I own nothing. I can't afford anything, so don't sue me. All you'll get is some lint. I got a lot of reviews, thank you all. Quite a few of them said that the fight scene needed work, and a few of them gave me some good ideas. This is a revised version of the prologue.

Ranma the Predator

There is a species of warriors that mix close combat with their technology. They are the best hunters in the Universe, maybe the Multiverse. They are called Predators. They call themselves the Yautja, but due to their skills in hunting, they were called Predators by their allies and enemies. They were feared by all, almost as much as their arch-enemies, the Kainde Amedha, or as we call them, Aliens. Some say that they were once the same species, but no one has ever been able to find out. The Predators are an honorable race. They just have a different sense of honor then we do. They are hunters, through and through. Even their scientists and healers are great hunters. They determined rank by the amount of trophies they have. The more trophies, the higher their status is.

Humans are one of the most adaptable species in the Universe. Given enough time and the right circumstances, humans can overcome anything. This is why Predators love to hunt them, they can adapt and fight back. This makes the hunt all the more exciting. Humans have actually been able to turn the tables and kill the Predator. These losses have always been noted by the Predator Council. The current record of human trophies is 36, currently held by a Predator by the name of Kerix. She is the only female in the history of the Yautja to become a hunter. This Predator female is currently trying to go for 37. This where we meet her, hunting a martial artist by the name of Genma Saotome.

Hunter's Log Entry 246

I have tracked the human to a forest in the country known as Japan. This has been a good hunt so far. The prey has known for the last couple of days that I am tracking him. It knows but has been unable to find me, thanks to my cloaking device. I think that I shall give the prey a three day head start.

Hunter's Log Entry 247

I am now slightly hesitant to finish this hunt. It appears that the prey has a child. I do not know if I can leave this child without its father. I myself lost my parents to a war when I was but six cycles old. I shall watch from the shadows till I make a decision.

Hunter's Log Entry 248

That stupid, arrogant, disgusting human! I have watched him willingly throw his own son into a pit with starving cats. He does not even listen to his son's pleas for help. All he does is throw his son into the pit, lock the lid, and go start drinking alcohol. He even toasts the lid to the pit. He doesn't even recognize his child's potential. Sure, he can see that his son is a prodigy in the ways of fighting. But he can't even imagine the potential in the boy. For some reason I can't help but compare the child to my son. It has been two cycles since he was killed. This boy is so much like him.

Hunter's Log Entry 249

It's amazing. The boy has finally come out of the pit himself. He came out acting like a cat, he even had 'claws' made of energy. He then proceeded to maul his father and run off. The boy could get lost doing that. But his ferociousness was impressive. It was worthy of any Warrior Hunter. That's it! I'll take him back to Furya(1) and teach him the ways of the Predators. But first, I must collect my trophy.

Genma was just waking up after receiving his 'reward' from his son. While he was unhappy with how his son showed his gratitude at learning the dreaded Neko-Ken, he was glad that he had done it. His son was now in possession of the unstoppable Neko-Ken. He then saw a shadow come over him. Thinking it was his son he looked up. What he saw nearly made him piss himself. He saw a creature in some sort of armor standing over him with a wicked looking staff. What he saw next did make him piss himself. He saw two long blades spring from a sheath on the creature's arm. He had a feeling of what was coming next and he found that he was right when he saw it raise its arm to strike. It took him 0.3 seconds to get into his Crouch of the White Tiger™. Kerix stopped when she saw the human start bowing really fast. She was slightly confused when the human started speaking. She could tell that it was begging and she could also smell urine in the air. She couldn't understand what it was saying, so she activated her translation circuit in her helmet. Suddenly she could understand the human.

"Please don't kill me. I never did anything to you. I'll give anything, but please don't kill me," he kept repeating.

At first she was disgusted, but then she got an idea.

"Will you give me your son?" she asked in her guttural, hissing voice.

"Yes, anything," he said, cowering.

"Very well," she said. "I will take your son and bring him back in ten years, so he may finish what I have started."

She decided to leave him a parting gift and slashed his back with her claws, leaving twin gashes. She laughed at his screams, he screamed like a little girl. She set her shoulder cannon to concussion and shot a blast of hardened air at him, knocking him out. She then left to find the boy.

She found him stalking a deer, two miles away. She stayed hidden in order to see just how good he was. It was soon apparent that he was a natural hunter when he leapt from hiding, killing the deer instantly with a swipe to the neck. His 'claws' just went right through the deer's neck, nearly beheading it. When he sat down to start eating, she decided to act. She was about to deactivate her cloaking shield when she saw something that made her blood boil. A Kainde Amedha drone was creeping out of the shadows. It was heading for the child. She was about to interfere and kill it, when the boy beat her to it.

Neko-Ranma was about to enjoy his first meal in a few days when he caught a putrid scent. He whirled around and came face to face with a demon. It hissed at him, so he hissed back. He wasn't going to allow it to steal his kill. It didn't like his answer so it leaped at him to try and kill him. He wasn't in the mood to die, so he dodged out of the way and used his 'claws' to slice up its legs. However, he forgot about its tail. He remembered it when it smacked him through a tree. He was back on his feet and pissed off before the tree even had a chance to fall. He was racing back to the fight as the tree started falling, and was slicing through the alien's neck just as the tree hit the ground. The alien's head rolled to a stop just under a tree. Ranma, seeing no more threats, went back to his previous kill. He wasn't going to eat that thing. It stank too much.

Kerix was shocked. She had just seen a human child kill a Kainde Amedha, not an easy feat, even for a warrior. This just confirmed what she already knew. This boy had potential and she was going to see it realized. So she stepped from the shadows while deactivating her cloaking device. Immediately the boy turned and attacked.

"He must realize that I'm a bigger threat," she thought.

She dodged the boy's attacks for a little bit, just barely getting out of the way sometimes. Finally she had enough. She had just taken a slight hit on the leg, minor but painful. As he passed, she turned and brought her fist down on his head. She was careful to use just enough force to knock him out, not kill him. When she was satisfied that the boy would live, she picked him up and walked back to her ship. Along the way, she activated her cloaking device and faded out of sight.

(1) I just watched "The Chronicles of Riddick". I couldn't resist.

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