"In the struggle I was pushed off the edge of the window and fell to the ground below. And so I was useless as my mistress was killed. In my grief, I wandered the the streets, living off scraps of garbage.
"Then one day while was searching a trash can for my next meal, I witnessed an accident. An old blind man crossing the street was almost run down by a large truck.
"At the last moment a young man leaped at the blind man and knocked him out of the truck's way. As the truck screeched to a jarring stop, a metal canister bounced out of the back of the truck and struck the young man near his eyes.
"Another truck, owned by a local zoo, overturned in an attempt to avoid the accident spilling a collection of cages some of which opened. Those animals wandered away from the terrible racket, down into the sewer. That was the seven of them as infants.
"In the resultant confusion of the accident no one noticed that the animals and canister had fallen down to the opened sewer. Aside from myself.
"I followed them down into the sewer and found them all crawling around in a glowing ooze that had been released from the broken canister. I did not know exactly why, but I gathered them up and took them to my den and washed off as much of the goo as I could.
"I awoke the next morning to find that they had all grown already. Somehow that ooze had affected their growth, and, as I learned later, it had also changed me, making me seem human, as you see now. And thus better able to practice what I had seen.
"They grew quickly and seemed very intelligent, but even I was not prepared for what happened one day. One of them said my name. More words followed and soon they were all speaking, then they were standing up and trying to copy my movements.
"I began training and teaching them, teaching all that I had learned of the martial arts in watching my mistress. I have taught them weapons, martial arts, stealth, and all I know of this world. They have since surpassed my lessons and each embarked on their own paths as martial arts masters with their own techniques in addition to what I have shown them. I choose names for them out of the pages of some Japanese comic book. It seemed appropriate as my own name was in it as well.
"Ukyou, the fox, who has mastered the art of turning seemingly harmless items into deadly weapons, most especially spatulas and other cooking utensils.
"Ryouga, the bear, the strongest of them all and the most determined and stubborn. He'll never quit until he has achieved victory.
"Shampoo, the wolf, a masterful huntress and skilled with all manner of deadly weaponry.
"Mousse, the bat, a master of explosives and paragon of preparedness.
"Kodachi, the cobra, she seems only a little less human than I, and she is most skilled in deception and scouting.
"Finally, the cheetah twins, Ranma and Ranko, who have mastered nearly all the unarmed techniques I know, and invented a few others.
"Of course they do have their weak points," the red-haired "woman" said. Smirking as the teenagers behind her sensed they were about to have their egos deflated. "Ukyou has neglected her unarmed skills. Ryouga doesn't know when to hold back. Shampoo expects everyone to do what she says. Mousse is practically blind. Kodachi is a little anti-social and reckless. The twins wouldn't know what to do with a weapon if it yelled step by step instructions."
"So you see, Miss Tendo," Nodoka said smiling. "That is the story of this tired old cat. Now we have to decide what to do about you. After all, we can't have our existence revealed to the world at large. At least not yet."