Chapter 1
Disclaimer: The Ranmaverse and all of it's characters are property of the brillant Takahashi-sama and I claim no ownership of them. Only the story belongs to me.
Warning: The stunts in the following fanfic were done by professionals, please do not attempt at home. Including but not limited to hitting someone over the head with a mallet, throwing cold water on someone to try and activate a curse, landing on someone's head while riding a bike, cooking toxic food/cooking food and adding toxins to it, poisoning/casting spells/tricking someone into marring you, or pulling an object such as mallet, sword, or chains out of hammerspace. If you fail to heed this warning auther is not reliable for any harm that is done to your person, property, or anyone you tried any of the above on.
The following fanfic falls under of the catagory of: WAFF/Comedy/pinch of Dark
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[Scene opens with Nabiki and Akane sitting at the dinning room table,
as Kasumi walks in and sets the tea down on the table, before leaving
the room.]
"You sure about this?" Nabiki asked looking over at her younger sister.
"It's the only way. The attacks are becoming more common. Without
Ranma here to stop them, they're going to destroy everything if we
don't stop them. I just hope this works, cause I can't fight them all
on my own." Akane said with a sigh as she thought about what she would
be doing in just a few minutes. "What happens if they don't agree?"
Nabiki asked as Kasumi walked into the room carrying a tray of cookies.
"Then I'm on my own until they can find him." Akane said doing her
best to smile as a knock came from the front door. "Well I'll leave
ya to it." Nabiki said as she started upstairs taking Kasumi with her.
Akane took a deep breath before getting up and heading to the door.
***
[Scene opens upstairs of the Tendo house as Kasumi and Nabiki stopped
outside their bedroom doors.]
"Is this going to work?" Kasumi asked with a sigh as she turned toward
her sister. "I don't know, but Akane's right. With Ranma still missing
there is nothing else we can do. It's up to them now." Nabiki said
nodding toward downstairs. "Oh my." Kasumi said quietly before heading
into her room.
***
[Scene opens back down stairs of the Tendo house as four girls sit
down around the table.]
"What violent pervert girl want?" Shan Pu asked as she picked up her
tea and took a sip. "Yes do tell why a peasant like you has requested
my presence." Kodachi said rudely as she refused to touch the tea or
cookies that were offered. "Yeah sugar, what's this all about? You
hear anything about Ran-chan?" Ukyo asked hopeful as she picked up a
cookie. "No, in fact this has nothing to do with Ranma." Akane said
as she took a sip and then placed her cup back on the table. "I will
get right to the point. The demons are coming out of the wood works.
If something isn't done soon this town will be completely over run.
Without Ranma here and all of the male martial artists we know out
looking for him, it's up to us girls to protect Nermia. Now we can try
to fight them on our own, but not only would it be easier to team up,
but I think if we don't we will probably end up getting in each other's
way, more then the demons." Akane said as she studied each of the girls
in turn before picking up a cookie and taking a small bite. "And what
makes you think someone of my standing would want to work with some
one like you?" Kodachi asked, spitting out the word 'you' as though
it was an insult itself. "If you do not want to you are free to leave
Kodachi." Akane said calmly as she looked over at her. Kodachi simply
stood and left without another word. "It is probably better this way
anyways. Truthfully I only wanted her to join for her money, we could
use it for this. But considering her lack of sanity it is probably
better this way." Akane said shaking her head after Kodachi had walked
out of the door. "What makes you think us working together would even
work sugar? We don't have the greatest track record you know." Ukyo
pointed out, bringing Akane's attention back to the table. "Yes, the
one thing we all have in common, other then martial arts...Ranma." Akane
said with a smile as she looked from Ukyo to Shan Pu. "I'll cut to
the chase. I've worked out a way for that to not be a problem." Akane
said smiling when Ukyo raised her eye brows at her. "What you mean?"
Shan Pu asked as she grabbed one of the cookies. "I have talked to
your dad, the elders, and mine and Ranma's dads, and after a little
convincing from Auntie, they agreed to my terms. Face it, as long as
we are fighting over Ranma we will never be able to work together. We
have to be able to trust one another. So my plan is to take Ranma out
of the picture." Akane said looking from Ukyo to Shan Pu before taking
another sip of her tea. "Wait, do you mean you canceled all of the
engagements?" Ukyo asked confused. "No we will be doing that in a minute.
So far I only got permission to do what we are about to do. What I am
suggesting is giving Ranma the one thing no one else would." Akane said
as she picked up the kettle and refilled her cup. "What that?" Shan Pu
asked as she held out her cup for more as well. "The chance to choose
what he wants, without anyone losing honor or face." Akane said putting
the kettle back down. "How do you manage that sugar? He's honor bound
to marry both of us, not to mention Shampoo is under law to marry him.
How can we break these engagements without anyone losing honor?" Ukyo
asked after thinking for a moment. "I have gotten everyone involved,
other then us, to agree that if we don't band together this city will
fall, it's only a matter of time before the rest of Japan and then
China with it. They would lose honor if they held us to the engagements,
causing innocent people to die." "So we all just give up on him? Sorry
but I spent too much of my life chasing him to do that sugar." Ukyo
said shaking her head sadly. "That's not what I am saying. When he
returns, he chooses who he wants to be with. The only difference from
now and then, is no one will be able to force him, and the two of you
will have an equal chance with me. As it is now, you have no chance."
Akane said pointedly. Ukyo was about to insult her, but stopped when
she realized she hadn't been boasting. "How so?" Shan Pu asked still
a bit confused. "The promise with our fathers was made far before any
thing with you two. He is most honor bound to marry me. And you know
as well as I do that he would not do anything to dishonor himself. So
as it stands he will marry me and the two of you have no chance. But."
Akane said as she popped another cookie into her mouth. "But?" Ukyo
urged her to continue. "But, with no family promises or honor tagged
onto it, Ranma would be free to chose who ever he wanted. Which means
instead of having no chance, you two each have 1/3 chance. Since we
all know Ranma would never chose Kodachi." Akane said with a laugh as
she reached over a picked up some papers that we on the ground next to
her. "What that?" Shan Pu asked. "Contracts I had Nabiki write up.
I have shown them to both your great-grandmother and your father."
Akane said as she handed each of them one. "It states that we will
agree to let Ranma chose for himself when he returns and be held by
that and not interfere. And these are letters from Cologne and your
dad Ukyo." Akane said as she handed them each a letter and they quietly
read them over. "Alright, these take care of Ranma, what about the
rest? This whole grouping together bit?" Ukyo asked after she had
finished reading the letter and put it down in front of her. "Simple.
We train together and we fight these demons together. Three heads are
better then one." Akane said with a smile. "The whole thing with Ranma
is simply just so we can work together. Our lives are going to be in
each others' hands and we have to be able to trust one another, and
not have to worry about any of us backstabbing the other two. So if you
agree, go ahead and sign and we will get started." Akane said with a
smile as she picked up a pen and quickly signed the contract that was
in front of her. After a minute, both Shan Pu and Ukyo quickly signed
their own. "Now what?" Shan Pu asked after putting the pen down.
"Follow me." Akane said with a smile as she stood up and started toward
the dojo.
***
[Scene opens with Shan Pu, Ukyo and Akane standing in the dojo.]
"First thing we need to work on is our weaknesses." Akane said as she
looked over at the two and raised her hand to silence Shan Pu when she
went to speak up. "And before you say anything about Amazons not
having a weakness, let me assure you that you do, even if it is not a
weakness by yourself it is to the group. There's three steps to this,
figure out our weakness, admit it, and over come it. I will start with
mine since it is the most obvious. My biggest weakness to the group is
my lack of controlling my temper. I lose control too easily and it
effects my fighting. Do you both agree?" Akane asked looking from Ukyo
to Shan Pu, both nod. "Ukyo your's is your unarmed combat. While you
are quite good with your weapon, if you were to lose it, you would more
then likely lose the battle. Do you both agree?" Ukyo looked like
she was about to disagree for a moment but after thinking, she nodded
with Shan Pu. "Shampoo your's is your refusing to call people by their
names. While it might not seem like a big deal to you, it will cause
us to continue to have problems with you. We have to be able to get
along and trust you and I don't see myself doing that if you continue
to call me 'violent pervert girl'. Do you agree?" Both simply nodded
again. "Good now for step three, over coming them." Akane said with
a smile. "How do we do that sugar?" Ukyo asked confused. "For Shampoo,
she simply needs to work on it. For you, we will fight you in unarmed
combat while you better your skills. Now we have two weeks while
Cologne deals with the demons before she has to leave for China to
help train the Amazons in case they are needed to fight there. For
those two weeks we will be training almost non stop. You two should
stay here, it will just make things easier. My family will be leaving
for Aunties tomorrow morning, so the house and dojo will be all ours."
"How we deal with you weakness?" Shan Pu asked after a moment. "Ah
in a way that will allow you to work out some of your anger toward me."
Akane said with a smile noticing their confused looks. "You get to
insult me. Use what ever insults you want as long as they apply. If
I get used to the insults I will be able to control my anger better.
But don't use any insults that don't make sense, such as calling me
'crazy flower girl' or 'spatula girl' as those would not apply to me."
Akane explained. "So wait, you want us to just stand here and insult
you while you try to control your temper and not mallet us?" Ukyo asked
raising her eye brows. "Yep." Akane said with a grin. Ukyo and Shan Pu
looked at each other, smiled, and then turned toward Akane.
***
[Scene opens back up on the dojo a few hours later as Shan Pu rubs
her head after being hit with the mallet again.]
"Well you're getting better sugar, took you a while that time." Ukyo
said with a smile as she sat down on the dojo floor. "Shampoo no
understand." Shan Pu said shaking her head as she sat down next to Ukyo.
"You don't understand what Shampoo?" Akane asked as she joined them.
"How you manage to hit Shampoo. Shampoo better warrior then you,
no should be able to hit Shampoo with mallet. Shampoo should be able
block mallet." Shan Pu answered confused. "Not really sure myself,
but I was always able to hit Ranma with it. If I can hit him, makes
sense that I could hit you." Akane said shrugging. "Yeah but I don't
think Ran-chan ever tried to block it, he probably figured if he did
you would get hurt." Ukyo said as she laid back on the floor. "Not
sure then, maybe we can ask Cologne before she leaves. In fact she
should be coming over later tonight. For now let's clean up, Kasumi
should have dinner ready soon." Akane said with a smile as she got up
and started into the house.
***
[Scene opens up with the three girls relaxing in the furo.]
"So what's next?" Ukyo asked as she felt her muscles relaxing. "After
dinner we will work on your unarmed combat. Both Shampoo and I will
be attacking you. With both of us working on it, it shouldn't take
you too long to get at least up to my level with unarmed and at the
same time, both me and Shampoo should get at least a little better.
After that we will start working on fighting together." Akane said with
her eyes closed. "What vio...Akane mean?" Shan Pu asked but before she
could answer, the question was answered for her by Ko Lon who came
into the bathroom without them hearing her. "She means fighting as one
rather then three different people great-grand daughter." Ko Lon said
with a smile. "Elder Cologne." Akane said with a smile as she bowed
her head to her. "Miss Kasumi asked me to let you three know that
dinner is ready." "You will be joining us wont you?" Akane asked with
a smile as she stood up and got out of the furo while grabbing a towel.
"Yes, we have much to discuss." Ko Lon said before turning and heading
out of the room.
***
[Scene opens in the dinning room as everyone sits down around the table
and starts to eat.]
"Elder Cologne." Akane said looking up after a moment. "What is it?"
Ko Lon asked with a smile. "We were wondering if you have any idea
why I am able to hit Shampoo with my mallet, she doesn't even seem to
be able to block it." Ko Lon shot a puzzled look at her great-grand
daughter before turning back to Akane. "May I see it?" "Not really
sure how to get it out, it normally only appears when I am mad." Akane
said with a shrug. Ukyo and Shan Pu turned and looked at each other
with a smile. "Yeah you can't expect an uncute tomboy like her to know
how to do something like that." Ukyo said with a laugh. "Yeah tomboy
not smart enough to figure out on own." Shan Pu said nodding in agreement
with Ukyo. "If it was anyone else yeah but she's too clumsy to do it."
Ukyo said nodding just as the mallet came down on her head. "Jerk!"
Akane screamed as she went to pull her arm back, but Ko Lon grabbed
onto her wrist and stopped her. "Ah I see." Ko Lon said with a smile
as she looked the mallet over. "What?" Akane asked confused as her
anger disappeared. "May I?" Ko Lon asked holding out her hand. "Sure."
Akane said handing over the mallet, but the moment it left her hand, it
disappeared. "Where'd it go?" Ukyo asked as she picked herself up off
of the floor. "Just as I thought." Ko Lon said with a nod. "What is
it great-grand mother?" Shan Pu asked confused. "It is an ancient
weapon known as the 'Unstoppable force', tell me child, where did you
get it?" Ko Lon asked looking up at Akane. "My mother gave it to me
when I was little." Akane said with a slight smile. "But why did it
disappear when I tried to give it to you?" "The weapon may only have
one master at a time and it will only appear for that master. Your
mother must have been its last master and when she gave it to you, you
became its master. The reason Shampoo and son...Ranma are unable to
block it is because no one can. Not even I. It is said that a kami
created it thousands of years ago for a young woman that he cared about.
He was unable to protect her all of the time, so he gave her the mallet
so she could protect herself when he couldn't. Legend says that since
then it has been passed down through the girl's descendents." "Okay
but why did it go to me then instead of Nabiki or Kasumi?" Akane asked
more to herself then the others. "That I do not know." Ko Lon said
with a laugh. "But your best bet is to learn how to call for it and
use it without having to get angry, if you can truly master using it,
it will make the upcoming battles much easier to fight." Ko Lon said
just before the phone started to ring. "I'll get it." Akane said
getting up from the table.
***
[Scene opens up in the hall way as Akane answers the phone.]
"Moshi moshi. Tendo residence." Akane said as she picked up the phone.
"Konichiwa Akane-san." Mu tsu said from the other end of the line. "Any
news Mousse?" "None yet. I had a lead but by the time I caught up it
had already gone cold. There seems to be no pattern to his movements
which is making him harder to track." Mu tsu said with a sigh. "I'm
not surprised there. That amulet that Happo put on him is supposed to
make him wander. We knew it wouldn't be easy to find him. But we are
a lot closer then we were six months ago. I wish I could still be out
helping in the search but I was needed here." Akane said with a sigh.
"How did things go with the meeting?" Mu tsu asked after a moment.
"Good, Shampoo and Ukyo joined up. Kodachi didn't, but never really
thought she would. We've got two weeks to train before Cologne leaves
for China, hoping by then we will be able to work well enough together
that we can fight these demons." "Well I should be around the area
in two weeks, would you like me to stop by for a bit of testing before
I head off again?" "Yeah sounds good." "Well I should go. I will
call again next week Akane-san." "Thanks Mousse." Akane said before
hanging up and heading back into the dinning room.
***
[Scene opens with Kasumi cleaning the dishes before returning to the
room with tea as Akane walks back in and takes her place at the table.]
"Who was it?" Ukyo asked looking over at her. "Mousse, the lead he
was working on went cold again. He's going to be coming in two
weeks for his break. He said he would spar with us so we can see how
we are doing." Akane said as she picked up her tea. "How that help?
Shampoo can beat Mousse by self." Shan Pu said confused. "It's not
about being able to beat him or not. It's about whether or not we
can work together without getting in each other's way. Besides, if
you think about it, his style is perfect for this." Akane said with a
smile. "What Akane mean?" "He throws everything from chains to sinks
during a fight, lots of these demons that I have fought have thrown
something that looks like a mix between chi attacks and acid, and you
may have fought him countless times but Ukyo and I haven't. We could
use some practice against projectiles." "Shampoo understand." Shan Pu
said with a nod. "I need to be going for my rounds, I'll stop by
tomorrow so we can start working on your mallet training." Ko Lon
said with a smile as she stood up and pogoed out of the room. "Well
those futons over there will be yours for tonight, tomorrow we'll
move you into my sisters' rooms. Think I will head to my room for
now." Akane said with a smile as she stood up and headed upstairs.
***
[Scene opens with Akane sitting at her desk as she pulls a journal out
of one of her drawers.]
'Still can't believe it's been six months Ranma. Six months since
you pissed off Happo again and he put that wander's medallion on you.
Everyday I write in this journal so when you get home you will know
everything that has happened. I'm afraid Ranma, afraid that you will
never come home. I know you will, I really do, but that doesn't stop
the nagging voice at the back of my mind. It taunts me by voicing my
deepest fears. I know I shouldn't listen to it, but the longer you're
gone, the harder it is for me to shut it out. At least it should get
a little easier now that the girls have decided to join me. Kodachi
didn't but then again I think that's a good thing. She would end up
doing more harm then good with the group. Shampoo and Ukyo both seem
to be taking this pretty well. It is only the first day of our training
together, but we already seem to fit for a lack of a better word. I
guess it's because of all the time we spent together already and the
fact that you are no longer a factor in making us rivals. Well today
we started working one our weaknesses. I think those two had way too
much fun insulting me all afternoon, but it seems to be working, it
takes me a lot longer to mallet them then it used to. Speaking of, it
seems there was a reason I could mallet you and Shampoo without it
being blocked. Seems my mallet is called the Unstoppable Force. Cologne
says it was created by a Kami to protect a young girl he cared for
since he couldn't always be there to. Kind of reminds me of us. And
no don't go inflating your ego any, I'm not talking about the Kami
part. It just seems like something you would do since you can't always
be there to protect me, though you seem to always want to. I sometimes
wonder if you do that for other reasons besides the fact that I am
your fiancé, since you don't seem to do it for the others. But oh
well, there will be plenty of time to figure that out when you get
back. And even if you don't pick me as your fiancé, I want you to know
that I am happy I was able to do this for you and would do it again
in a heart beat. It's about time someone let's one of us chose what
we want rather then everyone telling us what we want. Sorry I am
ranting again...Well Mousse called into today, he's newest lead went
cold on him again. You seem to be harder to find then Ryoga. Well
Mousse will be coming in about two weeks for his break and he's
gonna spar with us to see how we are doing with working as a team.
Which is good since Cologne will be returning to China about that time.
Well I hear them calling me down for our spar with Ukyo in unarmed.
I'll write more to you tomorrow Ranma, good night.' Akane sighed as
she put the journal back in the drawer and started downstairs.
***
[Scene opens with Akane, Shan Pu and Ukyo in the dojo.]
"Go ahead and put your weapons over there against the wall." Akane
said pointing to the other side of the room as she started on a warm
up kata. Ukyo nodded and placed all of her weapons on the floor. "We
are going to be attacking you at the same time, I don't know if this
is the best way, but with the short time limit we have, we don't have
any other options. You ready?" Akane asked looking over at Ukyo as
she finished her kata. "Yeah sugar." Ukyo said with a nod as she
took up a defense stance. "Shampoo to start with go ahead and bring
yourself down to about my level alright?" Akane asked with a quick
glance at the Amazon. "Shampoo got it." Shan Pu said with a nod as
she took her stance. "Begin." Akane said a moment before she jumped
into the air and started a kick toward Ukyo's stomach. Shan Pu saw
this and jumped into the air crossing behind her, going in for her
own kick. Ukyo managed to dodge Akane's but put herself into the path
of Shan Pu's and when the kick landed she was sent flying. "Pay more
attention Ukyo, you know it's more then just me attacking you." Akane
said as she waited for Ukyo to walk back over to them. Ukyo just
nodded and got back into her stance. Akane looked over at Shan Pu
and nodded before rushing toward Ukyo sending several punches toward
her mid section, Shan Pu followed suit with sending kicks to various
spots on her body. Ukyo managed to block most of them for about a
minute before she was thrown back again. "Much better this time."
Akane said with a grin. "Again." Akane called out as the two sped
toward Ukyo again.
***
[Scene opens a few hours later with the three girls sitting on the
dojo floor out of breath.]
"Much better at the end then when we first started today. Keep this
up and it shouldn't take you more then a few days to get up to me."
Akane said with a smile as she handed Ukyo and Shan Pu a towel. "Vio..
Akane right. When Shampoo use full force?" The Amazon asked turning
toward Akane. "Give her another day at this skill level and then we
will have you fight all out." Akane said after thinking for a moment.
"Let's get a bath and get to bed, we're going to be getting up pretty
early tomorrow." Akane said as she got to her feet and started out of
the dojo.
***
[Scene opens in the furo where the three girls are relaxing.]
"Shampoo was wondering." Shan Pu said quietly after a few minutes of
silence in the furo. "What's up Shampoo?" Akane asked with a smile
as she looked over at her. "What about Shampoo's other group weakness?"
Shan Pu asked almost spitting out the last word. "You mean your curse?"
Ukyo asked looking over at her, Shan Pu just nodded. "I have that
taken care of. Cologne sent away for some of the water proof soap.
It should get here before she leaves. Don't worry Shampoo, we've got
all of the bases covered." Akane said with a smile as she leaned back
in the furo. "That good." Shan Pu said with a nod. "Well we should
be getting some sleep. Got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Akane
said as she stood up and wrapped a towel around her. "Good night."
Akane said with a slight bow of her head before heading out of the
bathroom into the changing room. "Spa...Ukyo think this work?" Shan Pu
asked not looking at the other girl. "I don't know sugar, but at the
moment I don't see any other options. As much as I hate to admit it,
I think she's right, we can't do this on our own. So as I see it, we
have two choices...work together and beat these things or give up and
do nothing. I don't know about you sugar, but I'm not about to give
up." Ukyo said with a smile as she looked over at Shan Pu. "Shampoo
no give up either." Shan Pu said with a nod as she stood up and grabbed
a towel. "Good answer." Ukyo said grabbing her own towel.
***
[Scene opens in Akane's bedroom where she is laying on the bed staring
at the ceiling.]
*Where are you Ranma? I don't know if we can do this without you. You
always managed to hold this group together, either cause they wanted
to marry you or kill you, but how am I supposed to do it? I'm way
over my head here, I don't know how to teach, I don't know how to work
as a group. How can I teach them to be a team, when I don't even know
how?* Akane thought to herself as she rolled over in her bed. As she
looked up, her eyes fell on the picture that was sitting on her desk.
*You've never known what you were doing either did you?* Akane thought
as she reached over and picked up the picture. *You've always just
winged it, never really knowing what you were getting into. Can I
really do that though? I'm not you Ranma, I don't have your confidence.
I wish I knew how you pushed yourself through some of the things we
have been through. Even here with Toma, how did you know what you
were supposed to do?* Akane thought to herself as she ran her fingers
over the glass of the picture. Akane hugged the frame as she started
to close her eyes for some much needed sleep. As she was about to
drift off, a voice echoed in the back of her mind. Akane smiled as
she recognized Ranma's voice, telling her what she needed to do. *Marital
artists protect the weak who cannot protect themselves.* Ranma's voice
reminded her just as she was drifting off.
***
[Scene opens early the next morning before dawn, Kasumi has just finished
setting breakfast down on the table.]
"Akane! Nabiki! Breakfast is ready!" Kasumi called up the stairs
before walking over and sitting down at her normal spot at the table.
A moment later Nabiki came down stairs slowly and sat down at the table.
"Too early." Nabiki grumbled as she took a sip of her tea. "Where's
Akane?" Ukyo asked as she wiped some sleep out of her eyes. "Right
here." Akane said with a smile as she came downstairs, her hair still
a little wet from her bath. "Why Akane so happy?" Shan Pu asked looking
over at her. Although the Amazon was more awake then the others, it
was still obvious that it was too early for her to be awake. "Always
feel happy after my morning jog." Akane said with a smile as she joined
them at the table. "Wait, you've been up long enough to jog and take
a bath?" Ukyo asked shocked as she started eating her breakfast. "Yep."
Akane said with a nod. "Damn and I thought I got up early." Ukyo said
laughing. "So why am I up this early?" Nabiki asked annoyed since she
had been woken up a lot earlier then normal for breakfast. "Cause you
guys will be leaving soon." Akane answered not bothering to look up
at her sister. After a quick breakfast, Akane walked her sisters to
the gate, with their stuff, where a cab was waiting for them. "Keep
us up to date." Nabiki said giving her sister a quick hug before getting
in the cab. "You sure you don't need me here?" Kasumi asked looking
a little worried. "Don't worry we'll be fine, besides it wont be safe
for you to be here. Take care." Akane said with a smile as she gave
Kasumi a hug and helped her into the cab. She watched the cab drive
off and then turned back to the other two. "Let's get started." Akane
said with a smile and turned toward the dojo.
***
[Scene opens a little while later as the girls are taking a short rest
from sparring as the dojo's door opens to reveal Ko Lon.]
"Good morning Elder Cologne." Akane said with a short bow as the Elder
pogoed over to them. "Good morning child. How is it going today?"
Ko Lon asked noticing that the girls were all sweating and out of
breath. "Pretty good really. Ukyo is picking everything up quick,
by tomorrow she should be at my level or pretty close. And Shampoo
and I seem to be doing pretty well with working as a team, and I don't
think it will be too hard to add one more into it." Akane said with
a smile as she boasted about how good the rest of the group was doing.
"Good then we will work on your mallet for now." Ko Lon said with
a smile as she pogoed out of the dojo and over to the koi pond. "You
two keep sparing. Shampoo move up to a skill just above mine for
while you solo her." Akane said before following Ko Lon out of the
door. Shan Pu nodded and then began to spar with Ukyo, still holding
back, but not as much as when she was sparing her with Akane.
***
"What do you want me to do Elder Cologne?" Akane asked after sitting
down on the rock that Ko Lon had motioned to. "When you bring out
the mallet normally, what do you do?" Ko Lon asked after a moment
of silence. "Normally I just get mad and reach over and it appears
in my hand." Akane explained as she reached into thin air but the
mallet didn't appear in her hand. "Try concentrating on the mallet
being there." Ko Lon suggested and then watched for about 10 minutes
as Akane kept reaching out with her hand, but the mallet still didn't
appear. "It's not working." Akane said shaking her head with a sigh.
"Alright, try not thinking about it." Ko Lon suggested after a moment.
"What do you mean?" Akane asked confused looking over at her. "Don't
think about trying to get the mallet, just reach your hand out and
take a hold of it, knowing it will be there." Ko Lon explained unsure
if Akane would understand it. Akane thought for a moment and then
shrugged. Without thinking, she reached her hand out for the mallet.
When she looked over the mallet was in her hand. "Hey I did it."
Akane said with a smile but it turned to a frown when the mallet
disappeared. "Huh?" Akane asked confused as she shook her head. "Don't
worry you will get better at it, just keep working on it. I think
I will go help with Ukyo's training for now." Ko Lon said with a smile
as she headed toward the dojo. *She's catching on faster then I
thought she would.* Ko Lon thought to herself with a smile.
***
[Scene opens in the dinning room as Akane finishes putting lunch out
on the table as the others walk in after their bath.]
"You didn't make those did you?" Ukyo asked worried as she pointed to
the sandwiches that were on the table. "Nope Kasumi made them. I
just pulled them out of the fridge." Akane said with a laugh, ignoring
the relived looks on everyone's faces. "So how did Akane do?" Shan Pu
asked as she took a bit out of her sandwich as she sat down at the
table. "Pretty good." Akane said with a grin as she reached out and
grabbed a hold of her mallet. "Wow, you got it perfected already?"
Ukyo asked amazed. "Heck getting it is the easy part, now I gotta
learn how to fight with it." Akane said laughing as she allowed the
mallet to go back when it came from. "So what plan for after lunch?"
Shan Pu asked after a few minutes. "I thought we would work on some
dodging and speed since Elder Cologne is here. We need to get used
to having projectiles thrown at us during combat, so if she doesn't
mind, we'll have her throw some chi balls at us." Akane said looking
over at Ko Lon with the question. "Of course." Ko Lon said with
a slight nod of her head. "Good then let's finish up and get back to
work." Akane said as she started back in on her lunch.
***
[Scene opens a few minutes later out in the dojo. The girls have just
finished warming up and are waiting for Ko Lon to begin.]
Ko Lon gave a slight nod and then began throwing low powered chi
blasts at the girls in a random pattern. The girls began flipping and
leaping out of the way, but within a few minutes Ukyo had crashed into
Akane, knocking both of them to the ground. "Sorry sugar." Ukyo said
as she picked herself up off of the ground. "Don't worry about it,
just remember to keep track of where your team mates are." Akane said
as she back flipped away from a chi blast that was coming at her since
Ko Lon had not stopped while they were down. "Got it." Ukyo said
leaping over the ball that was headed straight for her. "Elder Cologne,
ready for stage two?" Akane asked as she leaped over the chi ball
and landed back on the floor. "Yes." Ko Lon said without stopping.
"Attack." Akane called out as she leaped toward Ko Lon, while still
dodging the chi balls that were coming her way. Ukyo and Shan Pu nodded
and then joined in the spar against Ko Lon.
