Sidestory 1: Padawan Training

"What're we gonna do first, Master?" Ranma asked, barely a minute since they had left the Tendos.

"First, we shall find a place to train, away from the cities. Preferably a place attuned to the Force," Jedi Master Mace Windu told his Padawan.

Akane, who had been looking back toward her home, turned her head around to look at her new teacher. "How will we find it?" she questioned.

"The Force will guide us," Mace answered.

"Oh. How will it do that if we can't see it?" the little girl wondered.

Mace pondered on how to explain it to a six-year-old. "Akane, have you ever felt that something was going to happen, right before it happened? As if something was warning you, you could just feel that it would take place?"

"I have! Pops said it was my gut, and that I should always listen to it," Ranma interrupted.

"Yeah, I've felt that," Akane nodded.

"Well, it is really the Force talking to you. The Force talks to everyone, although many choose not to listen to it. And the Force will guide us in much the same way," Mace finished. "Do you understand?"

"I think so..." Akane confirmed.

"Don't worry. One day, you'll experience it for yourself, and it will become clear to you," Windu assured her.

"When will that be?" she questioned.

"When you're ready," was his cryptic response.

The trio eventually ended up in a place called Yomogi Valley. The valley was hailed as the Moxibustion capital, for the naturally heated "Moxa Rocks" there could cure ailments like moxibustion could. But a great part of their healing abilities was the fact that the area was a natural focus point for the Force.

The Jedi training did not begin so much with the physical aspect, but of what it meant to be a Jedi.

"There is no emotion..." Mace began.

"There is peace," Akane and Ranma finished.

"There is no ignorance..." Windu continued.

"There is knowledge," his students answered.

"There is no passion..."

"There is serenity."

"There is no chaos..."

"There is harmony."

"There is no death..."

"There is the Force."

A slightly older Ranma was using the Force to lift a rock about the same size as himself. Akane had a similar rock in front of her, but it remained on the ground.

"I can't do it, Master!" Akane cried.

Windu sighed. Even after a few months, Akane still has trouble with levitating objects. The Force is strong with her, yet I cannot seem to find where her talents lie.

Akane was on her knees, palms on the flat boulder she had been standing on, as she wept in frustration.

Ranma had let his rock fall to the ground, distracted by the sight of her tears. For some reason, seeing a girl cry always made him feel bad inside, especially Akane.

Wait... Mace could feel something unusual going on near Akane. The Force energy within the stone she was on was fading. No, it was moving, flowing into the child. "Akane, get up and try once more. After that we will take a break."

"Yes, Master," Akane sniffed and wiped her tears away. She raised her hands out and concentrated, eyes shut.

"Akane, you're doing it!" Ranma exclaimed.

The girl opened her eyes, losing her concentration. She watched the stone drop from the air and hit the ground with a crack. "I did it!" Akane latched her arms around Ranma in her excitement.

"Do you know why you were able to lift the rock that time, Akane?" Windu inquired, once the two had calmed a little.

She shook her head, "No, Master."

"When you placed your hands on the boulder below you, you subconsciously absorbed some of the excess Force energy within it. You then used that energy to lift the rock," he explained.

"Cool!"

A year and a half later, now at the age of eight, Ranma was again lifting a rock with the Force. This time, he did it while standing on his head. Akane was now able to consciously absorb energy from the Moxi Rocks while touching them, but couldn't yet do so while performing any other tasks with the Force, so she had to stop to recharge.

"Eeeek!" she shrieked as she suddenly ascended a foot off the ground, "Ranma! Put me down!"

The boy started laughing, until he lost control and dropped Akane and the stone he had also been lifting. She landed harmlessly

"Ranma! You jerk!" Akane started to chase him around angrily.

"Come on, Akane, it was just a joke!" Ranma called out as he ran, looking back at her. As he wasn't watching where he was going, Ranma tripped on a small rock. The resulting fall brought his head down onto another rock, knocking him out and cutting the skin.

"Ranma!" Akane shouted again, this time in fear. There was a lot of blood coming out of his head. "Master! Ranma's hurt!"

"Ow. I'll be okay, Akane," the boy tried to assure her.

Mace had seen the events, and had been just about to step in when Ranma tripped. He quickly walked over to his two Padawan, examining the injured boy. "Akane, do you remember when I explained to you how to use the Force to heal?"

"Yes, Master," she nodded.

"Then heal him," he ordered.

"It's no big deal..." Ranma mumbled.

"But...but I've never done it before!" Akane protested.

"That does not mean that you cannot do it. Heal him, Akane," Mace commanded.

"Yes, Master," the young girl calmed herself as much as she could, so she could focus. Then, she placed her hands on Ranma's head. A slight glow formed in front of her palms, and the wound closed shut.

"Thanks, Akane. It don't hurt no more," Ranma said gratefully.

"Excellent work, Akane. Now that that's settled. Ranma, you really shouldn't tease Akane like that. You should also watch where you are going. As for you, Akane, you overreacted. You must control your anger, or it will lead you down the Dark Side," Mace scolded. "Now, apologize."

"I'm sorry, Akane. I was just playin'," Ranma expressed his regret.

"I'm sorry, too, Ranma. I shouldn't have gotten so mad," Akane looked even more ashamed.

"Good. Now, I think it's about time we visited your parents again," the Jedi Master announced.

"Yay!"

"Great!"

Eleven-year-old Akane watched as her fiancé and her teacher sparred together with their lightsabers. Ranma's green blade clashed with Mace's new purple blade. The boy was using the Force to enhance his movements, as it was the only way he could keep up with the Jedi Master.

Ranma is quickly mastering the basics of using the Force, particularly those used in combat. One day, he will be a match for myself, or even Master Yoda, Windu thought.

Master and student moved with intense speed, the glow of their weapons causing a blurry afterimage. Finally, exhausted from moving so fast for so long, Ranma used the Force to jump backward out of Mace's reach, shutting off his lightsaber. The boy was breathing very hard, and covered in sweat, but grinning as if he was having the time of his life.

Mace shut off his lightsaber as well, "Great job, Ranma. You can take a break now."

"Thanks, Master," Ranma said. And fainted.

"Oh, Ranma. You always push yourself so hard..." Akane remarked.

"Now it's your turn, Akane," the Jedi Master turned to his other Padawan.

The girl nodded, drawing and activating her yellow-bladed lightsaber.

"Thank you for coming to help me with the groceries, Akane," Kimiko spoke as she and her thirteen year old daughter took a shortcut through the park. "Kasumi usually helps me, but she has that essay she's working on."

"I don't mind, Mom. It's kind of nice to spend some time with you alone," Akane replied.

From behind one of the bushes, a man in a black ski mask jumped out and grabbed Kimiko, holding a gun to her head, "Money. Now. Any you got, too, squirt." He said the last part to Akane.

"You don't want to rob us," the Padawan told him.

"I don't want to rob you," the would-be thief responded.

"You want to let her go."

"I want to let her go," he released Mrs. Tendo.

"You're very, very tired. You want to go to sleep."

"I want to go to sleep..." he lay down on the grass, using his arms as a pillow as he closed his eyes and started snoring.

Kimiko asked the obvious question of "How did you do that?"

"The Force can manipulate the weak minded. We should call the police to come pick him up," Akane advised.

Author's Note: This little snippet is all Xtor, after explaining to him the amount of flames I got for not including this he gladly did this bit to put out those fires. Just a few scenes showing Ranma and Akane's training. It's a tie in to chapter 2, hopefully will be tying more side stoies like this in the re-write like explaining the two year war which I abbrieviated and such, also Ryoga's little adventures.