A/N- Just giving credit to Batman Begins for the cape I used in the last chapter. Sorry for not being specific in my jumps in time. Last chapter occurred about a week after Kim died. As usual, thanks to Rebelrsr for help on proofing this thing. Sorry but more Shegoness should come up next chapter. Also rather large note that I should have said earlier is this fic takes place in Kim's senior year. That means after the events of STD, but Kim and Ron didn't hook up.
The black Explorer arrived at the secret Yamanouchi School just around noon. The majority of the ride was spent in silence once the group realized Wade was missing. It was like all the supports of Ron's life were being systematically ripped out from under him. First, it was the center of his life – Kim. That was followed by the line between good and evil blurring. Kim was fighting to protect Shego, and Shego the same. Then there was Global Justice - the people world renown for standing up for what was right - committing the act of killing Kim. Last, Wade, the guy who was always there to offer support and information, was gone.
What was worse was Ron didn't even have a clue as to who had taken the young computer genius. It very likely was GJ, but Ron didn't want to think about that. Instead he chose to think that Wade just had to get out of town fast and hadn't had time to get in touch with him. If it was something worse, the teen-hero wasn't sure what he'd do. His number of remaining friends was shrinking faster than he could believe. He decided he would make a promise with himself. He would keep Yori and Rufus in sight as much as possible; he was not going to lose another friend.
By the time his inner thoughts came to a close, the car ride to the secret ninja school was over. Getting out of the vehicle he patted his pant's pocket to check for Rufus and followed a step behind Yori. Looking around Ron, found they were at the base of the mountain where the Yamanouchi were. Hiking up the mountain, the three approached a rather unassuming, short, one story building, typical of Japanese architecture. Walking through the large double doors and into the spacious court yard they were greeted by the head of the school, Master Sensei.
"Yori, I see Stoppable-san has made it back to us in one piece," the old man said as he bowed to the two. Directing his attention more towards Ron, Sensei welcomed him, "It has been too long since you have visited us."
"Yeah, Master Sensei. It's great to be back," Ron said slightly subdued.
"Ah, I see you are mourning the passing of Possible-san. It truly is terrible news to behold," Sensei consoled.
"Um, Master Sensei, is there a place that's more, ah, personal to talk in?" the teen asked.
"Yes, right this way, Stoppable-san." The old teacher led the group through the courtyard into a quiet garden. "This garden is far away from prying ears, so you may speak freely."
Ron went over and sat down on the stone bench that faced a lotus tree. Looking at its petals he noted that they seemed to be an incredibly dark shade of pink, deep enough to remind him of Kim's hair. Tears began to build up in his eyes but Ron knew he could shed them later; right now he needed to tell Sensei and Yori everything he knew. "Master Sense, GJ had Kim killed."
If the news shocked or surprised the wizened old man he hid it well. "What has led you to believe this?"
"A lot of things. The most concrete of them would be I saw GJ goons the night Kim was… was murdered," the blonde teen answered. Unable to continue sitting still he got up and began to pace. "Betty Director, the old head of GJ, told me herself that power was changing hands. She's even gone into hiding. Another thing she told me was they had an order out specifically targeting Kim and Shego."
"And you are certain that this Director-sama has not lied to you?" Sensei asked.
Not even bothering to stop his pacing, Ron nodded. "She warned both Wade and me. I got out of the States a week ago and just today I got here. Wade never thought anyone even knew where he lived, so he stayed put." Stopping, the blonde sidekick faced the old martial artist. "Master Sensei, I won't fail any more of my friends. I need more training. I need to get better."
"Stoppable-san, what happened to Possible-san and Load-san, you could do nothing to prevent. It was not your fault," Sensei tried to convince Ron. Bowing his head, he agreed, however, "I do, however, understand your wish to become stronger to protect those that remain. I will grant you access into the training grounds in the Yamanouchi, once again, in addition to offering you our home as a safe haven."
Ron bowed in respect. "Thank you, Master Sensei. Thanks for all of this."
"There is no need, Stoppable-san. We are family here and we will do all we can to help each other," the old man said. "Before you begin your training, I'd recommend you rest first." With the parting words Master Sensei left the two teens.
"What Sensei says is true, Ron-kun," Yori said. "It was not your fault that Possible-san died or that Load-san is missing."
Ron sat down heavily on the stone bench. Putting his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands, Ron shook silently. "I know, Yori, but I was her best friend, her partner. I was supposed to have her back," the young hero choked out through the thick emotion. "She ended up going down with Shego at her back. Shego!" the disbelief was clear in his voice.
Sitting down beside Ron, Yori hesitantly put an arm around his shoulders. The two sat like that for some time, just letting the wind blow gently past. Finally, Yori spoke again, "Ron-kun, I know it's hard to believe but I doubt there was any more you could have done."
Still in their embrace the sidekick lifted his head to face the ninja and agreed, "I know that in my head, but my heart keeps saying I could have done more. I failed her, Yori." The normally carefree teen broke down.
The petite girl just held the crying hero. Rocking ever so gently, the ninja said, "Then become stronger. If your heart demands action, then direct the energy into building yourself up. You have taken a good first step by asking to train here. Now you must put your heart and mind into your training." By now Ron had gotten his emotions back under control, so Yori released the hug and stood up. "You should rest as Sensei suggested, Ron-kun. I can take you to your room if you would like."
"Yeah, that'd be great." The two left the garden and made their way to the students' sleep quarters. Opening one of the paper sliding doors, Yori directed Ron into the rather spars room. There was nothing in the room other than the small candle lamp and a sleeping mat. The ninja turned to leave, but before she could Ron said, "Yori," she looked back to face him, "Thanks."
The brunette smiled at him as she nodded and left. Settling down onto the mat Rufus crawled out and sat down on Ron's pillow. Yawning he curled up into a ball and fell asleep. "Good idea, little buddy," Ron commented before acting similarly and let his mind drift into a dreamless sleep.
Waking up, Ron stretched and around his room again. If he didn't know better he'd say it was the same room he got last time, but, knowing all the rooms were so similar, he could be wrong. Something new caught Ron's eye - a white training gi near his mat.
Ron began wondering out loud, "But how did?" He knew he could be a heavy sleeper, but Rufus hadn't even been woken. "Wait… ninja school; why'd I even ask?"
Getting up the teen put the gi on and stepped out of his room, shutting the screen behind him and placing Rufus on his shoulder. Catching sight of a few other students Ron followed them. Eventually they led him to Sensei, who Ron could ask for more directions on where to begin his training.
"Sensei, I don't really know where to start in my training," the hero confessed, "I mean I know I want to improve but I don't know what to focus on."
The old martial artist sat across from Ron in the open room the two now sat in, while Rufus sat silently next to his owner. Reaching for the tea cup in front of him, Sensei spoke, "I believe it would be best if you focused your attentions on a particular martial style to begin with. Focusing on a style will help show where your weaknesses lie." He took a sip of his tea before continuing, "Focus on the bo staff. The weapon works in tandem with your Tai Shing Pek Kwar."
Both Ron and Rufus shuddered at the mention of the Mystical Monkey Power. Ron, however, managed to nod. "I will start there, Sensei." He moved to leave, but the Master made one last comment.
"Do not forget your other areas of training, such as meditation. All forms of training will help you become stronger, Stoppable-san," the old man solemnly said.
Nodding again, the teen and mole rat left to find the staff training area. Finding the space filled with other students practicing the bo staff, he went over to the weapons rack. With his trademark coordination, Ron managed to grab the staff he was after but also caused all the others to fall to the ground with a loud crash. Chuckling at his clumsiness in the ensuing silence, the blonde scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry?"
Rufus only shook his head and picked up a twig that would be a bo staff compared to his diminutive size. He hefted it to test its sturdiness, and then proceeded to twirl it about himself as though he had practiced with it day and night for his whole life. When the small rodent finished, the entire bunch of students had completely forgotten about Ron's little mishap. Looking at Rufus gratefully, the teen slipped into one of the rows of students. Once the disruption was out of the way, the class resumed their practice. The blonde teen was able to keep up with other students, with a few mistakes. The group of ninjas followed what their instructor performed before them. He would move the staff into a new position and the students would work to mimic the movement and position. Ron's natural lack of grace caused numerous problems in the lessons.
After several grueling hours of the kata training, students would pair off and practice what they had just learned on each other. Ron failed to defeat a single one of his opponents on his first day; in fact many of the fights ended with him depantsing himself. Rufus watched his owner with a great many sighs and hid his face in his paws. After the sparring was finished the ninjas-in-training left to begin their self exercises. Ron chose to work on his staff kata. He didn't know what he wanted to accomplish specifically, but he did know just sitting in deep meditation wouldn't do it for him. Perhaps one of the characteristics of Kim that rubbed off on Ron was her need to be in constant motion.
Thus began Ron's daily routine. Waking up he'd go and train with the other students, learning new kata from the teacher. Breaking after that, the hero would move into sparring, where he slowly began to improve against his opponents. Even with the improvements, Ron was still prone to losing his pants. For most of his waking hours, however, the teen still felt troubled over Kim's death. It was only during his solitary training did his mind gradually begin to calm down. Each slow and practiced move helped to quiet his inner turmoil. Of course, meals were interspersed between each session. The meals were actually the only times when Ron could meet and talk with Yori. The small friendship the two had was beginning to strengthen over the time they spent together.
"Ron-kun!" Yori called out as she scanned the courtyard where other ninjas were eating. "Ron!" she said again. Finally spotting the blonde youth, in a far corner that had a lotus tree, she made her way over to where Ron was sitting. Having positioned himself in a strategic location to offer him complete line of sight of the whole yard, Ron looked around through squinted eyes then turned to the wall and motioned for something to move forward. That something was a luggage-loaded Rufus. The mole rat quickly scampered off the top of the wall and down to Ron's leg. Bending down surreptitiously to pick up the item, he carefully unwrapped the pouch. Hidden inside was a naco, the prized food of the fast-food gods. Yori giggled at the lengths Ron went to for his daily intake of fatty Mexican foods. "Oh, Ron, you and your silly American ways."
"Hey, it's not my fault I can't survive off just rice and raw fish," the teen said to defend himself. Sitting down against the tree, Ron started eating the smuggled nacos. Rufus pulled some nachos out of the bag, causing Yori to eye the sack suspiciously. Apparently it could hold a great deal more than its size gave credit to. As the two began their meal Yori sat across from the blonde, cross legged.
"I have noticed your improvement with the staff, Ron-kun," Yori commented.
Swallowing the bite he had in his mouth, Ron said, "Yeah, I've been getting the steps down but it's been going slower than I want."
"We all progress at our own pace."
"I know but I'm just not going fast enough. I want to be able to take on the guys that took KP out, and at the rate I'm going I'll have a better chance of them dying of old age," the blonde said glumly. Rufus nodded and squeaked his agreement.
"You should not focus on the future so much. Live in the here and now, Ron-kun," Yori placed her hand on Ron's knee as she finished. Removing her hand the female ninja remembered why she had sought Ron out. "Oh, Master Sensei wishes to speak with you."
Stuffing the remainder of the naco into his mouth, the teenhero spoke around the food, "K, I'm on it." Picking up his naked mole rat buddy, Ron left the courtyard, waving to Yori as he did so. The blonde was slightly curious as to why the Master wanted to speak with him specifically. Ron hadn't been summoned to the wizened old man since he had arrived, so he had a small reason to be suspicious.
Ron bowed as he entered Master Sensei's presence, then knelt. "Sensei, you wanted to see me?"
"Yes, Stoppable-san. I have noticed you have been making excellent progress in both your style and strength since coming here. But you have been here a full three months and yet you still are no closer to focusing your inner self than when you first arrived." Stopping for a moment to take a drink from his tea cup, Sensei continued, "Something within you is keeping you from reaching your full potential."
"Yes, Master Sensei, I've kinda felt the same thing," Ron agreed as he embarrassedly put a hand behind his head. "I mean when I practice my kata alone, I do fine but when I'm with the group or sparring, it's like all the calmness disappears."
Nodding sagely, the old man said, "I believe the source of your problems is that you have not come to terms with Possible-san's death."
"But that's why I'm here. So I can go back and prove that KP was murdered," Ron argued.
"Coming to terms does not mean avenging someone. It simply means that you have accepted their death. That is what you have been lacking, Stoppable-san."
"But I… I mean…" Ron stopped for a moment to think. To actually think hard and deeply about this. Kim had been his best friend since pre-K. How did someone really get over losing a friend like that? The fact he didn't have an answer sort of proved what Sensei had said was true. "I guess you're right, Sensei. But I don't even know where to really start with it."
"That is what you must discover on your own," the old Japanese Elder said.