Thanks for continuing to part 2. The lesson begins in earnest.

Ginji and Natsumi heard the thumps of their hearts more than the egg timer ticking down the seconds. A bet of a week has now turned into a bet of two hours.

Finally, Ginji gave a wide smile at his anxious tutor. "Well, at least Akabane-san did not say he would kill someone, so I guess it's not so bad. Shall we give it a try, Natsumi-chan?"

"Well, if you say so," the girl was still quite skeptical. Like most normal students, it had taken her most of a year to master multiplication. Now she was being asked to tutor a crash course. "I'll write it all down first, to make it easier for us later. Why don't you start with the threes while I'm doing this?"

While Natsumi printed down all the tables in twelve sheets of paper, Ginji lined two groups of three peanuts together, and counted them, learning that 3 times 2 was equal to 6. He mumbled "3 times 2 is 6" for a few times, then took another group of three peanuts. He counted all nine peanuts, recited "3 times 3 is 9" several times, then got another group of peanuts. By the time Natsumi was done listing, Ginji had managed to learn that 3 times 12 was equal to 36, counting very quickly for the last few numbers.

"Very good, Ginji-san!" she patted him on the head like a good puppy. "Now read them all out for me," she presented the written table of threes.

Two minutes reviewing and reciting, then three minutes quizzing of the twos and threes tables. They moved on to the table of fours, then fives, using their peanut method. So far it worked, and the table of fours and fives was cleared in half an hour.

But as the table of sixes came around, Ginji slowly realized that the numbers were getting too large to count quickly from scratch every time. So he started counting from where the last number ended. "6 times 2 is…." Ginji counted out two groups of six peanuts. "12." He pushed down another set of six. "3 groups now. Twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen…..eighteen! 6 times 3 is 18!" And so forth. As previously, at the end of the exercise Natsumi reviewed him and made him recite for two minutes, then gave a three minute mix of all the previous questions.

That system worked for the table of sixes and sevens, but the numbers were still getting larger. And an hour had already passed.

To add to the pressure, Dr. Jackal stood from his place at the end of the counter every ten minutes, and peered over the paper they were working on. "Interesting, very interesting" was all he would say, then he patted Ginji on the shoulder and went back to his seat.

"Sorry, Ginji-san, but from now on you just have to trust me on the numbers," Natsumi finally decided. "The peanut-counting will slow us down."

Ginji sighed but agreed, as he peered down at the paper filled with eights.

"Now repeat after me," she prompted, still grouping out peanuts for him to see, but not letting him count them anymore. "8 times 2 is 16………8 times 3 is 24………." The process was then used for the nines table as well.

Her poor student, she saw, was getting lost in the big numbers, even with visual representation available. She slowed down a bit for him at this section. She had trouble with her table of eights and nines, too. She took extra time for reviewing and quizzing, until both of them were sure he got at least majority of them settled in his brain.

"The tens table and the elevens table are really easy," Natsumi cheered him on at the end of it. "Just add a zero to the number. For example……" she laid out the peanuts in two groups of ten. "2 times 10?"

Ginji counted it out. "Twenty."

"Notice, 20 is just 2 with a 0 after it. The same goes with all the other numbers. So, 3 times 10 is?"

"3 with a 0 after it……..30!"

"That's right!" Natsumi clapped.

Natsumi finished the rest of the tens table in like manner. They were done in under five minutes.

"For the elevens, just write the number twice. 2 times 2 is 22, 2 and 2 together. Get it?"

"Got it!"

"So 5 times 5 is?"

"5 and 5 together, 55!"

"Very good! Just remember, though, that the last three are exceptions to the rule. 11 times 10 is 11 with a 0, so it's 110. 11 times 11 is 121. And 11 times 12 is 132. Okay?"

Ginji repeated the last three for a few times, then said okay.

"Now we come to table of twelves, the peak of the times table. But this is pretty much a review table, since all the other tables have a 2 times 12, 3 times 12, right?"

Ginji nodded.

"One hour and fifteen minutes," Akabane reminded, much amused that they were already at the twelves table.

Natsumi sighed.

"Don't worry, Natsumi-chan, we'll make it!" Ginji took up her hand and patted it. "I believe in you!"

She looked up at him, and smiled. "You don't have to do this, Ginji-san," she reminded.

"Of course, we do! You made a bet with Ban-chan, then Paul-san raised the stakes. We have to do it. 2 times 12 is 24, then 3 times 12 is 36, right?"

She could not believe what she was hearing. He who despaired a few hours earlier of ever getting past 2 plus 2 was now pushing her on.

She now understood for herself, that power he had over people. That simple power to believe.

She sniffed and nodded. "That's right, Ginji-san! Now what's 12 times 4?"

She left the ones and zeros tables for last, judging that she had some clear explaining to do with them, but easy enough once the explaning was over.

She took out two peanuts, and laid it on the table. "How many peanuts?"

"Two," he said.

"Now I'm multiplying it one time," she took up the two peanuts, then placed them back on the table. "How many do we have now?"

"Still two," he said.

"Okay." She then laid out three peanuts, and repeated what she did. "How many?"

"Still three."

"Any numbers times 1 is that number, because you didn't add anything to it," but even she found her explanation confusing. "Do you sort-of get it?"

He shook his head.

"I thought so," she said. "So just remember, 1 times any number is that number. 1 times 3 is 3, and 1 times 4 is 4. Do you get it now?"

"Yup!"

She gave the run-through of the ones table, and gave the usual quizzing at the end.

"I left the easiest one for last," Natsumi said, as she kept away all the peanuts, and glanced at the egg timer counting one hour and forty-five minutes. "How many nuts do we have now?"

"Zero," came the reply.

She held out an empty palm, and another empty palm for him to see. "Okay, now let's add this group of zero peanuts," she showed one palm, "with this group of zero peanuts," and presented the other palm. "0 plus 0, or 0 times 2. How many do we have?"

"Still zero," he answered.

She reached for his large palm, and placed it on the table with her hands. "You're holding a third group of zero peanuts, okay? 0 times 3?"

"Zero," he said.

"That's right! Whenever you hear 'zero' multiplied by something, no matter how big or small the number, the answer always is zero. Got it?"

"Yup!"

"So, 0 times 12?"

"Zero!"

"And 5 times 0?"

"Zero!"

She quizzed him on the twelve numbers, and mixed them with the other problems. She went over the sixes, sevens, eights, and nines to be doubly sure. Satisfied, she grinned at her boss, and declared, "We're done!"

Paul smiled as well, and stopped the timer.

Teacher and student looked at the timer, and did not believe what they saw. "Congratulations! One hour and fifty-five minutes." Natsumi gave a glomp worthy of the world's biggest glomper, as said biggest glomper remained stunned.

"Very good," Dr. Jackal gave a steady slow clap-clap. "A feat worthy of the Thunder Emperor. Although," he stopped clapping, and gave the former Thunder Emperor a knowing stare, "whether he remembers any of it remains to be seen."

Ginji gulped.

…………………………………end of Part 2.

Egad, This chapter had me checking my multiplication with a calculator. It's been so long since I've had to use 11 times 12, I've already forgotten. My tough table was the eights table, and my particular pet peeve is 8 times 7 equals 54.