pain as the memories of all the times he was in the Nekoken slammed into him. He remembered in vivid detail how close he had come to killing Genma when he first learned the dratted technique. There were a few others over the years where he had injured people badly, but he was relieved to note that they all deserved it. His first kiss was as a cat and he remembered it now. He smiled at that. Then there were the times he had saved Akane and even Shampoo once. He chuckled briefly at the antics of the cat, how it would always come to Akane as it sensed the kind spirit within even as he could only see the angry tomboy.
Before long he came to more recent memories. Shampoo and Kodachi's betrayal, then Nabiki turns me into a cat. He stopped in amazement that he could even think the term now. It still wasn't easy, but it was no longer so terrifying. Still being a cat was odd. Sleeping with Nabiki and kicking P-chan's arse as a cat. Now that was funny. I wonder what happened to P-chan? Then he remembered seeing Kasumi naked. Kawaii. Now I've seen two of the three Tendo girls.. Bad thought Ranma. Bad thought.
He remembered the special food Kasumi would fix and how she would pet him just so. It felt so nice that he just wanted to stay there and feel her soft hands pet his fur forever. Then there was how he felt nestled on top of Nabiki's pajama covered chest and was again petted. It was different here somehow. Nabiki was gentler, almost as if she was lost in thought, but at the same time Neko felt like he was the most important thing in the world to her. How peaceful it was, except he could feel the sadness emanating from her. His heart ached to comfort her. It was only a memory though. There was even the times Akane's pseudo self sat down and played with the kitty. It was odd that she could be so angry one moment, about pretty much anything to do with boys or a certain Saotome, and kind the next. Then again he understood now, and he had a job to do.
One thing he didn't understand. The Nekoken was a separate part of his spirit with its own memories. It didn't make any sense for him to be experiencing those memories. He focused on the part of his mind he knew to contain the Nekoken and moved his sense of self there only to find destruction and desolation. It was as if some great battle was fought that destroyed the very fabric of the mental landscape here. As he entered the area he knew to be the core of where the Nekoken lived he saw a shimmering older blonde haired lady appear that looked a little like his father.
"Hello my Grandson. I'm sorry we can't meet and I must leave this recording to convey my thoughts. First of all, I'm sorry about the panther thing. You see it was necessary to get you to leave your own mind for two reasons. The first was so Kimiko could teach you what you needed to learn. The second was so I could do what was necessary here. With the little training Kimiko had time for you would be ill prepared to confront the damaged part of your spirit that had formed the Nekoken. You see it is rather like a kitten, with all the traits and characteristics of a cat. Those characteristics were deeply ingrained, and an integral part to it. They could not be removed from it. My dear son, I'm afraid you are too kind at times and were you allowed to face this part of yourself you would have likely tried to make it a part of yourself as an alternative to killing it, especially after seeing its memories. I could not allow this. It might have given you the control of the nekoken, but in the end the damage would remain and simply be spread all through your spirit and impossible to repair. I am sorry, sorry to have had to kill that part of you to save the whole. In time you can and will truly heal. Use this as a guide to heal Akane. It is your duty to do the job right and cut the cancer of her spirit away so the whole may heal. Do not forsake her. Good luck my grandson and please forgive me." "
Ranma stared at the fading image of his grandmother. "It was my own body, my own spirit. You could have given me the choice." He knew she was right though. He could not have killed that part of himself. She didn't even tell me her name and she killed him. He had kept me safe and helped me so many times and she killed him. A few tears fell from Ranma's eyes as he let himself regret paths not taken. He then centered himself and let his consciousness once more fully merge with his body. He grumbled slightly as he remembered that he was still a cat, but the place he was lying was very soft. He opened his eyes and stretched.
"Ow. Stupid cat. Watch your claws."
Oops "Meoow." I wish I knew how to do the sign thing my idiot father does. Neko stared at her a bit more and then turned to look around the room. Pen, and paper. No, I don't think I can hold a pen. He continued to turn his head until he saw the computer with some financial thing open. Neko jumped down then up on the computer and typed 'hot water' quickly.
"Hey what do you think you are doing?" Nabiki got up and went to fetch the cat only to see the typing on the screen. "Huh?" She turned ot the cat. "Ranma, is that you? Are you back?"
The cat patted out 'Yep' on the keyboard.
"And you want hot water huh? Well sorry to burst the bubble but I just put new waterproof soap on you a couple days ago. It will take a couple more to wear off."
The cat just started banging his head against the keyboard. Some days it just didn't pay to wake up.
"Hey stop that. Break your own stuff."
Author's Notes: Last chapter I forgot to note that the grounding and centering idea mentioned came from a book by Mercedes Lackey. The central characters name in the series I'm thinking of was Talia.
This is a bit short, but it just felt like a good stopping point. I bet some of you expected me to have Ranma absorb the kitty cat, act half cat, and gain mastery of the Nekoken, etc, etc. I do really think that if the Nekoken truly is a massively flawed and idiotic technique, then continuing down that path would be foolish at best. Then again, that path has already been well worn and is getting old. If you enjoyed this, hated this, or see something I should fix, stop and leave a review if you have the time. Of course if you hated this and are still reading, I gotta wonder why, but oh well.
2005-03-17