Author's note: Thank you for waiting. Here's the next chapter.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Disclaimer 2: Possibly very OOC...
Chapter 3: Harmony and Chaos
The next day, Ranma woke up and did a kata to stretch and warm up. As he did so, he wondered if it was a good idea to undergo this Tai Chi training. His thoughts were interrupted by Shower yelling that breakfast was ready.
Ranma rushed to gobble up the food as Shower chuckled at his eating habits. Halfway through the meal, Ranma froze between bites as he remembered that in his haste to eat he didn't check if the food was spiked. He gave a nervous glance to Shower who only roared with laughter, assuring him that she had no reason to spike the food...yet.
With a gulp, Ranma swallowed the food in his mouth and then promptly lost his appetite, much to the amusement of Shower who had meant the previous comment as a joke.
After breakfast, Ranma followed Shower out to the lake. Shower then instructed Ranma to observe her and follow her moves. As Ranma watched, Shower started her Tai Chi breathing technique. It was slow and graceful, as Ranma had expected. What Ranma did not expect was the massive aura that Shower emitted during her kata. Not only that, it was a calm and balanced aura. Most of the time, in order to bring out such powerful aura, great emotion must be felt and the aura would be anything but calm.
"Ranma," Shower called out as she repeated her steps, "the aim of this is not to master the kata. Anyone can mimic these actions. What you need to do is understand and grasp the meaning behind the kata."
"Eh?" was the best reply a genuinely confused Ranma could offer. Shower shook her head and chuckled as she repeated the kata again and Ranma followed. After awhile, Shower stopped her kata and observed Ranma repeated it and trying to grasp its meaning without success.
"Arrgh! I can't grasp the meaning behind this kata. It seems like just a normal breathing exercise to either warm up or cool down." Ranma growled in frustration as he repeated the kata for the umpteenth time.
Shower decided that Ranma would likely need to learn the hard way. She tapped her stick on the rock at the edge of the lake to summon out the pillars. She then beckoned Ranma over to her.
"Ranma, I think the only way you are going to understand the purpose of the kata is if you first find out what you lack. Go and try this challenge and see for yourself."
"I don't know. Those electric eels kind of throw me off." Ranma replied nervously.
"Don't worry. They only feed at night. You'll be safe." Shower replied a little too quickly for Ranma's liking. Nevertheless, against his better judgement (as usual), Ranma decided to attempt the course.
"Here I go!" he yelled as he jumped onto the first pillar and balanced himself with minimal effort. If this is anything like Jusenkyo, then I should have no problem balancing, Ranma thought to himself.
Ranma hopped onto the second pillar and it started to crumble away immediately. Ranma panicked and leaped onto the third and found it crumbling as well. He jumped to the fourth only to find it slippery. Ranma immediately lost his footing on the slippery pillar and fell into the water.
One second later, a red-headed girl was seen leaping out of the water whilst being zapped by twenty or so electric eels.
"I THOUGHT YOU SAID I WAS SAFE?" Ranma screamed at Shower who was laughing at her expense.
"I said the eels wouldn't eat you. I never said they wouldn't zap you." She replied slyly.
With gritted teeth, Ranma attempted the course again. I won't lose to these eels and those stupid pillars.
An hour later, Ranma crawled out of the lake yet again. By now, even the eels were too tired to zap her. As Ranma caught her breath whilst laying down on the grass, she heard a familiar chuckle.
"How was your swim son-in-law?" Cologne cackled.
"Not funny old hag. That Shower friend of yours is one sadistic old lady. I've tried everything to complete this course and it hasn't worked. I tried being faster, staying in the air longer and so on but it didn't work. I'm starting to wonder if it's even possible to complete this course."
"Of course it is. Let me show you." Shower replied from behind Ranma and immediately leaped onto the pillars. Ranma stared in awe as she and Cologne observed Shower leaping effortlessly from pillar to pillar and completing the entire course in 10 seconds. Ranma's jaw dropped.
"It looks like you haven't changed a bit Shower." Cologne laughed as she applauded her old rival. Whilst Cologne and Shower moved inside the house to talk, Ranma picked her jaw off the ground and sat down cross-legged, trying to analyse what she had just seen.
Inside the house, Cologne and Shower updated each other. Shower also mentioned Ranma telling her his troubles and Cologne sighed in reply.
"I really feel for Son-in-Law. His life right now is the literal definition of chaos."
"I know. I saw his eyes too. I was worried for him so I issued him this Tai Chi challenge to distract him while we think up a plan."
"So you knew I'd come for him?" Cologne asked as she refilled her cup with tea.
"I am not without my sources of knowledge as to what goes on in the world, particularly in Nerinma."
"What now? We can't keep him distracted forever. He needs to face the problems head on."
Shower sipped her tea before continuing. "There is one chance. As I mentioned to Ranma, my Tai Chi technique has the added advantage of being able to help one think clearly, if he masters the concept behind the basic kata I taught him."
"That just might be what he needs. Son-in-law hasn't been able to think clearly given the daily chaos he faces. Being able to gather his thoughts might just help him see a clearer picture and make some wise choices."
"Like deciding to marry Shampoo and go back to China with you?" Shower asked with a hint of mischief.
"One can always hope." Cologne replied with an equal amount of mischief.
Outside, Ranma continued to ponder. As she mentally replayed Shower's demonstration of how to conquer the course, she realized something. None of the pillars had crumbled beneath Shower when she went through the course. Ranma zoomed into this portion of her memory and tried to recall again Shower's actions.
It wasn't just speed. She somehow balanced her weight perfectly on each pillar. Did she remember the course? No. The pillars were virtually identical and changed positions each time Shower summoned them. It would have been virtually impossible to remember which was which. No, Shower had instinctively reacted to each pillar in a split second, adjusting her balance and centre of mass perfectly on each pillar.
Ranma now knew what he lacked – instinctive balance. As good as he was at balancing, it took him time to adjust and be able to balance. To complete this course, one had to be able to react instinctively and quickly, adjusting oneself perfectly to each situation.
Ranma, still in girl form, then stood up and started performing the kata again. This time, she examined each step closely and kept the idea of instinctive balance in mind. As she did so, she realized that the steps to the kata painted a picture of balance. The steps in the kata showed separation of two opposing forces and then the blending of them in harmony. The steps also had to be performed with a balance of grace and strength, quickness and patience.
As she repeated the kata, Ranma's mind drifted to her inner thoughts. Memories came flooding into her mind. Some were good, like gorging on Kasumi's food, sparring with Ryoga, having fun laughing at Kuno, the many adventures he had went on, learning new skills from Cologne, etc. Others were not so pleasant like the Nekoken training, cats, the chaos of the nerima wrecking crew, cats, his pathetic father, cats, Happosai, cats, etc.
As Ranma struggled to keep focus on the kata, she suddenly realized the concept behind the kata. It didn't just illustrate balance; it mirrored what needed to happen inside the martial artist. Instinctive balance could only be possible if the martial artist was fully balanced inwardly in the first place. Ranma knew now that he had to find a way to balance his inner struggles, dreams and fears, disappointments and joy, masculinity and (ulp!) femininity, if he wanted to conquer this course.
Unknown to him, the two old amazons were watching from Shower's house and grinning.
"It looks like Son-in-law has got it. Now let's hope he can apply it successfully."
"Indeed. For his sake, I hope he learns how to find the balance between chaos and harmony." Shower added cryptically.
To be continued.
The next update may not be so soon as I have exams the whole of next week and after that comes the Christmas rush. Sorry.