Over the Jusenkyo spring.
Chapter 5: Trapped and escaped, the Neko-ken.
Next day at the log:
"So, how is this new guy?" Tiger asked a bit concerned. He didn't feel good yesterday so he stayed home instead of assisting them in the food heist.
"Don't worry," Stella told tiger in a calm voice. "He's okay, if not a bit weird. And speak of the devil…"
As if he were summoned Ranma went through the hedge at that moment. He waved happily to his companions.
"Hello, guys," Ranma greeted with a smile. "How are…" Ranma trailed off and his smile quickly disappeared from his face. In his mind there was just one emotion left. The most flawed emotion of the humans and animals. Panic. Everything became a blur and Ranma's heart started to beat at a dangerous speed. Then:
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
Ranma screamed so loud that it was enough to be noticed by the humans who lived near the hedge. He then ran up the nearest tree and clung onto it as if he never planned to let go.
Meanwhile, the other members of the family on the ground ran to the source of the ear piercing scream.
"What's going on here?" RJ asked very concerned and confused.
"I don't know," Stella told RJ a bit freaked out by Ranma's reaction to Tiger. "When Ranma saw Tiger he started to scream and climbed up the tree."
In the tree Hammy tried desperately to get Ranma back down. All his attempts were futile, though.
"Please calm down," Hammy pleaded to Ranma. "What's wrong?" Hammy asked while trying to pull one of Ranma's arms off the tree but Ranma's arm didn't even budge. The hyper squirrel had never seen someone this scared before.
"C-c-cat!" Ranma stuttered, frightened. Hammy almost fell off as his hands slipped off Ranma, but he got hold on the tree again and went down.
"Hammy! What's wrong with Ranma?" Verne asked concerned about their new friend.
"Maybe it has to do with Tiger. When I asked him what was wrong he just stuttered the word "cat"," Hammy told everyone in a serious voice. Yes, serious. He was REALLY concerned about Ranma. What could have caused him to act like this? Ranma hadn't even met Tiger before!
Tiger in the time was deep in thought. The cat was trying to think of a reason for this. It had to be a bad experience with cats to cause Ranma to act out like that. If he heard Stella right Ranma was from Japan. Suddenly, an idea of what could have happened to Ranma popped into his head.
"I think I know what's wrong with him," Tiger said to the others before he directed his attention at Hammy. "Hammy, go back and ask him about something called, the Neko-ken."
Hammy looked at Tiger confused, but nodded anyways and darted off up the tree to Ranma again. Up there he was still shivering violently, claws embedded tightly into the tree he was holding onto.
"Ranma, do you know something called, the Neko-ken?" Hammy asked the frightened squirrel.
Ranma's grip hardened to a level where the tree got damaged even more. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly and shakily nodded. Suddenly, the bark peeled off of the tree sending Ranma falling to the ground. His martial arts instincts kicked in and he landed perfectly on his feet, but at the sight off Tiger Ranma started screaming again and ran off.
Hammy came down from the tree, "He said yes, but why is he so afraid of you, Tiger? What does Neko-ken mean? Is it Japanese? How do you know Japanese?"
Tiger frowned, ignoring the rest of Hammy's series of questions, he begun to explain what the Neko-ken was to the rest of the family.
"The Neko-ken is the most terrible legend amongst cats," Tiger explained. "It's a fighting technique with a simple but cruel training." He watched the questioning looks on his friends' faces. "To teach the Cat-fu you got to wrap the trainee from head to toe in fish sausages and then toss him into a pit of starving cats."
Everyone gasped in shock at the cruelty of the training. RJ had a disgusted expression on his face, and tears started to form in Heather's eyes.
"You can just imagine what the cats do when they smell food after a long time of starving. It's truly a miracle that Ranma survived that. This technique is normally learned by humans, but nonetheless it's a horrible crime to do that to anyone."
Verne raised his hand and asked half frightened, but also half curious, "But how should THAT teach someone a fighting technique?"
"That's the damage the Neko-ken leaves for the rest of this poor boy's life. When his fear reaches a certain point he does the only thing to possible avoid his fear. He mentally becomes a cat himself. But not how you know me, because of the mental state of the cats in the pit he just gets a very primitive image of them so he becomes a wild beast. I never saw the Neko-ken myself but I heard the victims can do almost impossible things," Tiger said, the last sentence barely a whisper.
"But who could have done that to him?" Heather asked looking as though she would burst out sobbing any second now.
"I don't know," Tiger said angry. "But this person deserves punishment."
"Is there any way to help our friend?" Ozzie asked with his usual dramatic voice only this time the voice held hope and determination.
Tiger tried to remember some way to help Ranma. There had to be someway to help Ranma, but what? That's when the idea came to him.
"There is one way," he said, stern. "If he becomes a blood brother with a cat he will be cured. But it's risky." His voice became frightened. "When he goes into the Neko-ken while we're doing this he won't know friend or foe and it's even possible that he might kill one of us."
Everyone looked frightened and aghast at what they learned, but they all silently agreed to help their friend. No one deserved to go through that except the person that forced Ranma to. And family sticks together and helps each other no matter what.
Inside of Ranma's house:
Ranma was shaking with fear on his couch. He was rolled into a ball hugging his knees to his chest.
"Why a cat? Why a cat? Why a cat?" He chanted again and again as if he were a broken record.
All of a sudden, a picture of one of his martial arts victories fell down off the wall landing onto the floor. The glass cracked a bit, but it did not smash. Ranma knew this was a bad omen.
"I have a really bad feeling right now."
Next day:
Ranma in squirrel form walked to the log. He silently prayed that the cat wouldn't be there. His fear and embarrassment from yesterday was still fresh in his mind
"Good morning every…. body."
No one was there.
"Where is everybody? Hello? Hello!" Ranma called out becoming alarmed.
Then, out of the tree branches, came a yell, "NOW!"
All of the animals, except Tiger, pounced on him trapping Ranma down. They held his right arm out.
"Hey! What are you doing?" he asked, scared and confused.
"We found a way to cure your fear of cats, but you won't like it. You have to become a cat's blood brother." Verne told him in a stern but also calming voice.
"WHAT?" Ranma yelled. Before he could say anything more he saw Tiger come into view. Some red blood was on one of his paws causing Ranma to panic. He tried to escape from the animals' clutches and flee. Verne, RJ, and the others were a bit shocked as Ranma managed to pull them all with him.
"Tiger! QUICK!" RJ yelled with a strained voice.
Tiger ran as fast as he could to them and scratched Ranma's right arm with his front claw. Ranma yelped in pain, and his vision became foggy. Tiger pressed their wounds together, and both of them felt a strange power rush. Ranma's vision became clear again, and he fell unconscious to the ground.
Later, he woke up, and the first person he saw was Tiger. Ranma wanted to scream until he noticed that he didn't feel the cold fear he normally had every time he saw a cat. Confusion set in his mind instead.
"What happened?" he asked groggily.
"After we became blood brothers you fell down unconscious, but I think your fear of cats has healed. Well, I guess 'cause you didn't runaway," Tiger said smiling in relief.
Everything came back into Ranma's mind. The trap, the pulling, and the part when their paws connected.
"I'm…cured?" He asked slowly to Tiger. His voice quivering with hope and disbelief.
Tiger nodded, smiling.
A huge grin spread across Ranma's face and he ran up a tree. At the top he screamed out.
"WOOHOOOO!"
At the ground the others were watching him with amusement and happiness.
"I don't think he is angry at us for our ambush," RJ said happily. After seeing how strong Ranma was he had been a bit worried, but all was well now, and the happy Ranma dancing at the top of the tree in glee proved it.
(A/N): Sorry for not updating for so long, but 1.) The feared by everyone writer's block. 2.) My Internet just doesn't wanna work properly.