These are the words of Hung Nguyen. I just have permission to post. Just want to help give this story the recognition it deserves.

You know the drill about disclaimers. Anything that belongs to anyone is given his or her credit.

italics: Thoughts

Chapter 15

Battle Rage! Ranma Begins to Lose it!

"No. I will not teach you the Neko Ken. It is best that you forget all about it, Ryoga." Cologne replied.

"Why not?" Ryoga said in anguish. "You taught me the Bakusai Tenketsu and the Shi Shi Hokodan!"

"That may be true, but the Neko Ken is far more dangerous than you could ever imagine. Although the training is deceptively easy, the results of the technique are too unstable and you are just not suited for it."

"I can learn it!" Ryoga insisted. "If Ranma can do it, then I can, too!"

"Who is this Ranma person that you keep referring to? What exactly do you have against him that you would risk trying to learn the Cat Fist?"

Ryoga's expression turned dark as he said, "You know him better as Kojiro Shinkara. He thinks he can hide from me by changing his name, but I know who he is! His real name is Ranma Saotome and he's going to pay for all the suffering he's caused me! And I'm going to make sure that he doesn't marry Akane! Not if I can help it!"

"What was that again?" The elder listened with interest as Ryoga began explaining his past with Ranma and the pledge to unite the Anything Goes Martial Arts schools. Cologne wasn't the only person to be surprised at this new development. On the other side of the door, Conditioner, Shampoo, Bubbles, Brush, and Comb gasped as they heard Ryoga's words.

"Aiya! What pig-boy talking about?"

"Ryoga talk crazy talk! Kojiro no marry Akane!"

"That right! Kojiro marry Bubbles! Is only right!"

"What you talking? Kojiro belong to Shampoo!"

"No! He is Conditioner's husband!"

The girls were about to erupt into a free-for-all when they heard Cologne's voice again. They quieted down and listened through the door.

"Well, now that's very interesting. So Kojiro is really someone named Ranma Saotome?"

Ryoga nodded as he continued with his explanations. "If he had only been at that duel when he was supposed to, then I wouldn't have made the mistake of following him to China and had gotten cursed! It's all his fault! Now he's trying to steal Akane away because of some stupid promise between her father and his. He doesn't deserve her and I'm going to see that he pays for all the hell he put me through!"

"Well, be that as it may, I still won't train you in the Cat Fist." Cologne replied, while mentally filing away this new information.

"I have to learn the Cat Fist!" Ryoga raged. "The techniques you taught me before were good, but they're not enough against that Neko Ken of his! I will get my revenge!" The lost boy glared at the aged martial artist, who simply shook her head. "Fine! If you won't teach me the Cat Fist, then I'll find someone who will!"

With these words, Ryoga stomped out of the room and headed toward the stairs, passing by the group of girls near the door. He quickly got lost as soon as he got to the bottom of the steps, and a minute later, the girls heard Mascara bodily pushing the lost boy out the door.

"NOT THAT WAY! THIS WAY!"

Some time later, both Cologne and Mascara were sipping tea as the others were preparing to close down the Nekohanten for the night.

"Ryoga seemed very determined to learn the Neko Ken." Mascara remarked.

"Indeed." Cologne agreed. "However, it would be too dangerous for someone like Ryoga to know that technique. Can you imagine that?"

Mascara shuddered a bit at the thought. Ryoga was already incredibly resistant to impacts due to the Breaking Point technique. Added to his depression-fueled chi technique and other skills, Ryoga was already a formidable fighter. The last thing they needed was someone of that caliber under the madness of the Neko Ken.

"I am still wondering as to how Kojiro has been able to consciously control the Cat Fist." Mascara said.

"I think I know." Cologne responded. "I wrote a letter a while back and addressed it to Rinse. I instructed her to go to Jusenkyo and question the Guide about anyone who had fallen into the Spring of Drowned Tiger recently. Since we know that the long-toothed tiger is Kojiro, then I suspected that he may have fallen into that spring."

"And what did Rinse find?"

"According to the letter I received, the description that the Guide gave her, of the last person to be cursed by the spring, fairly matched Kojiro's. He had said that a boy named Ranma Saotome had been immersed in the Spring of Monster Tiger a year ago. Since we now know that Kojiro is this Ranma Saotome, then we can make the connection."

Mascara nodded as she began to fit the pieces together. "So, you think that Kojiro had been trained in the Cat Fist, and now has conscious control over it, due to his being cursed by that spring?"

"It sounds logical." Cologne agreed. "Remember that the Neko Ken can only be activated when the subject's fear of cats reaches a certain point? To escape this fear, the subject behavior becomes catlike, and there's the problem. The person becomes unstable and will attack anyone or anything that he or she perceives as a threat. Some catnip or a ball of yarn can also easily distract Neko Ken fighters. That usually makes the technique useless overall."

"I see what you are getting at. Since Kojiro... Ranma is part cat because of the spring, he has now gained a mastery over the awesome power of the Neko Ken and had eliminated the fear of felines and madness. Very interesting..." Mascara started considering the possibilities.

Cologne shook her head and said, "Now I know what you are thinking, Mascara. I too had considered training the village children in the Neko Ken, then dunking them into the Spring of Monster Tiger. But there's a snag to that plan. The spring no longer exists."

"What?"

"It's true. After Ranma had emerged from it, the spring exploded and all of its cursed waters had evaporated away. The Guide had informed Rinse that there was nothing left of that particular pool."

"Can we not make a new spring? Or perhaps use another pool where a cat had drowned in it?"

Cologne shook her head again. "You know the rules of Jusenkyo. A spring can only make an imprint of an animal or person once and cannot be duplicated. Besides, other than Ranma, there aren't any long-toothed tigers to drown. And I have thought to try to use the Maoniichuan. However, we would only be getting a pitiful fraction of Kojiro's power and I'm not too certain we should even try that. No, if we want his power added to the Joketsuzoku, then we'll have to get him as a member of the tribe. He is of excellent breeding stock and will pass on his traits to the next generation."

As the two elders discussed their plans to catch Ranma, the five Amazon girls were also thinking. However, their lines of thinking were centered on one fact. The object of their affections was engaged to another. She was therefore designated as an obstacle. And true to Amazon fashion, obstacles were meant for killing. In each girl's mind was an image of a certain short-tempered girl dying a gruesome and horrible death.

Late afternoon, the very next day...

Ranma exited the front doors of Himoto High. As always, he kept his senses peeled for any sign of ambush, especially from the Amazons. As he headed toward the front gate, his friends Shang, Kai, and Kosho greeted him.

"Nihao Kojiro!" Shang said.

"How are you doing?" Kai said.

"What's happening?" Said Kosho.

Ranma shrugged as he politely greeted each of his friends, informing them that he was all right. As they engaged in small talk, Ranma's danger sense began to tingle, putting him on alert. He stopped suddenly as he scanned the surrounding area. Something was going to happen.

His friends became at puzzled at their friend's agitation and they each asked him what was the matter. Ranma didn't seem to hear them as he continued to use his enhanced hearing and sense of smell to survey the vicinity. It was then that he noticed someone approaching from his right. His eyes narrowed as he saw that the figure was wearing a dark cloak that covered most of his body. The hood hid the upper half of his face in shadow. Ranma judged the person's gait as sure and light. When the person stopped twelve feet from Ranma, the Neko Ken fighter tensed up as he sensed dangerous vibes being emitted from him.

"Are you... Ranma Saotome?" The hooded figure asked.

Ranma did not answer immediately as he continued to stare at him. Then he replied, "No. I'm Kojiro Shinkara."

The hooded figure smiled as he said, "Then I found who I'm looking for."

"What do you mean?" Ranma asked suspiciously. "I thought you said you were looking for someone named Ranma Saotome?"

"And I am." The hooded figure responded. "And now I've found him... Ranma Saotome!" It was then that the stranger threw off his cloak and revealed himself to Ranma. "I am Tarou and I challenge you, Ranma Saotome!"

As soon as he made the challenge, all the crowds looked in their direction. Ranma's friends were a bit puzzled as to why this new guy was referring to Kojiro as this Ranma person. They all took a few steps back and waited with everyone else.

The students weren't the only ones who were watching the confrontation. High up on the roof of the school, three martial artists were also taking an interest in the upcoming fight. Happosai, Genma, and Soun had gotten to the school at around one o'clock and had been staking out the premises. Soun had to be physically restrained to keep from leaping down toward Ranma when he first emerged from the building.

"There he is! That's my future son-in-law!"

"Hold it Soun! Remember the plan!" Genma said as he grabbed his friend by the arm and yanked him back. "He's got to be softened up first!"

"But he's-"

Happosai growled slightly and glared at his two disciples, making them instantly quiet down. When Soun gave him a sheepish look and sat down with Genma, the aged master turned his attention back toward the ground.

Unknown to them, another group was also watching events unfold. On a rooftop opposite to the one the three schemers were on, the Amazons matriarchs and their proteges were observing Ranma as he was facing off against Tarou. It had been decided that they were to secretly tail Ranma and find out where he worked and lived, instead of chasing him all over town to give him the Kiss of Marriage. The plan was to approach him gradually and learn more about him. Then they would readjust their strategy in snaring him for the tribe. They had given the girls very strict orders not to go about chasing him like before.

Cologne wondered who this newcomer was and what his business was with her soon to be future son-in-law. Then she spied Happosai on the opposite roof. Something was up. The others were all for attacking the enemy to all women, but Cologne motioned for them to remain. If Happosai was involved with Ranma in any way, she wanted to know of it.

On the yard in front of the school, Ranma was still trying to figure out who this new challenger was. "Listen, Tarou is it? I don't understand why you're challenging me when I'm not this Ranma person. I already told you, the name's Kojiro Shinkara."

"Happosai informed me that you were using that name, Ranma Saotome, but it doesn't matter who you are. What does matter is that I must defeat you and drag your battered carcass to the Tendo Dojo." Tarou looked over his opponent. He saw that Ranma was very strong looking and he moved with a casual grace that spoke of long experience. Unlike that pathetic Akane Tendo, Ranma looked far more capable and would give him a good workout. What he didn't know was Ranma's true power.

"The Tendo Dojo?" Ranma didn't like the sound of that. After learning about his father's plans to have him marry Akane, the Neko Ken fighter was getting the idea that this confrontation somehow involved his greedy parent's doing. Right now, with all the troubles that he had been receiving from the Amazons and the possibility of meeting up with Genma again, Ranma's temper had been on a tight leash and it had taken much of his control to keep in check. "Listen, I still think-"

"Enough!" Tarou snarled as he got into a stance. "Do you accept my challenge or are you a coward? Like it or not, you are coming with me to the Tendo Dojo, and if I have to beat you to within an inch of your life to do it, then so be it!"

Ranma's brow furrowed at that remark. This Tarou was challenging him directly in front of the whole school. He had to accept the challenge. Besides, no one called him a coward and got away with it.

Deep within him, the beast began to stir at the first signs of an inevitable conflict. Ranma slowly went into a ready stance and said in a firm voice, "I don't know what this is all about or why you keep referring to me as this Ranma person, but if you want a fight, then come on!"

His friends recognized the look on his face and knew that things were going to get very violent. They began motioning for the crowds to step back back. Well, Shang and Kosho tried to get them to step back. Kai was busily giving odds and taking bets.

Ranma and Tarou stood motionless as their eyes locked together. For Ranma, he wondered why this person was after him and was trying to figure out his motives. For Tarou, he was sure that he could defeat this person. Though his initial assessment of Ranma gave him the impression that his opponent was a considerable martial artist, he was certain that Ranma wouldn't stand a chance against his other form. He smiled as he gestured with a finger for him to make a move.

Ranma's battle aura began to glow as he prepared to strike. The power of the Neko Ken started to surface and his hands curled and uncurled. In an instant, Ranma shot forward at his opponent. Tarou was a little startled at the speed, in which his opponent moved and barely managed to deflect the blow to his chest. He winced slightly as his arm collided with Ranma's. He was hitting with more force than Tarou had expected. He swung around and sent a jab to Ranma's face.

However, the Neko Ken fighter tilted his head slightly, causing Tarou's fist to miss his face by a mere millimeter. At the same time, he lashed out with his other fist and connected with Tarou's stomach, forcing the breath out of the cursed Chinese boy and sent him back a bit. An instant after the first hit had made contact, Ranma delivered a fast three-hit combo to Tarou's upper body. Tarou managed to deflect the first two hits, but the third blow hit hard on his chin. He winced a bit more as that punch packed a bit more wallop than the first. He backed off a bit to get some more fighting room as Ranma waited.

Tarou ran the back of his right hand over his sore chin and saw that his lip was bleeding a bit. He smirked at his opponent and said, "Not bad. You drew first blood."

"I'm just getting warmed up." Replied the Tokyo Tiger. He was purposely holding back his superhuman strength and reflexes as he was assessing his opponent's skills. He had decided not to use any of his special Neko Ken moves until he knew what he was really up against. Fortunately, with his training in the Anything Goes and his past street fighting experience in China, Ranma's more than capable of handling himself without resorting to the fury of the Cat Fist.

Tarou smirked again as he waited for Ranma to attack again. Ranma obliged. As he threw a roundhouse kick to Tarou's midsection, the Chinese boy caught his foot and swept out with his leg to trip him up. However, Ranma countered by swinging his other leg up and lashed out while twisting his body. The end result was his foot smacking into Tarou's face, causing him to release his other leg.

Ranma rolled forward, got back to his feet and then sent an open-palm strike to Tarou's chest. The Chinese boy just barely recovered from being kicked when he caught Ranma's outstretched arm in a vice grip. He then delivered a hard kick to Ranma's exposed side before throwing him over in an Akido toss. To his surprise, Ranma reversed the throw and then had him flying through the air. Tarou slammed into the front gate, causing a series of large cracks to appear in the concrete. He slid down to the ground, but was on his feet again and faced off against Ranma. He had lost some of his initial cockiness as he realized that Ranma was a seasoned fighter. Kicking against Ranma's side had left a slight tingle in his foot. It had been like kicking against a thick oak tree. Ranma didn't even seem to have felt his kick.

For Ranma, he saw that this Tarou had an endurance that was somewhat less than Ryoga's, but was still much more durable than normal. Slamming into that gate would have knocked out an average fighter. Tarou was nowhere near as strong or as fast as he was, but his overall skill level was somewhere above Mousse and Ryoga's. He had also gotten the feeling that Tarou wasn't showing his true power. They exchanged several more blows at each other, but it was clear to all those present that Ranma seemed to have the upper hand. Whatever hits Tarou managed to land were either shrugged off or weren't even registered. Ranma's hits were increasing in force with every blow, and it wasn't long before Tarou's body began to feel sore. He had suspected that Ranma was holding back, but he had no idea as to how much. He stopped a crosscut to his chin, but then was stunned when Ranma moved his arm forward and knocked his elbow into Tarou's jaw, making him release his arm. In the split-second before Tarou could recover, Ranma shot a jab to his ribs, followed by a strike to the throat, then reared his head back and slammed it into his opponent's forehead.

The crowd winced as they saw Tarou driven backward from the headbutt. After being struck in the flank and throat, the Chinese boy had not expected such a blunt and brutal onslaught. He staggered backward and resumed a shaky stance as Ranma's battle aura began to intensify. In all his years, he had never faced up against an opponent who was just as a mean fighter as he was.

For the Neko Ken fighter, he was fighting hard to keep his rage from erupting. The recent troubles that he had been getting from the Amazons, plus the stupid deals that his father had made, using him as a bargaining chip, had made him very irritated, to say the least. Furthermore, due to the fact that his cursed form was attracting too much attention; he had not been spending much time as a tiger lately. He was long overdue for a romp through the forest and for some hunting. Since the fight began, his primal emotions had begun to swell and simmer beneath the surface. He had refrained from using his Neko Ken skills as he had assessed that his opponent would not be able to survive such deadly techniques. He was strictly adhering to the Anything Goes and the street-fighting techniques he had picked up, but it wasn't enough. The tiger inside of him wanted out and it wanted out now! Already he was moving with far greater speed and hitting with enough power to crack concrete.

Tarou was bruised and battered by now. It seemed that his opponent was gaining speed and strength with every blow, and whatever hits he could land on the Tokyo Tiger were now as effective as hitting him with cotton balls. Things had begun to go downhill and Tarou was unable to stop it. The fight had started out well enough but now it looks like that he would have to cheat.

I WILL HAVE MY NAME CHANGED! Tarou reached over to the front of his vest to get the flask of water then realized that he had left it at the Tendo home. He had been so eager to beat Ranma and get his name changed that he had forgotten to retrieve his flask or get some more water. This slight pause was all Ranma needed to rush forward and deliver a straight kick to Tarou's midsection, plowing him back several yards. The Chinese boy was sprawled on his back and Ranma used this opportunity to calm down.

Taking slow and deep breaths, he glared at his fallen opponent and said, "Had enough?"

Tarou gave him an angry look and hissed, "I'm not done with you yet!" He staggered to his feet and took a quick look around. He could see no immediate sources of water and was at a bit of a loss of what to do. He then spotted the pool on one side of the school, but it was too far away and the beating the Ranma had given him left him too weak to try to make a break for it. He was about to attempt a suicidal lunge at his foe when salvation came to him in the form of Happosai.

The aged pervert and grandmaster of the Anything Goes School saw that Tarou was in trouble and it was time for him to interfere. Bringing out the flask that he had gotten from Tarou, he tossed it down to the ground.

"Pantyhose! Catch!"

Tarou became angered at hearing that stupid name but then smiled as he looked up and saw what was dropping down toward him. He gleefully caught the flask, unscrewed the cap, and gave Ranma a smirk as he held it above his head. "Now you are going to get it!"

The Neko Ken frowned when he looked up and saw who it was on the roof. He then went into a defensive stance when he saw Tarou grin. What was up with that flask? Was it some kind of potion?

"What is that?"

"Water." Tarou sneered.

Water? Why would water be such a big deal? Unless he's... oh no!

All hell broke loose when Tarou got wet.

"MOOOOOOOO"

The crowd gasped and screams were heard, as a twenty-foot monstrosity appeared where Tarou once stood. The beast resembled the Minotaur of Greek legend, but had a few differences. It was roughly humanoid in appearance and had the head of a bull. Its horns were about three feet long and looked capable of tearing open a tank. On its shoulders were large wings and it also had a tail that resembled a snake. Upon closer inspection, one could see that it was actually an eel as it thrashed about. The transformed Tarou stomped his feet and snorted at Ranma, preparing to charge. His eyes were red with rage and promised the Neko Ken martial artist a world of pain.

On the rooftop, Genma and Soun were in shock at the sight of the cursed form of Tarou.

"M-M-Master? Is that Tarou's cursed form?" Genma said.

Happosai nodded as he said, "Now you can see why I stopped Pantyhose from getting wet." He then grinned down at Ranma and said, "Let's see if Ranma can handle this!"

The throngs of students decided that they no longer wanted to see the outcome of this fight and began fleeing in terror. Shang and his friends were almost trampled in the sudden rush to get away. It was then that Tarou charged.

"Holy s-" Ranma was just barely able to leap to the side as the monster barreled down on him. Tarou then swung a massive arm at Ranma and knocked him aside, sending him flying into the pool. He made a tremendous splash before disappearing beneath the water. There was a moment of silence as Tarou paused in his assault, waiting for Ranma to emerge. When he did not immediately resurface, he wondering that he might have killed his opponent with his punch. Those who had not fled with the majority of the crowd were also stunned at the sight. Was he...

On the roof of Himoto...

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Soun wailed. "That monster has killed my son-in-law!"

Genma was speechless as he stared at the pool. It couldn't be! Ranma couldn't be dead! He had to be alive! He must marry Akane and unite the schools! Genma's dreams of a long and luxurious retirement at the Tendo Dojo were dashed in an instant. Then a chill went down his spine. What would Nodoka do to him?

It was then that the pool started to froth and bubble. The waters thrashed about as large, black shape exploded from it. It let off a tremendous roar as it landed on all fours in front of Tarou. The winged, bull-monster's eyes widened in surprise as he beheld the saber-toothed tiger before him, getting ready to pounce. He was surprised to learn that his opponent was also Jusenkyo-cursed and his new form did present some problems. Although he did tower over his transformed opponent and was stronger than the cat, he was unsure if he could defend against the tiger's claws and fangs.

At the appearance of the Tokyo Tiger, the few remaining students did the smart thing and headed for the hills. On the sidelines, huddling behind a tree, Shang, Kai, and Kosho were in awe at being this close to the infamous saber-tooth tiger of Japan. As they watched the cat face off against its larger opponent, Kai asked the obvious question.

"Is... that Kojiro?" After seeing Ranma disappear into the pool and the tiger reemerging from it, it didn't take a rocket scientist to put two and two together.

Shang nodded as he said in a serious voice, "Aiya! Kojiro is cursed to turn into tiger when wet! He is cursed from Jusenkyo!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Kosho asked, his eyes never leaving the scene.

"Shang know from letters from Cousin Gel. Cousin Gel is Amazon, same as Mousse and Shampoo. She tell all about Jusenkyo."

"What's Jusenkyo?" Kai asked.

"Not what. Is where. Jusenkyo is very bad and dangerous place. Old training ground in China. Have many different springs and each have own terrible tragedy happen there."

"What are you talking about?" Kosho asked.

"Springs of Jusenkyo is magic. For many, many years, springs have people and animals drown there. Now whomever fall in cursed springs take body of poor person or animal that drown there. Water cause change in person. Cold water change into cursed form Hot water change back."

"I don't believe it!" Kai said.

"Shang no believe either until now. Friend Kojiro and other person must be cursed by springs. Is only reason why they change when wet."

Meanwhile, Ranma and Tarou were mixing it up. Ranma had decided to change into his feline form to give Tarou a shock and let off some of his anger. He knew that transforming was inevitable against this monster, so he decided to deliberately mislead Tarou, Genma, Soun, Happosai, and all those who were watching, that his curse was triggered by cold water. Except for the Amazons and Ukyo, no one else in Japan knew that Ranma could control his transformations at will. That gave Ranma a considerable advantage. Tarou tried to pound the cat into the pavement, but the tiger was far more agile and easily evaded the blow. As his arm came near, Ranma gave a vicious swipe to it, causing Tarou to roar out in pain. He quickly retracted his arm and looked down at it. Despite his thick hide, Ranma's claws had cut through it, leaving four deep gashes near the wrist. The tiger then charged forward and plowed into Tarou's gut, driving the air out of him as if a speeding bus had hit him. The sudden impact drove him off his feet and he was slammed onto his back. The ground trembled as more than a ton of transformed martial artist crashed down on the concrete.

Ranma was in a rage as his long denied feral emotions came to the surface. He started slashing away at Tarou's chest, leaving deep cuts and caused the huge monster considerable pain. Tarou realized that he had gotten more than he had bargained for and that Ranma's tiger form had an advantage in speed and ferocity. With both his arms, he desperately grabbed the feline by the midsection and hoisted him above his bloody chest. The tiger continued to writhe and thrashed at Tarou, trying to sink his claws into him.

Tarou rolled over to the side, slamming the cat to the ground, causing a deep depression in the pavement. While pinning it down with one arm, Tarou began to mercilessly pound at it with the other. Ranma roared out in pain as he was severely pummeled. If Tarou wasn't already weakened from considerable blood loss and Ranma had such high endurance, the Neko Ken fighter would have blacked out by now. But in a minute or so, he would black out anyway.

Using all of the brute tiger strength he had, Ranma managed to twist his body around enough and sink his fangs into Taro's flesh. Ranma winced as he tasted blood, but clamped down. Tarou let off an inhuman scream of pain as he was forced to stop his pounding and release the saber-tooth. Ranma scrambled out from his grasp and then faced off against the bull monster. He was near the boys' locker room as the battle had moved closer toward the school. His battle aura suddenly flared as his eyes glowed with a crimson light. Letting off another roar, the saber-tooth fired off twin beams of hot chi energy at his foe. Because Ranma's vision was still swimming from Tarou's pounding, his aim was off and his eyebeams struck not Tarou's chest, but his shoulder. The Chinese boy howled out in pain anyway as the searing heat caused a deep scorch mark to appear. The tiger then leapt at his foe, intent on finishing him off. Tarou swung an arm and managed to slam the cat back, causing him to go flying toward the boys' locker room. The huge feline made a tremendous crash through the roof and then an another crash was heard. Suddenly, a huge spout of water erupted out from the hole in roof, drenching the surrounding area. It wasn't just any water either. It was HOT WATER!

Tarou was just shaking off the effects of Ranma's last attack when it spied the spout of steamy liquid. He then let off a triumphant sound.

"MOOOOOO!"

He knew that his foe was now at his mercy. Even though he was badly injured, Ranma's human form was no match for his cursed one. There was just no way he could still be a tiger with all that hot water. Victory was his! He would have a new name!

It was then that a roar that sounded like a tiger's was emitted from the wrecked locker room. The sidewall blew out and out stepped Ranma, who was indeed in his human form, but not the way that Tarou thought.

Ranma had been trapped under a pile of broken support beams and had to transform into his smaller human shape to wriggle out of the wreckage. Now as he looked up at the towering monster that had spotted him and was advancing toward him, he didn't feel the slightest bit of fear. Instead his battle aura flared up even brighter as he snarled and his eyes filled with absolute rage.

Enough was ENOUGH! After all this, Tarou still wanted to fight? He was still intent on beating him up and drag him to the Tendo Dojo? That's it! THE KID GLOVES WERE OFF!

Ranma roared as his aura became a bonfire of chi and he leapt up at Tarou. The monster swung an arm to knock down the little flea, but the Neko Ken fighter dodged the blow and slashed forward.

"RIP CLAW SLASH!"

Tarou screamed out as he felt his flesh being torn. He brought back the arm and saw that it had four new marks on it. His eyes widened as he realized something. Ranma didn't have to be a tiger in order to cut him! As he looked down, he saw the Neko Ken martial artist leaping straight up, one arm held high and the hand with fingers curled like a set of claws. The hand glowed with a bright, blue-white light.

"RISING CLAW!"

Tarou winced as the hand ripped up his chest, cutting a deep groove in it. He began thrashing about, trying to knock away Ranma, but the ponytailed martial artist began using his catlike agility to dodge. He became a darting blur as he continued to cut down his opponent, hitting him with an endless assault of Cat Fist techniques. The Chinese boy was slashed, blasted and sliced again and again as the he began to realize that in either form, he was simply no match for the Neko Ken warrior.

"TIGER CLAW FRENZY!"

Tarou's back was slashed until it looked like he had a million paper cuts.

"QUICK SWIPE!"

A piece of horn was cut off.

"RAGING TIGER BOLT!"

A chi blast slammed between his wings.

"CAT'S EYE BEAMS!"

Twin chi beams blasted the other shoulder.

Ranma was totally going ballistic and he was slashing at near full strength against his foe. He didn't care though. He was immersed in the savagery of it all, his tiger instincts running on full and holding very little back. The frustrations he had gained when he came back to Japan all culminated and made him erupt. He wasn't going to stop until Tarou was down for keeps. He was running on pure rage and adrenaline. After a full minute of slashing and blasting, Tarou looked ready to drop.

However, like Ranma, the Chinese boy was just as stubborn and one thought kept ringing in his mind. I must defeat him! I must have my name changed! With that thought, he charged at Ranma in an all or nothing final attack.

It was then that Ranma let him have it.

"ULTIMATE NEKO KEN! FINAL ATTACK! BERSERKER RAGE!"

Ranma sped forward at inhuman speed and leapt up. He began slashing at Tarou's chest with a ferocity that defied description. The bull-shaped head threw itself back and howled in agony, while the entire body trembled and quivered. Tarou was introduced to a pain like no other as he was subjected to the full power of Ranma's final attack. Then after delivering more than four thousand slashes, Ranma ended the attack with fully powered, double-diagonal chi slashes to the face. The energy exploded in an x-shape and sent Tarou crashing down to the ground with a thunderous impact. The massive body twitched and spasmed a bit before Tarou finally gave in and let the darkness claim him.

As Tarou slipped into unconsciousness, Ranma landed on his feet and began breathing heavily. When the rage began to cool and his features relaxed, he then stared down at the battered and bloody body of Tarou. He then looked down at his own hands, which didn't even have a single drop of blood on them. He couldn't believe that he had done such a thing. He had totally given into the primal urges that he had kept in check for so long. He had not cared what permanent damage he had done to his opponent, but he had done so. For the first time since learning how to control the Neko Ken, Ranma had lost it. And it scared him. He continued to stare at his hands as if he didn't recognize them for what they had done. As a result, he did not notice that three men were planing to jump him from behind.

Happosai and his pupils had seen enough and saw that Ranma was distracted and exhausted. Now was the time for them to claim their prize, totally ignorant of what the consequences of their actions.

On the other roof, Cologne was a bit disturbed at the ferocity that Ranma had displayed. Happosai and his pupils may have been too stupid to realize it, but she knew and then began to rethink the idea of making Ranma part of the tribe.

To be continued...

Author's notes

Well, now Ranma has just discovered that though he does have better control over the Neko Ken than most, he still has to be careful not to let it overwhelm him. He is just starting to realize that he may be more like the tiger than he realized and this will cause conflict with his struggle to retain his sanity.

As for Genma, Happosai, and Soun, well they may think that Ranma is now theirs for the taking, but they will soon learn that catching Ranma and keeping him are two entirely different and difficult tasks. Also, they only see him as a means of achieving their own ends. They have all displayed stupidity and blind obsession to that pledge.

Cologne is probably the only one who realizes this changes that Ranma is currently undergoing and this too will reflect in future chapters.

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