The claws hurt. So did the biting. They were a lot worse this time.
Ranma never knew what he was supposed to do in the pit. At first, he thought he was supposed to fight the cats, put that was impossible when you were wrapped up as tightly as he was. Now, he was hoping that he wouldn’t die…
He wasn’t totally sure what dying was, either, but it seemed like when you died, you went away and you never came back. Ranma had once asked if that was what happened to Mommy. Daddy hadn’t answered him.
He wished his Mommy were here. But if he called for her, Daddy would just call him a weak girl, and he didn’t want to be a weak girl.
Suddenly, he saw one of them moving towards his head. Ranma was scared. Then he realized who it was. It was White. White was his friend. White protected him from the other cats before. White didn’t look very good. He was very skinny, and his fur had red splotches over it. He looked very tired.
White got really close to his face. Ranma was scared a little. He thought maybe White had changed. But White just put his head against his. And then…
One good thing about “Mind Meld” technique (the Mau had a fancier term for it, but everyone called it the “Mind Meld”) was that it could, at times, create the illusion of time had slowed down for the two (or more if the Mau was particularly gifted) participants. This was, of course, only an illusion—what actually happened is that for a brief period of time you had the brainpower of two sentient beings examining the same data at once, leading to much faster analyses and decisions than either participant could do alone. This, however, only occurred when the Mau was really good, or really lucky.
In this respect, at least, Artemis was extremely lucky.
Who’s there?
My name’s Artemis. I’m here to help you.
Who are you?
I’m one of the cats down here…
White?
Yes, my fur is white.
It’s really you, White?
Well, I prefer Artemis… but we don’t have time for that. What’s your name?
Ranma Saotome.
Okay. I won’t lie to you, Ranma. We’re in big trouble right now. Do you know anyone who can help?
Well, Daddy gets me out eventually… but he usually waits a while.
Is he the one who puts you down here?
Yes. He wants me ta be a great martial artist, and he says that the Neko-ken will do that.
He does? Does he know what it does?
No, but Daddy says that’s not important as long as I learn the technique.
Ranma…
What is it, White?
I’m afraid it does matter. A lot.
Why?
This technique… it makes you go crazy.
Huh?
Basically, you get so afraid of cats that you start to act like one. And while you do become a powerful fighter, most of the time, people don’t go back to normal once they enter the Neko-ken.
What?! I don’t want that ta happen! I wanna be normal!
Calm down, Ranma. I think I have an idea.
What are you gonna do?
Actually, I’m already doing it. I’m hoping that if I’m in your head with you, when you go into the Neko-ken, you’ll be thinking like me, because I’m not a normal cat—the way I think is very close to the way humans think. That way, maybe you can go back to normal, and you might not be afraid of cats when this is done. Do you understand?
Um… I think so.
Good. Unfortunately, my plan requires you to pay attention to the mean cats again, because you need to go into the Neko-ken for this to work.
O-Okay.
Alright. Are you ready?
I think so.
Um, White?
Yes?
What’s gonna happen ta you?
…
White?
I don’t know.
I— I’m scared.
So am I, Ranma.
Suddenly, everything was around them again. They were afraid… and
then they were angry.
Artemis got it mostly right, actually. Ranma still acted basically human
(but with some decided feline quirks) as he went into the Neko-ken. And he
was a strong fighter—stronger than his father, in fact (much to the
elder Saotome’s dismay). After giving his parent the thrashing he
deserved, Ranma let all of the cats go—the ones that had survived,
anyway. He looked around for White—and saw him lying where the two of
them were. Well, he did look tired. Maybe he’s sleeping.
“White? Get up, White. Your plan worked.” White
wasn’t moving. “White?”
Ranma brought White to the nice old lady. Maybe she could fix
White… but White was gone.
Ranma cried, and he honestly didn’t care if anyone thought he was a
girl.
When he woke up, Ranma couldn’t do the things he could when he was
in the Neko-ken. He missed White. White was his friend. He protected him
from all the other—
Ugh... Where am I?
“Who’s that? Where are ya?”
Ranma... is that you?
“White?”
Um, my name’s Artemis...
“It is you! I knew ya were okay! C’mon, we’ve
got to tell the old lady that you’re okay!”
Unfortunately, the mooncat figured out what had happened almost
immediately. I don’t think that will work,
Ranma.
“What? Why not?”
You don’t need to speak out loud to talk to
me, Ranma. I’m... still inside your head.
“Huh?”
Just try it.
“Um, okay.” Are ya there, White?
Yes, Ranma. I’m here.
Cool! We can still talk ta each other in our heads!
“Head,” Ranma. As in only one.
What?
Ranma, the old lady was right. I didn’t make it.
But... I’m talking ta ya right now...
Ranma, my mind and soul may be alive, but my body isn’t. I only exist inside of you now.
Oh. I— I’m sorry.
Don’t be. It was worth
it——I’m sure of that. But since we’re going to be together for a long time, I think you’ll need to know a bit more about me...
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(Posted Sun, 19 Mar 2006 04:32)
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