The method I've chosen to use is the kitten you adopted and then slew survives because it was actually a white tiger cub stolen for ransom, then dumped when the heat grew too much. As an animal with a large spiritual presence and far tougher body even at cub - he manages to leave a spiritual imprint before the zoo keepers catch up and take him off to an infirmary.
"That sounds good enough... I think," Ranma replied, "But will this keep me from havin' ta go nuts every time I see one of them... things?"
That is the genreal idea.
"Oh, okay."
So, are you ready for this?
"Not really, but I'm pretty sure now's as close as I'm ever gonna get."
Understood.
Before Ranma could ask for clarification, he found himself trying to charge around the pit, trying to get out from under a bunch of panicking and hungry cats. He found himself trying desperately to get out from all the claws and teeth, and felt an immediate need to get to safety. All the crawling bundles of fur around him were doing the same, and if they were not chomping and slashing him, they were doing so to each other. It was a mass of fear, suffering and cries of pain that none in the pit were free from.
And then he saw one particular 'cat' that was managing to crawl its way up the side just as his attack was hitting nearby. It fell slightly while both he and the cub knew that they needed to get out of there right then and there.
At that moment, both came into sync and the pigtailed boy could almost sense what his pet was thinking. He thought he could hear his own heartbeat and it seemed that everything was moving slower.
But then he realised that he was moving faster, and quickly shoved his way to the top, blowing off the cover of the pit before leaping out of it. His pet cub managed to do the same, though the slices and bite marks on its body made it do a bit of a crawl when it landed.
Genma stared at his son, and let a pleased grin spread slowly across his face. "You did it boy! You learned the Cat Fist!"
Scowling slightly, the pigtailed boy checked up on his pet before turning to look at his father.
The elder Saotome simply shrugged it off, and sighed happily. His boy had proven that he could learn a secret technique, and do so well. Of course, the boy had to as he was a Saotome and trained by him, but it was good to see that the work wasn't in vain. It spoke well of the future, and he was certain that any future training would have as good results.
But voices soon interrupted his self-congratulation, and Genma realised that they had company.
"You sure they went this way?" one voice asked.
Another answered, "We've got too many reports to discount it."
"Just want to be sure. Let's go."
That last part was something that the portly martial artist could agree with, and he dashed over to pick up his son on his way to making an escape.
Leaving behind a cub who saw its human get carted off without discussion.
The wounded feline started after them, but got picked up in a net instead. It tried to fight and get free once more, but in its weakened state, it could only thrash and growl about uselessly.
"Damn... This one's in a sorry state," said the one without the net.
His partner frowned at the words. "How bad is it?"
"Pretty bad. We've got to get the cub back to the zoo now."
"Then radio the infirmary and tell them we're coming. And call animal control to get the rest of them."
"Will do," the free one said, and dashed ahead of his comrade.
Ranma watched this from the outside and frowned in confusion. "What happened? I know that I didn't go crazy but..."
Instead of the split personality you had before, this was created by the impression the cub left on you, and was activated by the instinctual need for self preservation.
"Huh?"
The cub connected with you on a spiritual level, and what that gave you, you managed to use because of the immediate danger.
"Oh... So instead of thinkin' that I was a cat, I got powers like one."
Sort of. At the moment it looks like you will only be able to use the full power when you are in deep danger, though it's possible that you could learn to harness it.
"Cool," he asked "But what 'bout the cub?"
It's being taken to a zoo infirmary, where it will make a full recovery.
"That's good ta hear. And I'm glad that this worked out."
So what now?
The pigtailed boy gave a large sigh. "I figure that we should go on to:
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(Posted Wed, 26 May 2004 23:25)
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