Chapter Nine
Preparations were made quickly. Krillin using the most of his allowance to set things up on the island and then darting off to the Lookout and asking if Mr Popo would magically make a few sets of clothes whose weights gradually increased. The genie had smiled and did as asked, not thinking much of the small act, but Krillin couldn't help wondering if the man was growing a little bored with how much time he was spending alone since Kami had died, Krillin made a not to at least visit the man twice a week just to keep him company.
When they day had passed, Krillin was thoroughly tired, but he could feel himself getting stronger, his pool of power getting ever deep the more Ki he spent zipping around the world, but all this didn't stop him from splitting himself in half and sparring off with the clones that, each time he got accustomed with using the technique, were getting smarter. Krillin only wished that Tien was still around though and at this he felt a pang of guilt, the clone technique was Tien's, he would know better than anyone how to get the most out of it. Chiaotzu too had some grasp of the technique, but with it being mimicked, it was considerably weaker than Tien's version.
Working with what he knew though, the rise in intellect was something gradual, but Krillin found that he no longer had to say his commands out loud anymore, but an idea in his mind that he separated through mental walls while cordoning off a portion of his energy was sent to the clone.
The spar was quick and fervent, both expending large amounts of Ki and not holding back any punches before Krillin retired for the day. Another day came, but this Krillin allowed himself a full day to focus on his training and working on his techniques. He was still having a lot of trouble with moving the Turtle Wave with telekinesis, but Krillin had started noticing that the attacking didn't like having its moving changed, especially with harsh angles that interrupted the beam connecting the beam to the head, which got Krillin thinking about developing a technique that was especially suited to being controlled; one that would be akin to Yamcha's Spirit Ball except not so big and obvious.
Early the next morning Krillin was on the little island, a large house behind him as he waited for the black ship that flew closer, eight sparks that were higher than normal making their way towards him. It didn't take too long before they arrived and as introductions weren't necessary, Krillin got started, telling them about the lesson plan.
"They tell us you can fly," said Carmichael, his voice a curious drawl as he put on his uniform, not showing any expression at the additional weight. Krillin inclined his head. "How."
"Ki," he said and he was surprised when Mark showed that he knew enough of it to look surprised.
"I thought the secrets to Ki control had been lost," the large man said.
"Not lost," Krillin said. "But known only by a few." Which was going to change in the near future, Krillin thought though he did not say this out loud. He knew these eight would report the secrets they learnt to Moniker and for a while Krillin had thought about learning telepathy from Mr Popo so he could enforce some mind blocks on them, but Krillin had said it himself that their training wasn't explicitly hidden. It would have been hypocritical to say that and yet hide the knowledge from being taught further.
"Ki being?" asked Mondo.
"Something I will explain during our afternoon lessons," said Krillin. "As for now we increase your strength and speed. Uniforms on," he said. "We're going on a light jog."
Of course the wording light jog was exceptionally relative. While it was for Krillin, the same could not be said for his students. Doll kept up the best at first, but as they ran longer, moving swiftly through the terrain, with Krillin keeping an eye on the sparks of the animals to make sure they were largely undisturbed. As they began to circle around though, Brea began to take the lead, having unnatural stamina that was the norm for her race and yet still keeping at the same pace she had held throughout the run. A full hour had passed and they were in the clearing with the large Capsule House, his students largely out of breath, the same could not be said for Krillin, but then again his muscles were being boosted by Ki.
"That was refreshing," said Krillin as the came to a stop, the looks he received were aghast, but there were no complaints. "Have you eaten?" he asked and there were a few nods. "Fifteen minutes break he said before we begin our training." He walked into the house and retrieved some oranges, giving one to each of them.
The training regimen began soon after; an introduction to the Turtle fighting style was the first, various stances and kata, and then Krillin shifted to dodging and endurance exercises; they took an hour's break for lunch and then it was to meditation and Ki, at first Krillin spent time teaching what it was and then how to feel it in one's own body; they ended the exercises with another light jog after which the man explained he was only taking it easy on them because this was the first day.
It went without saying that when they slept it was like the dead.
"This," said Mondo, pausing to take a breath, "is torture." As he said this he was currently running three people behind Krillin, navigating the foliage with a light-footed grace that should have not been possible with the weight on his everywhere. Behind him were others who all running, a giant orange tiger in pursuit of all of them with a hungry gleam in its eyes.
"I told you," said Krillin his own voice not tinged by the same fatigue. "The last three weeks were just a warm up." He turned swiftly as he felt the presence of another predator, another tiger jumping through the foliage. Those behind him reacted on instinct, dodging but not losing any ground in their run.
The jog could outright not be termed light, but it still hadn't reached the point where it could be called a run; it had significantly grown longer and his student's weights had been increased, but Krillin was pushing them harder, hoping that they would already be using their Ki to propel themselves faster. He could feel Mark doing it, but then the man had admitted to having previous martial arts training, and Doll was try the same though Krillin could feel that she must have been scared by the anxiety of that drain when the Ki reserves were still low. The others were average at best, though they were growing, moving faster and becoming stronger.
"I admit," the large man continued. "I had not expected this of you."
"Not many do," said Krillin. "But that's sort of my shtick. It's easier to win when you're being underestimated. Remember that," he said gravely. "It will be the difference between winning and losing in a fight." Another turn and it was a straight to their clearing, as soon as they were within its range he went into a dead stop and pushed himself in the opposite direction with such speed that an afterimage was left behind. He appeared behind the last of them, Sid, and saw the two tigers still running at a dead pace though a large distance between them. A look of concentration appeared on Krillin before a mental shove sent the tigers back; a quick motion and he took the place of the image before it disappeared.
None were the wiser, which was not good at all if here to admit.
They continued their usual training after a fifteen minutes snack break, not easing back as he sent a barrage of rubber balls headed towards them. They would not kill, but with Krillin's strength they brought pain and a bruise when they hit.
Days were spent teaching while the nights Krillin was hard at work at his own abilities, much as he liked the idea of coming up with a new ability, nothing appealed to him more than having a firmer grasp on his clones, because against stronger opponents, it was flashy that won but the unexpected. Clones though, required one to master the mind and it was something Krillin was only just figuring out through his meditation, which he found was easier to do when he was on the Lookout, something that meant he visited Mr Popo more often than just twice a week.
"Telepathy," he asked one day as they were watering the oddly coloured plants, many of which Krillin had been told were older than him. "Can humans learn it?"
"Yes," said Mr Popo and there was something of a perplexed expression on him. "But you've already been doing it."
"I have?" he asked and the man nodded.
"Tien's technique, the Solar Flare."
"The Solar Flare's a mental attack?" Krillin asked, surprised.
Mr Popo nodded. "Somewhat in any respect," he corrected. "As I understand it, the pain from the flare is coaxed into being at the forefront of the mind making it so that even if one can sense Ki, the technique is still useful."
Krillin hummed, hand running at his chin. This made things easier. Well…really it didn't. It just meant he had always had the capability for telepathy and he had been using it unknowingly, but to use it knowingly would now be the challenge. How did he intentionally project thoughts? For that matter, how had the technique worked if he hadn't known how it worked?
"Which other attacks are mental in some part?" Krillin asked.
Mr Popo took a moment of silence, thinking the question through before he answered. "The Multi-Form Technique also has a mental basis to it," the man said, though this Krillin had already guessed at it was still gratifying to full know. "Chiaotzu's more so that Tien's as it leaves something akin to psychic imprints. There's also the Mimicry ability that Chiaotzu has. It is peculiar sort of mental invasion that, when it spots an ability, rifles through the mind of that abilities holder, taking in how they learnt it and imparting that same knowledge to Chiaotzu. Those are the only techniques I can note at the top off my head."
"Thank you Mr Popo," said Krillin and they went back to watering the plants in silence, listening to the serenity.
A day spent on the Lookout doing nothing but spending time with Mr Popo with a watchful eye cast on the ever-growing sparks that were his students. Pretty soon Krillin knew he would have to begin teaching them to manipulate Ki and energy in all respects, Carmichael more than any other couldn't wait until he could fly.
Three months in and the weights had been increased twice more, the morning jogs had increased in length and Krillin had moved on to smaller rubber balls that were harder to seen and even harder to dodge. "How?" asked Doll as Krillin landed in the place of his afterimage as it disappeared. Krillin spared her a confused looked, a look that almost everyone else mirrored. "You moved," but then she shook her head.
Krillin grinned at that. They were starting to see. The next day, she wasn't the only one to see him, Charlotte and Brea were watching him with keen eyes as he moved and their heads snapped to and fro with such vigour that Krillin was a little afraid they might get whiplash.
"When do we get to the real moves?" asked Carmichael one evening as they were going on their evening runs. "I mean energy sensing and Ki boosting is all well and good, but when do you teach us to fly?"
"When you're ready," said Krillin. "You've pretty much gotten down the more crude applications of Ki control. But flight is complex. You'll first need to be able to project energy before you'll be able to push a field of energy all around you that will be able to carry you through flight."
"And when are you going to teach us to project energy?" asked Mondo.
"After mastering how to push Ki to various parts of your body," said Krillin. "Gathering it to a fist so that your punches are magnified, gathering it to your legs so that you're faster, to your arms so that nothing is broken when you block or intercept a punch. When you got that down I'll teach you the afterimage technique."
"What's that?" asked Brea and so Krillin explained, even going so far as to give them a demonstration when they arrived before they're house. It was not surprising that when he performed the technique to ward off the tigers again, most, excluding Do and Sid, were able to spot him.
On the last day of the third month Krillin had to watch as all his students boarded the sleek plane and flew off, he had forewent going and meeting Moniker himself because for the first time in a quarter of a year he had time to himself. He flew off towards the mountains Goku called home, not too long a flight away and he wasn't surprised at all when he sensed four fighters on the ground below, though he was surprised to see Gohan among them.
"Krillin," said Goku as he took off and met the shorter man in the sky. He had a large grin on him, wearing a bright blue shirt and dull golden pants that were obviously weighted. "Long time no see."
Krillin shrugged, he too wearing a grin. "Thought I'd stop by while I still had free time," he said. "Wanted to meet these students of yours and," he added in a whisper, "does Chi-Chi know you're training Gohan?"
"Yeah," he said. "But don't tell Gohan that. He's been sneaking off whenever he's on break," the saiyan muttered. "She's really mellowed about the whole training thing."
"How are they?" asked Krillin. He couldn't see them clearly, but from what he could see, Goku's students were both in their late teens, both mail and they were wearing a uniform identical to Goku's. Gohan was the only one who looked out of place with a uniform similar to Piccolos.
"They're growing," said Goku. "Albeit slowly. But we weren't expecting miracles were we."
Krillin shook his head. "Have you spoken to Chiaotzu lately?"
Goku shook his head. "He's been hard at work. The Northern News having been hovering around his mountain range, last time I saw he was hovering large ice-caps in the air while fighting."
Krillin let out a low whistle. "Very hard at work," Krillin muttered. "I'm a little worried that he might outclass us soon."
"Gohan too," Goku added. "Do you know he taught himself the Multi-Form technique?" he said and another whistle let Krillin. "He said he saw Piccolo do it once and had been trying it ever since."
"Like father like son, huh?" Krillin said and Goku grinned and shook his head.
"A little," he said. "But Gohan's smarter and Piccolo's rubbed off on him. I told him to train Ben and Garret once; he left them in the some forest and told them to survive until he got back." Goku shook his head and let out a chuckle. "It's funny. I think they're more scared of him than they are of me."
"How far do you have them?" Krillin asked.
"Still the basics," said the saiyan. "Mr Popo's been helping me out of the weighted clothing part. Master Roshi said he'd sue me if I copied his shell training. He said it's patented, whatever that means. You know he's taken a student too?"
"Really?" Krillin asked. "I thought he'd retired."
"He said he was bored," said Goku. "Not to mention that Chi-Chi didn't give him much of a choice."
Krillin gaped, shook his head, blinked a few times and then stared. "I'm not sure I heard you right. Master Roshi is training Chi-Chi?"
Goku grinned and Krillin couldn't help but shake his head in disbelief. The world had really taken a strange turn if Chi-Chi had started training again.