Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½, nor claim to.
Chapter Twenty-two: Blasts from the Past:
"You said it couldn't be done, told me that it's the kind of battle that just couldn't be won." Disturbed: Droppin' Plates
Her feet ran as fast as they would go. There was no stopping, no slowing, as she raced along the streets of Tokyo. He couldn't be much further up ahead, and once she caught him, he was done for. What he was doing was beyond unquestionable. Whatever his reasons, whatever he would say, whatever he would offer or do to her, none of it would change her mind. He would not get away with it.
There were a pair of running footsteps behind her, following almost perfectly. Those two were young, but they had been trained well, and it was showing. She smiled a bit at that; it was all worth it. She would give it all up for them, and for the little girl she was going to save. Her little girl. Her youngest daughter.
Sliding above the ridge, she looked down. And there he was. "HAPPOSAI! Let her go!"
The old man looked up, along with the young girl walking along with her. She wasn't bound, coerced, or threatened in any way. But the woman knew that didn't matter. Happosai was taking her away, and if she didn't stop him, she might never get her daughter back.
Happosai looked at the girl, who was giving him a questioning glance, and nodded. The girl jogged over to her mother calmly.
Akane, seeing her daughter coming back, dropped down to her knees and grabbed her in a hug. "Auska! Are you all right?!"
The five-year-old hugged back gently. "Of course, Mommy. Why wouldn't I be?"
Akane leaned back, staring at her daughter, a small tear running down her face. "Nothing." She wiped the tea away, then turned back to the two people running with her. "Bring Auska home. I need to have a 'mature' conversation with Happosai-san."
Sauske nodded, and Sakura glanced evilly at the old man standing in the field, but picked up her little sister, and the three went running off, Auska casting a curious glance back at Akane. She didn't understand what was so bad.
Once they were out of sight, the kindly mother act died immediately. "Happosai." Akane muttered calmly, before turning to him. "You stupid BASTARD!"
"Akane, there is no reason to get mad." He replied calmly. He had been acting like this for far too long.
"Shut it! You tried to take my daughter from me! I'm going to make you pay for that!"
Happosai sighed. "I asked kindly. You refused, Ranma refused, Sakura and Sauske refused. Auska was the only one who agreed."
"Agreed to what?!" The woman shouted, walking towards the man menacingly.
"To train with me." The man pulled out his pipe, lighting the end of it a taking a big whiff. "I am getting old, Akane. I have done what I can to end some of my vices, but it is not enough! I need an heir, someone to teach my skills to!"
"So you pick a defenseless little girl?!"
"I picked her because she was willing. You know I have been doing what I can to change. You helped me do so. I may not be perfect, but I am better than I was! But my skills cannot simply be written down and handed to someone else!"
Akane spat to her side. "I don't care! I'm not letting you take my children on a training trip for several years with some psycho pervert!"
Happosai sighed, before staring wistfully at the sky. "Would you rather Ranma had not gone on his training trip? Would you rather he be a weakling too?"
Akane snarled, "We made a promise to keep them out of the same crap we went through as kids. We know how to train, and we'll do it ourselves! We don't need to drag someone away from their family for years just so they can fight!"
"So, that's why." The man muttered. "You're afraid of being left all alone like Nodoka was, aren't you?"
Akane was taken aback by that, before growling, "Shut it!" and charging at him. "You're going to pay now!"
Happosai turned to face the woman, as she began charging for him, watching carefully for her attack. She was ten feet away when . . .
THWOCK! Happosai was sent rolling away when a foot imbedded itself into the side of his face. "Don't you ever try to take my kids from me, you f---in' BASTARD!" Ranma screamed, landing softly on his feet, glaring down the fallen form of the man.
"R-Ranma?" Akane asked, sliding to a stop.
"Akane, stay back! I don't want ya hurt!" the man replied, watching Happosai rise slowly.
Akane shook her head immediately. "No! I'm a martial artist too, Ranma! I can fight!"
Ranma turned to her, his eyes pleading. "Please, Akane! You ain't ready for him." Akane turned to the side, staring at the ground. "Please?!"
Akane sighed. He was right; she wasn't nearly strong enough to beat Happosai. All she could have really hoped for was to buy time for Ranma to get there to fight in her place. It didn't feel good either way, though.
Happosai brushed the dirt off of his shirt. "You want to fight, Ranma? Fine." The man lifted his arms gently, twirling the pipe in his fingers.
"You say you've matured, old freak?!" Ranma muttered, clenching his hands. "But you're still a frikkan' perv, and I won't let you take someone against their will!"
"Auska agreed to . . ."
"SHUT IT!" Ranma screamed, running for Happosai, a bright red glow following behind him. Jumping, the Saotome kicked his foot out, aiming for the old man's head again. Happosai slid aside, before kicking off the ground, driving the pipe into his opponent's chest.
Ranma slid back, grasping his ribs. It didn't sting too badly, but now he was all the way back next to Akane.
"MOM! DAD!" Sauske shouted, as he and Sakura ran back towards them along the field, each carrying a thick wooden staff.
Akane turned to them, along with Ranma, before she noticed something. "Where's Auska?!"
"She's with Aunt Kasumi and Uncle Ono!" Sakura shouted.
"STAY BACK!" Ranma shouted. The two children stopped. "This fight is way beyond ya. I need ta' do this alone!"
"But . . ." Sakura began.
"No buts!" Ranma shouted, before turning to his wife. "That means you too."
Akane glared at him. "I'm not going . . ."
"Happo Fire Burst!" Happosai exclaimed, throwing a large explosive at the two adults.
Ranma saw the fireworks flying towards them, and so he shoved Akane aside, yelling, "MOVE!" before shoving the explosive aside. Akane was safe, but Happy had shortened the fuse, meaning it barely got a meter away from Ranma before it detonated.
BOOM! "GAAHH!" Ranma screeched, flying backwards and over Akane, before crashing onto the ground.
"Ranma!" Akane screamed, before the man leaned back and jumped up, his clothes scorched.
Ranma glared at Happosai. "You're gonna' pay for that!" he shouted, running at him. Snapping his foot low at Happosai, the old man jumped in the air. Ranma responded with the Katchu Tenshin Amiguriken.
A flurry of fists filled the air, all from Ranma's right arm, using his left arm to keep his body blanched. Happosai, using the pipe as a springboard and a swing, sliding along and around each punch, while not by much, enough to avoid any hit. So Ranma decided it was time to do something new. Use both hands.
The flood of punches took the small space Happosai was dodging in by storm, smashing the man on a side swing, before overtaking him completely, knocking him around before he was pummeled away. With an awkward landing and a small flip, however, he was back on his feet.
"Is that all you have, Ranma?" he asked calmly.
"No, but it's all ya can handle, old freak." Ranma replied just as cold, except for the smile peeking out of the edges of his lips.
Akane watched carefully, having gone to her other children to get them out of the way. The battle could go in any direction, and her new first priority was to keep them safe. Second was taking Happosai down . . . permanently. But it wasn't her turn for it.
Happosai shook his head gently. "Ranma, I will not give up."
"Funny, because I won't either!"
A large, red glow appeared around the old man, more than a match for Ranma's, before his eyes slid shut. His hands slid backwards, the heels of his palms coming together. His fingers curled back, before the aura collected near his hands, and he shoved it away with a loud "HYAAAH!"
Ranma clenched his teeth, crossing his arms across his chest, taking the brunt of the aura blast onto him, sliding straight backwards.
Akane gasped, staring at her husband's back. "Ranma, you idiot! You could have dodged that!"
"I know!" Ranma screamed over his shoulder. "But could you three?!" he shouted, before muttering "Idiot." His arms dropped to his sides. "Not bad, Happy, but try this." His hands snapped together, before a ball of light glowed inside. "SHI SHI HODOKAN!"
Happosai blinked as a large burst of heavy Ki came barreling towards him. Hopping to his right, he let the blast slid past, before looking where he was landing. Ranma had run immediately after firing off the Ki shot, and was standing in position for another. "MOKO TAKABISHI!" he screamed, firing another bolt of Ki towards Happosai.
The old man was barely able to hit the ground before he jumped aside, trying to land in a new safe zone. He didn't.
"SHI SHI HODOKAN PERFECTED!"
WHOOSH! The large orb of Ki shot into the air, but not straight up. It was enough of an angle, though, to go over above Happosai, now floating in the air, before the weight dragged it, and the man, into the ground. When the globe of light burst and flashed away, the large crater in the ground empty except for the figure of a fighter, beaten into the ground.
Happosai leaned up, gasping for breath. Ranma didn't stop, however. Running, he leapt above the crater, staring down at his opponent. "ENDLESS MOKO TAKABISHI!"
Clasping his hands together, Ranma folded his palms out, letting the small sphere begin to glow. Focusing at the one point he wanted to destroy, he swung his hands, slowly, in front of him. His mind cleared, his aura died off, replaced with a vibrant blue field, like he normally had, when the sphere began to release. SHOOOM!
The blast, instead of being a sphere of Ki, was instead a stream of energy, driving straight into the ground, crushing Happosai underneath. The flow of energy tossed dust and dirt away, shredding the ground underneath. Seconds passed, the force tearing the ground apart, before it faded, and Ranma fell to the ground.
Landing on his legs, the man dropped to his knees. His body was completely still, his mind emptied from dropping all his emotions into his attacks. The entire world around him was blocked out. After a moment, his mind came back enough to realize he was tired, and he began to breathe heavily. Several seconds later, a voice came in.
"RANMA! DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME?!" Akane was screaming. "RUN!"
Ranma's head clicked back on, when he noticed a large bomb rolling gently up to his feet. His eyes widened, and he moved his arms to . . .
BOOM! "GAAAAAH!" Ranma screamed, hurled twenty meters away, crashing roughly into the ground, sliding along on his back. The dusk flowed in the air as the man rolled over a few more times, before flopping face down on the ground, moaning.
Happosai landed deftly nearby, staring down at Ranma. "Nice trick, Ranma, but not very effective. Firing the entire blast over several seconds may be painful, but there's no real power to it."
Ranma groaned, leaning up. "Shut it." His hands placed down along the ground, pushing his body up. "I'm not gonna' just give up."
Happosai sighed. "So, you won't lose?"
"Never." Ranma muttered back.
"Then, if I win, I get to train someone with all my techniques."
Ranma glared at him. "NEVER!" he shouted, running up and swinging. Happosai hopped back, before noticing Ranma's hands slap together. "SHI SHI HODOKAN!"
Happosai sighed, jumping aside. The blast whisked by, as the old man spun away in the air.
Ranma smiled.
"TENBA HIBASHIRA!"
Raising his hands into the air, his hands met together directly above his head. Ranma shifted the direction, racing them back to the ground. His hands interlocked fingers, clenching upon each other, his arms moving with all their speed towards the small patch of earth in front of him.
Happosai saw the movement, as he slowly began falling to the ground. He could feel the shift in battle aura and Ki in the world around him, sensing the changes at Ranma began to power up an attack. The movement of Ki told him it would be as soon as his hands hit the ground. And it was likely that the force behind it would be far more powerful than any attack before. He had to move.
But he was still falling to the ground. And so, he could not move.
Ranma kept swinging his hands down as fast as he could. He could see Happosai knew the end was coming, and he would try to avoid it as soon as he could. Time slowed beyond a crawl, each moment burned into his brain; the long, drawn-out wait simply growing longer with each second that passed.
Happosai could see Ranma's hands getting closer and closer to the ground. Each second, they slipped slightly lower. But so were his feet. And as soon as they hit the ground, he would be gone in a safe direction.
Akane could see the slight distance between Ranma's hands and the ground. Ten centimeters. Eight. Six. Four. Three . . . two . . . one . . .
BOOM! A geyser of yellow light sprayed out from the area just beyond Ranma's hands, flooding in front of the man with energy. Tearing grass from the ground and sending out a shock wind as the space was decimated with pure power, everyone of the Saotome family strained to see where Happosai was.
THUMP! The sound was that of Happosai hitting the ground. Fifteen meters to the side of the blast.
The old man rolled along, before righting himself, landing awkwardly on his feet. He escaped most of the blast, but the large tears and shreds on one side of his clothes showed that he had not evaded it all. And his sagging arms and slightly glazed eyes showed how little he had left inside him.
When the blaze subsided, Ranma immediately drew his hands back up, turning and facing Happosai. Akane, Sakura, and Sauske were trying desperately to see past Ranma's back. "That's enough, Happy. It's over!"
"It's not over until someone loses, Ranma." Happosai replied, staring him down.
"You can't win, Happy! There's no way I'll let ya!"
"You believe that, Ranma? I know all of the secrets of Anything-Goes fighting style."
Ranma scowled. "And so do I, freak! Your dirty tricks won't win you any more fights against me!"
"Dirty tricks?" The old man asked curiously. "What tricks would those be? I don't remember doing any such thing." His aura suddenly burst forth totally again. "But if you expect me to fight dirty, maybe I shouldn't disappoint you!"
Grabbing another fireworks from his arsenal, he swished the match along it, before hurling the explosive towards Ranma. It rolled and twirled in the air, going much higher than needed to reach Ranma. Happosai reeled a bit from the force of the throw, but watching it fly, it headed to its exact target.
Ranma watched it come towards him, before preparing himself to dodge it, when his mind changed it's opinion. "It's not goin' for me, it's headed for . . . oh no!"
Akane leaned back a little when she realized the bomb was heading for them. Her reaction was instantaneous and unquestioned by her body. Slipping in front of her family, she threw her arms wide to shield her children. "Get behind me!" she shouted, offering the destruction of her body to save theirs. The explosive drew nearer, before the fuse vanished inside. Then, the seams stretched, a bright fire expanding out.
BOOM! "REAAAAGHHH!" Ranma screamed, grabbing the bomb out of the air just before detonating, and dropping to the ground on it. It blew him high into the air, followed by gravity dragging him back down hard with a loud WHUMP!
"RANMA!" Akane screamed, rushing over and helping the man up. He slowly stirred, before leaning up, and then standing with his wife's help. Once he was up, though, he slid away to go back to a battered fighting stance.
His clothes were burned, his hair singed, his face bleeding in several places, his body tired, his muscles aching, his whole physical being begging his mind to let it fall and rest and heal. But Ranma stood firm.
"It's over, Ranma." Happosai said calmly, hoping to end the fight. "You are beaten."
Ranma snarled back. "Wrong, Happy. You can't win. No matter what happens, you will lose."
The old man replied to that by drawing another firebomb, at least four times bigger than the last one, and lighting the fuse. "We shall see!" He lit the fuse, and flung it at his opponent.
"I can't lose, Happy!" Ranma shouted. "The only way you can win is to beat me, and survive intact! If your body gets broken, training someone is impossible!"
Akane looked at him, worried where this was probably going, when Ranma began springing towards Happosai, the firebomb racing towards their position still.
"I can't lose! No matter what happens, I won't let you hurt my family!" Ranma shouted, jumping into the air, grabbing the bomb in its path, and steering his direction to land on Happosai. "I can't lose, because I'll give anythin' for them to make sure they're safe! IF I HAVE TO DIE TO SAVE THEM, FINE!"
"RANMA!" Akane screamed, as the man powered up another ki blast around the bomb.
"SAOTOME FIRE BURST!" Ranma screamed, firing the shot at Happosai.
BOOOOOOOOMMMMM! "rrrRREAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!" a voice, slowly coming into view over the explosion, screamed out. The flames from the explosion centered at the exact position between the two fighters, spreading almost as far as Akane. The voice was still screaming, before it flew beyond and behind Akane and the children, followed by another loud WHUMP!
Akane spun immediately, and there, buried in a crater, led before by a long trail of dirt ripped away by his slide along the ground, was her husband, shredded more than ever before. She turned back, and saw Happosai buried into the ground at a ridge on the other end of the field, in about the same condition.
She turned back to her husband, running as fast as she could go. Stopping at his body, she stared in horror for a split second, before dropping to his side. His shirt was shreds, deep gouges and cuts racing over his chest and arms, his face coated in soot and blood.
Slowly, painfully, his head turned, the eyes cracking open. "A . . . Akane?" Ranma was just able to speak out, his voice barely more than a whisper.
"Yes Ranma?!" Akane said urgently, leaning in to better hear him.
"D . . . did . . . I win?"
Akane paused, before she glanced back at where Happosai was. The old man had disappeared, replaced by deep drag marks in the dirt.
The woman turned back, though, with a smile on her face. "Yes, Ranma, you did. It's over."
"Good." Ranma replied, his eyes sliding closed. "I just feel . . . so tired . . . time for . . . sleeeeeeeeep." His last word dragged on, the mouth then stopping.
"No, Ranma, don't!" Akane shouted. He didn't react. "Ranma! Wake up!" Nothing. "RANMA!"
Akane flung herself up, tossing the bedcovers across the bed and over the edge, onto the floor. Her breath was a heavy pant, her lungs working overtime as if she couldn't breath. He face and body were drenched in sweat, making her thin clothes stick tighter to her skin than glue ever could make them. Her eyes glanced around, trying vainly to adjust to the light. Slowly, the world came into view.
She was in her room. The clock read "2:30 AM," quietly shining for her in the darkness. The bed, except for the covers being thrown away, was normal. The odds and ends hanging on the walls, or sitting on shelves, or taking up random amounts of space on the floor or anywhere else they were put, were all the same as they always were. Slowly, the woman took a deep breath.
"Just a dream." She muttered.
Something clicked in her head, though. Her back was cold. Very cold. The source of heat that kept it warm every night was missing. Turning her head, all that was there was an empty bed.
Her mouth slowly formed out the name "Ranma!" before she leaped out of bed. Grabbing a robe, she slid it over her shoulders as she raced out of the room.
"It was a dream! It was a dream! It was a dream!" she repeated over and over in her head. Ranma was alive. He had to be! She had lived for the last eight years with him! He was alive! Right? No, she couldn't think like that! It was a dream! A dream about an event that had happened a long time ago! No reason to question it.
So she ran faster.
Sliding the door to the dojo open, however, she was hit with a shock: Ranma wasn't there! "No!" she screamed in her head. "He always goes to train when he can't sleep! Where is he?!"
Suddenly, an inspiration hit her. "The kitchen!"
Turning on a dime, she bolted back out of the dojo, slamming the door behind herself, and raced down the hall, ignoring any reason to not wake anyone in the house up. She wanted Ranma, and would wake whomever it took to get him back!
Sliding into the living room, she found Ranma, sitting quietly at the table with a cup of tea.
He glanced up, and noticed her sudden arrival. "Akane? What are you doing up? And why are you running through the halls?" The woman stared at him for a moment, a look of pure shock on her face, before slowly walking up to him.
SLAP! Ranma's head rolled away under the force, before turning back. "What was that . . . huh?"
Akane had dropped down, clinging onto his shoulders with all her might. "Ranma! Don't ever leave me like that!" she shouted louder than she wanted to.
Ranma, slowly, placed her arms around her. "Akane? Is everything all right?"
"Promise me you won't fight alone!"
"What?"
"When you fight Happosai, promise me! Promise me you won't fight alone!"
Ranma was stunned for a moment, before clutching his wife tighter than ever. "I swear I won't go after him alone."
Next Chapter: Ucchan's has been the setting of much planning over the years, and it shall be again!
Well, there's chapter twenty-two. For those of you who can't speak Japanese, like me, "Tenba Hibashira" is the closest I could get to "Rising Horse Geyser." Literally, it translates to "Flying Horse Pillar of Fire". Anyway, it's time for reviews:
Shinjiku: Sweet! Two reviews! You didn't have to review the last chapter, but thank you for doing it anyway. And yes, as I have said before, Aki and Sauske might pair up.
What surprised me, though, is the fact that you didn't seem to notice that Sauske threw Aki into a wall. I'm not saying that's bad, but I was sure you, or someone else, would have at least mentioned that.
Oh well.
nonengel: Heh, just wait until you see Sauske's full power in action. Another thing is your use of Chi. So, if you go down, I have some definitions of the special powers of fighting defined, including Ki. They may not be the true definition, but they are my definitions, and those will be the ones I use in this story.
But something more important is in your review, although I'm glad you like the story so far too. It's just that I'm glad somebody can actually see Keira and Sauske together. I don't know why nobody else could, but hey, whatever.
Paige Crews: YAY! I'm so glad you like Aki, and Pai is another character I really tried to make different. She is a little bit of a Mousse copy, but she has some Genma in her, too, with the little signs. As for Sauske's power, it's coming soon. Promise.
Sleepingbear: Wow, nobody's said that about this story before. "It's creative and follows the original flavor of Ranma 1/2." I don't know if it's very much like Ranma 1/2, since it isn't always very funny, but I'm glad it's creative. Hopefully, this chapter is too.
Definitions:
Aura: A flow of energy off the body created by certain reactions in the cells. There are several types of auras, but the two most basic are bodily and battle auras. Bodily auras are formed naturally by the body, usually at all times, and formed by all people, but are also extremely faint. They can also be either emotionally based or physiologically based. They are also difficult to see, with only a few very gifted people able to see them all with just their eyes. Also, there is a type of crystal, mined in China, which can, when held up to the eye, allow a person to see all the auras of others without that special ability.
Battle auras only occur when the body is hyped up for a fight. It is not actually a natural phenomenon in anyone. In fact, even the red battle aura must be trained. Training for the battle auras, though, is actually training in any form of martial arts or fighting style which emphasizes, at least in some parts, emotional attachment to battle. The kind of emotion determines the color. Red battle auras come from emotions like hate, fear, and rage, while blue auras come from emotions like determination, willpower, and tenacity. The size, and sometimes the shape, of the aura can be controlled with strong focus. Also, the use of battle auras can increase the speed of exhaustion, and the larger the aura that the emotions create, the faster the fighter can become exhausted.
Auras can be used for attacks, but they are difficult to control, and are usually ineffective compared to most other forms of attacks. However, they have no harmful effects on the user beyond that of a normal battle aura.
Draining auras does not harm or exhaust the body directly, but instead drains away the fighter's emotional drive to fight. That causes feelings of weakness and failure, and, if drained enough, the body loses its will to the point that it can fall unconscious, and in extreme cases, die. But that is unbelievably rare.
Ki: Mental energy formed by conscious or instinctive thought. This means that every living creature that can think produces Ki. However, forming Ki into attacks can be extremely difficult without training because most people cannot understand how to channel Ki on their own to begin with. However, once it is learned, the ability becomes simple. Ki can be emotionally charged, using the same basic emotions like battle auras of hate, determination, and the like. It is also broadcast slightly, like an aura, but not to nearly the level of power that even the faintest of auras.
Ki does not drain away the strength of the body, since it is totally mental energy. However, Ki is not truly infinite. It only seems that way because there is no physical drain. However, using large amounts of Ki in one attack or several attacks rapidly can drain too much Ki for the mind to handle. That can cause the "emotionally hollow" effect that is central for the perfected Shi Shi Hodokan. The energy loss is so devastating, the mind simply shuts down to build its reserves up quicker. This can be dangerous in battle, but it is difficult to use enough Ki at once to cause a mental shutdown. But it is very possible.
Ki is also very difficult to sense, but some very powerful or sensitive people can notice changes in ambient Ki. But there is no object known that can see Ki flow though the body or in the air, and it tells very little information compared to auras. Draining Ki is almost totally useless, due to its high regeneration rate, but if enough is drained quickly, it can paralyze a person for several seconds.
Chi: Chi is the Chinese word for Ki. It is mental energy that can be used in attacks. While there may be slight differences, for simplicity's sake, the only major difference between Chi and Ki are the language it is from.
Chakra: Chakra is a mixture of bodily and mental energies to form a more powerful force. Since it uses energy directly from the body's cells, the use of chakra can cause severe exhaustion, depending on how much cellular energy is used.
What makes Chakra useful, however, is its extreme power. It can be from five to ten times more powerful than Ki, and is much easier to shape. Comparatively, Chakra is about as easy to shape as clay, compared to Ki being more like moistened sand. That means Chakra can actually be formed into very complex patterns with ease, and also into weapons and special techniques.
Another use of Chakra is elemental attacks. Being very easy to shape, it can actually be used in techniques that charge it with a certain element (Fire, Water, Earth, Lightening, Wind, or Metal). This is what has given it such a wide appeal with ninja, since it can be used in techniques to create explosions and elemental blasts, and through their vigorous training programs, their bodies are often far more than capable to deal with the exhaustion brought on by its use.
The biggest problem with Chakra, however, is it is very difficult to be able to use. Only one in twenty thousand people are able to use Chakra naturally, compared to ninety-nine out of one hundred well-experienced martial artists being able to form at least the basics of an aura. Chakra can be learned through ninjutsu training, which is far more zealous than even the most difficult Ki training, or through a special ritual mixing training, moxibustion, shiatsu, and meditation. Those who are naturally born with the ability to use Chakra cannot use Ki normally, but can if they shut down their Chakra using special shiatsu and moxibustion points. They can also later reactivate their ability.
Draining Chakra does cause severe exhaustion, just as in the use of the energy, and receiving Chakra from others can actually reverse the effects of fatigue. However, outside the body, Chakra is extremely explosive, and if interrupted in between bodies, it can detonate immediately. Also, since Chakra is so malleable, it can be held in place in the body, such as in the hand, without an active technique, to allow the preparation time for using it to be greatly reduced.