Xian Mao had been somewhat surprised by how readily people had accepted 'Oh, bye, I'm off to China!' Very surprised, in fact. Almost as surprised as he was by the fact that he'd done it. Surprised, shocked, and amazed though he was, however, he wasn't regretful. The headache that had plagued him since he'd set foot in Tokyo International Airport was gone, now. It had vanished the instant he'd left the Nerima city limits. Fresh air and quiet did wonders for one's health. Coupled with good conversation, it was all but a miracle. The True Cat Fist by Jeff Groves Side Story: Into China neko-sama@juno.com ***** AN: this takes place in that little break toward the beginning of Chapter Seven. All conversations, unless otherwise noted (<...>) are in Chinese, as opposed to Japanese, since well... that's what Xian Mao and Shampoo both speak. [...] is communication thru' the Kinship. (don't worry, it'll be explained), /.../ thru telepathy. ***** Granted, they would have to return to civilization at some point, in order to catch a plane to China, but that could wait. They were on a vacation, of sorts, and they weren't wasting it trudging through the city. So they took the scenic route. There would be time enough for quick travel once they reached the mainland. "So, how did you get here, Xian Pu?" "First time, I swam. The second time, I mailed my self." "Say that one more time? I'm not sure I heard you right." Shampoo's mouth made an 'O'. "Aiiya! You don't know, do you?" "Know what?" "Promise not to take advantage of me?" then, in a smaller voice, "Promise not to laugh?" "I'm a priest, Xian Pu, and your friend." She nodded, smiled slightly, and pulled a water flask from her pack. A quick squirt and... "Oh," said Xian Mao, looking at the slightly damp Siamese cat that crawled out of Shampoo's clothes. "My." [Is problem, yes?] Xian Mao blinked. It had been months since he'd felt the touch of the Kinship. "Xian Pu?" "Nyaaaa!" [You can hear me?] "Of course I can hear you..." "Rrrow?" [But I a cat!] "So it would seem." "Mmrrw?" [But... how?] "Another facet of the Neko-ken: the Kinship. I have a sort of empathic link with felines. I guess I can 'hear' your thoughts directly... as opposed to empathicly, since you have a human mind, bound with a cat's." an evil thought occurred to him. "Hey, we can save on tickets this way!" "Rrrow!" [Hey! You promised not to take advantage!] Xian Mao laughed and leaned down to scratch the purple Siamese behind the ears. Still chuckling, the young man picked up Shampoo's discarded clothes (idly noting lack of bra or panties) and stashed them in her pack, along with his own. "I won't," he told her simply. "I was just teasing you. Truthfully, though, we really ought to have given some though to how we were going to get back to the mainland -before- we set out without a Yen to our name." "Mya..." [I suppose... I was going mail self...] "But we can't mail me, can we?" "Rrrr..." [No...] "So, why don't we get a plane ticket? I, personally, don't care to swim the way..." "RRR!" while that response was pure cat, the negative agreement was quite clear. Going their roundabout way, it took them almost a week to reach Tokyo International. Money might have been a problem, but Xian Mao knew what he was doing. The two took a 'short cut' through one of the worse areas of Tokyo, and had a hay day. Toughs, gang members, and fools by the score made small-time bets on the two's fighting abilities and endurance. Those who tried to rob the two found themselves with broken bones and even less money than they'd had before. There are those who might find such things amoral, but Shampoo's morality was Amazon in nature, and Xian Mao, being of Yin Nature, was perfectly willing to let any fool on the street give him as much money as he chose... he might have been a priest, but he was in many ways unpriestly, and his feline, Yin, often self-centered Nature was one of them. Consequently-due in no small amount to the very great number of fools in the Tokyo slums-when Xian Mao and Shampoo reached the airport, they had more than enough money to by tickets... not -good- tickets, granted, but tickets none the less. The fight to Beijing was peaceful, quiet, and utterly unworthy of comment. Their arrival, however, was quite noteworthy, as neither one had a passport. Customs called guards and locked them in a small room while what to do was decided. "Xian," Shampoo asked, "you're psychic, aren't you?" "That's one word for it, yes..." Xian Mao had a feeling he wasn't going to like where that question was going to go. "Can't you..." she made a sort of swirling gesture with her hand, "...change their minds?" "It's a little late in the game for that, Xian Pu. Besides, it's wrong, and I'd have no idea how to go about it." "What do we do, then? They're going to arrest us, as soon as they get orders. How will we get out?" Xian Mao sat down and thought about it. "Well, there's always the fun way." "The fun way?" Shampoo raised an eyebrow. "They come in, we kick ass." "But they have guns..." "Yes, they do. That's why I'm not really all that fond of the 'fun way'." He thought some more, and Shampoo's face grew pensive. "Okay, come here. Sit down, relax, and whatever you do, don't draw attention to yourself." "What are you going to do?" "I'm going to make us unobtrusive." "You're what?" Shampoo demanded. "Just watch." Shampoo watched curiously as her friend pulled his legs up into full lotus position, seeming to close his eyes while they stayed wide open. She felt a tingling across her skin... almost erotic, and a shimmering passed across her vision. No more than five seconds later, the green-uniformed guards barged back in, looking around madly. "Where'd they go?" one demanded. "I don't know, they were right here!" "You stupid prick! How'd you let them sneak by?" "I didn't! They just disappeared!" As the brief argument reached it's climax, Xian Mao whispered at them: "If we move fast, we can still catch them. Run. Run." "C'mon!" the first guard barked. "Move! Me might be able to find them!" And the guards ran out, not bothering to shut the door behind them. Shampoo turned to Xian Mao... and couldn't quite see him. He wasn't invisible, it was just that her eyes slid right over him. "What?" she demanded, but he put a finger to her lips with a barely-seen sly smile, and a 'come hither' gesture as he dashed out the door. "What did you -do-." she demanded again. "I'm not telling!" "If you don't tell, I'm dumping you in Jhusenkyo when we get there!" "Only if you can!" he laughed, dodging out of her reach. "Xian Mao!" she yelled, slightly peevish, but not really putting her heart into it; grabbing after him as they dashed down the streets of Beijing. Laughing as he dodged out of her way, Xian Mao managed to crash into a tall, heavy-set man in gang colors with a scar across his face. "I'm terribly sorry, sir." Xian Mao apologized, bowing humbly. "Sorry my ass," the big man snarled. "I think I'm going to have to hurt you... then maybe I'll take your woman." Xian Mao stopped stock-still. "What did you say?" he demanded, the tone of his voice expressing his utter shock at what the man had implied. "I said I was going to hurt you, then take your woman." Shampoo stood by, not sure what to do and having difficulty wading through the thick street-accented Mandarin. "I think not." was all Xian replied, shifting his weight back into what only a highly trained eye might have identified as a defensive posture, blended of Choi Li Fut, the Mao Fu, and Aikido. "" Shampoo asked, slipping back into Japanese for a reason not even she could have identified. Xian Mao gave her an odd look, and responded, also in Japanese. "" Shampoo broke out laughing. "What's so funny?" the thug demanded. "I told her what you said." /Let me handle this, Xian Pu, dear./ "Funny, am I? Laugh at this you foreign bitch!" The thug whipped out a weighted chain and began swinging it at Shampoo, who nimbly dodged out of harm's reach. Xian Mao simply slid out of the way, maintaining his unobtrusive ready stance. Finally, the thug got fed up with trying to hit the lightning-fast young woman and swirled the chain at Xian Mao's instead. The young priest slid out of the way the first time-just barely, as if he'd almost been hit. "Let them think they've got you," Jake had always told him. When the chain came 'round again, Xian Mao was ready. Hands blurring even faster than the chain-though still slower than Ranma, he realized-Xian Mao caught the chain in his hand, allowed it to wrap around his arm and jerked it out of the thug's grasp; using that momentum, Xian Mao spun off a flying windmill kick, each foot missing the thug's face by less than a centimeter, then swung the chain around and wrapped it around the huge man's neck and jerked, pulling him face-first into the ground. "Thank you for providing my friend Xian Pu with something to laugh at," the young man said without the slightest trace of irony in his voice. The thug didn't reply, of course... the impact of his head against the concrete paving had knocked him unconscious. "" Xian Mao confessed to Shampoo as they walked off as if nothing had happened. "" she agreed, automatically replying in Japanese. "" "Say again?" "I caught you. Twice now, you've spoken Japanese in complete sentences. That can't be a new skill, since we've spoken mostly Chinese since leaving Nerima." Shampoo's face acquired a distinct resemblance to a dear in headlights. "Um, er..." "Any particular reason you kept up the act?" "When I first came for Ranma, I actually couldn't speak the language... I learned more as I stayed longer, but I realized people thought I was stupid, and that gave me a certain edge. Besides that, I got used to the baby talk." Xian Mao gave Shampoo a calculating look. "You know, you're a lot smarter than people give you credit..." Shampoo chose that moment to step into a puddle of water from last night's rain. "... for..." "RRROWWW!!!!" With a sigh, Xian Mao gathered Shampoo-neko out of her pile of clothes, and set her on his shoulder as he gathered up her clothing and personal items and stuffed them into his pack. Shampoo-neko growled slightly. [I certainly don't -feel- smart, now...] Xian Mao and Shampoo had a few more brief encounters on their way out of Beijing. The first was a group of the original thug's friends. Xian Mao dispatched them by himself, but found-once again-that his skills were nothing compared to Ranma... or even Akane, in this case, for that girl had been able to hold off most of the male population of the school on a daily basis, or so he'd been told. The second was a separate group, out to see if the rumors were true, and discovering to their chagrin that they were. The third and last posed a problem. The first and second groups had met together and decided that letting one faye-eyed boy kick their collective asses was more loss of face than they could handle. So on the outskirts of the city, where there was more hill and shadow than city street and light, three vans pulled up in a circle around the two youths. "I don't know how you did it, you little fuck," announced the combined groups spokesperson-ironically, the original thug -cracking his knuckles and fingering a knife, "but I don't like being jacked by a nobody... none of us do. So we're here to jack you, and have a taste of your woman... if we let either of you live." A wave of ice passed over Xian Mao's mind and body. He knew, as did Shampoo, that the shit was about to hit the fan. A step foreword by the spokesman was all the warning the two received. Both skipped defensive positions and sped into attack. Xian Mao slid into the Claw-the deepest his honor would allow against untrained men, even so badly outnumbered. Focused as he was, aethral claws were visible around his fists in the twilight. Shampoo pulled her bonbori from the Void, and the two began to lay into the oncoming foes with abandon. Where Xian Mao passed, were shredded clothing abraded skin, and shattered blades and chains; bruises, broken bones, and screams of rage and pain followed Shampoo. It was a good fight by any accounts, two seventeen-year-olds trading blow-for-blow with over two dozen thugs, gang-bangers, and toughs... and slowly gaining the upper hand. So someone decided to level the playing field. Full night had almost fallen when a staccato roar and a muzzle flash filled Xian Mao's ears and eyes; beside him, flooding ringing ears and battle-opened mind Shampoo screamed in pain and fell back, landing limp as a rag doll. Another shriek echoed across the landscape, this one issuing from Xian Mao, as a pale, icy blue light was shone on the scene... Xian Mao's aura had Blazed Alive, flickering and roaring like a bonfire as the Corridor manifested itself in his mind and the Doors began to open one by one.... Passage through the First Door found him flying twenty feet above the heads of his adversaries... The Second slid by as irrelevant... running away was the last thing on his mind... The Third established his territory... where he would fight. The Fourth battered bullets out of the air as he began his heaven-lit decent to the ground Beyond the Fifth Gate was yet more power in his grasp... ...And by the Sixth Gate lay the path to Conquer... Drawing Kuno's bokken like a lightning bolt, Xian Mao struck the ground as an icy incarnation of Death and Pain. Two strikes felled the man who'd shot Shampoo, the first-a slash rising like a hawk-severed his arms at the elbow, and the second cut him in half just below the ribs. The next would live... if he reached a hospital in time, his ribs and abdomen torn by forces unseen in eons, wrapped razor-sharp around wooden sword and clawed hand. One by one, the ruffians fell, until the remaining few abandoned the lost and drove away, numbering now maybe a third of what they had in the beginning.. The Corridor collapsed, and the Neko-ken fled from him. Barely noticing the broken bodies, Xian Mao hunted for Shampoo amongst the carnage. Shampoo came to in nearly complete darkness. She was warm, save that she couldn't feel her left arm; she looked down and discovered that she was wearing nothing but a bandage on her shoulder and a blanket. Where was she? Why was she naked? Interrupting her reverie, a rustle of fabric and change in the texture of the darkness then a presence to her left. "I see you're awake, now." Who was it? She should recognize the voice... it meant something familiar... "Who are you? Where am I? What is going on?" she demanded, reaching into the Void for her bonbori... to find them missing. "My name is Xian Mao," the voice said soothingly, "you must have lost more blood than I thought. You're in my tent... or, rather, our tent since we seem to have forgotten the need for separate accommodations in our preparations. Do you remember now?" "Yes," she said as the memories came back. "The fight... What happened? There was a bang and a flash and..." "Gunshot. One of them shot you; the shock probably knocked you unconscious." Shampoo nodded, then her eyes narrowed. "Okay... so... what happened and why am I naked?" She sensed Xian Mao shifting uncomfortably. "When I saw you fall... I... I lost it, went berserk. Between your own blood, and the splatters, you needed to be washed before I could even begin to clean the wound." Shampoo felt herself grow cold. "The splatters?" "The sight is only an hour or so back... you can see for yourself in the morning, if you want." "N-no..." Shampoo stammered. It had never occurred to her that Xian Mao-or anyone-could actually kill another human being. Yes, she'd given Ranma the Kiss of Death, but she'd had no real thought of the implications, nor any real understanding... it was custom and Law, so she had done it, much the same as she had "wed" Ranma when she'd discovered that (s)he was male. Killing had never been done in the village, the ritual of daily life had kept it at bay. She knew she could kill if she had to, but... Xian Mao had seemed so innocent and pure; incapable of participating in the benign destruction of Nerima, much less actually killing someone. She had seen the grounds after Ranma had fought in the Neko-ken; imagining that done to human flesh and bone was a horrible thing. Xian Mao settled beside her, resting a friendly hand on her shoulder. "Then rest. Relax and I shall heal the rend in your lovely flesh; I'd have done so earlier, save that the ways I know require you to be awake." Shampoo watched in fascination as Xian Mao's eyes began to glow... to points of silvery-blue light in the shadows of the tent. Soothing warmth seeped into her body as he began to sing softly, crooning and gentle, voice undulating and warping the very fabric of her body... knitting the wound in her shoulder closed as if by the slow passage of time. The duo set of in the morning, waking just short of dawning and moving before the sun was fully above the horizon. "You know," Xian Mao said at last, "I was in Nerima for but a few short weeks, yet it already seems as if it was my home; I miss it already." Shampoo smiled and nodded. "That place grows on you, doesn't it?" Xian Mao leaned briefly on Kuno's bokken, which he was now using as something of a walking stick. "That city is a madhouse, but... yeah, it does. I wonder what they're all doing right now?" ************************ Flash to Nerima: Ranma is being bludgeoned over the head by Akane and her mallet. Ukyou is chasing the pair. ************************ "Ranma and Akane are fighting, probably..." Shampoo said, shrugging with a bit of bitterness. "Why so sad?" Xian Mao asked, waking on but knowing the answer before hand. "Never mind, just... never mind..." Xian Mao could feel the emotional pain radiating out past the shields she'd learned to maintain without thought. The rest of the day was spent in companionable-if slightly uncomfortable, on occasion-silence, as the two friends trudged over the scenic hills of rural China, carefully dodging the villages and cities scattered across the landscape. They weren't making any particular effort at speed, but they were both young, strong, and martial artists; their ground-eating pace would have killed lesser men and women. As the sun began to set, Xian Mao set camp as Shampoo gathered firewood and hunted for a little food to supplement their rations. Xian Mao cooked the squirrels she brought back, and as he skinned and prepared the animals, Shampoo found herself marveling at his fluid grace and beauty. Truly, she'd had little time to observe him while still in Japan... her Great-grandmother had done her best to limit the time she spent with him, and they'd spent most of that sitting and talking. Each movement, each gesture was flawless and graceful, like the perfect blending of human and feline; now she understood the looks she'd seen some give him; just watching him cook was strangely erotic. "We're still moving fairly slow," he told her, breaking her reverie. "If we want to be back in Nerima within a reasonable amount of time, we're going to have to pick up the pace a good deal." Shampoo grunted an affirmative. However, she was well aware that she was incapable of moving more than a little faster. "How do you intend to do that? Steal a car?" "No, no, no." he laughed. "I'm going to splash you with cold water and run as if the Yama Kings were chasing my tail." Shampoo blinked, "You can go faster?" "Much." He sated simply. "The Mao Fu grants many things... speed first among them." Shampoo nodded, wondering just how fast he could move. They ate, making light conversation about nothing, occasionally bringing up amusing moments from their pasts. Finally, with a word and a gesture, Xian Mao extinguished the fire and moved into the tent. "Which side do you want?" he asked with exaggerated politeness. "We have bumpy but padded with grass, and flat and hard." "Flat," Shampoo decided, grinning. They spread out their pallets in the dark, readying themselves for sleep. Just before lying down, Xian Mao took Shampoo in a quick embrace. "Sleep well, my friend," was all he said. Shampoo did not find sleep easily. Come morning, Xian Mao left Shampoo alone in the tent to pile her clothes and trigger the Jhusenkyo curse. When Shampoo yowled readiness, he came in, put her personal affects in his pack, her on his shoulder, and slid through the First Door of the Neko-ken. Time seemed to slow, each gust of wind merely a breeze, slowly pushing back the grass; he could see each blade distinctly, the perfect beauty of nature in evidence everywhere. Smells were sharper, clearer... he almost thought he could discard his wire-framed lenses. Shaking off the distraction of his even more heightened senses, and dashed away in the direction Shampoo indicated. To Xian Mao, it was a leisurely lope, almost on all fours, trees and scenery passing just fast enough to blur. To Shampoo, it was as if she were in a car... a fast car... an Indi Racer, perhaps. The countryside blurred so that she could barely see it, wind rushed through her fur, and she was forced to cling desperately to Xian Mao-not that she really minded the close contact. She would have guessed that they were moving at 110, maybe 120 klicks. Was this the power of the Neko-ken? [How long can you last at this pace?] Shampoo demanded with a meow. [Forever, probably.] Xian Mao answered in her head; it wasn't like telepathy... it was a closeness of mind and soul... she could see, now, why it was called the Kinship. [This isn't very fast.] [You mean you can go faster?] [Hang on and see!] he answered laughing. Shampoo had thought they'd been moving fast before... now they were flying. She could feel the Chi Power he was generating, touching the ground maybe once every couple seconds; he was going maybe twice as fast as before. Ferocious winds whipped at her, trying to pull her off of Xian Mao's back. After a little bit, he slowed down-gently, so she'd not be thrown off his back by the momentum-settling back at his original speed. Landscape blurred by as Xian Mao barreled on, settling into an easy lope that some cars couldn't match on any terrain, much less the hilly rural areas of China. When they set camp for the night, it was perhaps two hours walk from the perimeter of Jokestuzoku territory. Xian Mao, tired from running all day, and unashamed to admit it, had gone to sleep after preparing a small meal-of which he ate none. Now, as the moon rose over the tops of the trees Shampoo watched the dying campfire, too restless even to seek the comfort of blankets. There was something wrong with her, though she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, and it disturbed her greatly. Odd moments would find her chest tight and her eyes watering with loneliness; she was having dreams that disturbed her, but that she could not remember in the light of dawn save that they were disturbing because they were pleasant. Finally, as the moon neared it's zenith, Shampoo left the open for the tent. Xian Mao looked so peaceful in the moonlight-indescribably graceful, even in his sleep. Shampoo's throat constricted; she knew where from her troubles stemmed... at least in part. Kneeling down, the restless Amazon kissed the sleeping priest's cheek. This dawn came much like the last, Xian Mao rising first and waking Shampoo when he had made breakfast-she didn't remember packing so much food, so Shampoo assumed that he'd either bought some in Beijing or hunted in the early hours before she awoke. She "changed" as he cleaned up the camp and packed everything up-Xian Mao had refused all offers of help-then rode on his back again as he ran, faster today than yesterday, though still not as fast as the brief display of his true power. Around noon, Shampoo called him to stop. [This is Amazon territory,] she impressed into his mind. [We are very close to the Joketsuzoku village, and Jhusenkyo. I should return to human shape soon.] Xian Mao nodded, idly scratching her behind the ears. "Yes... and we need to come up with a reason for me." "Brrrow?" "Why am I here, Xian Pu? There is no real reason." "Rrow." [You are a scholar, researching the Cursed Springs. You will not be the first, nor the last. And there is no lie.] Xian Mao nodded. "And there is no lie..." Xian Mao and Shampoo arrived in the Joketsuzoku village the next day. Shampoo was cheered, and a great party was thrown in her favor... and no one really minded her guest. The young "scholar" smiled sweetly, spoke both softly and politely, and did not try to grab anyone. As a matter of fact, he seemed singularly uninterested in any of the Amazons; not that they minded, they just found it curious. His research was aided by the village Elders, who found him intelligent and intriguing. In two short weeks, he had learned all he needed to: there was no cure for the Curse of the Springs... But, there was more. A passage in Chinese so ancient that the Elders could not even recognize the characters. It was plain script to Xian Mao's eyes, easy to read as the Sunday newspaper; for the Holy Scripts of his Goddess, Wang-Mao-Yue, were written in this script. The passage read ...For She Who Has Fallen placed this Curse upon the Springs: That all who came should suffer the Fate they deserve, and That the only way to overcome this Fate is to accept it, and That each who accepts his Fate shall learn from it, and That each who has so learned shall be destined for greatness... Xian Mao feigned ignorance of the words, but he knew that lying was wrong and had no skill at it... to this day, he does not why the Elders did not press the case. He and Shampoo left the Joketsuzoku soon after, and the young priest was in something of a state of melancholy, although he tried to hide it from his companion, he failed... for again, it was a lie. But he could not tell her the cause... their were no words that suite. They did not return quickly to Nerima, going slowly instead so that Xian Mao could raise his spirits. It worked, but the question would be raised: at what cost? What could the presence of Xian Mao and Shampoo have prevented... ... or was it fated and for the best that they were gone?