Chapter 4: Training and Learning
Kim wiped the sweat out of her eyes and tried to focus on the issue at hand. For the last three weeks, the staff and senior students at Yamanouchi had been drilling her and her BFBF hard. She had expected some of the training, such as the conditioning training every morning that left her aching and gasping for air. She had also expected the brutal hand-to-hand combat training every afternoon. She hadn't expected the two hours they spent every day learning the Japanese Language and Culture. Sensei explained that this was part of Yamanouchi's cover, insuring that the Americans would return home with some Japanese Language skills and an appreciation for the culture. While Kim enjoyed learning these things, she was shocked by the fact that Ron absolutely loved, and thrived in, these classes.
Ron, in particular, was benefiting from the rigorous training. While he had been more capable than she had realized before they came to the school, his improvement was breathtaking. He didn't have the agility and grace that she did, so his approach was very different. Kim excelled at blistering offensives that overwhelmed her opponents with an avalanche of powerful, precise kicks and punches. Ron, on the other hand, shone at conducting an active defense. He executed subtle, lazy-seeming dodges and blocks, which spurred his opponent into unleashing repeated attacks; until said opponent had exhausted himself. Where Kim's forte was the long range strike, Ron was better at closing with an opponent, using trips and holds to immobilize him, then finishing the fight with a close range strike. For the last week, the staff had been concentrating on building the teens' teamwork. A number of the senior students would attack the two Americans. Kim and Ron were learning how to combine their strengths and cover for each other's flaws.
Ron also received additional instructions directly from Sensei. Kim was only occasionally allowed to attend these sessions. When Kim did not attend, Ron would emerge in a variety of states. Sometimes he emerged frustrated, sometimes serene, sometimes exhausted, sometimes cheerful, and occasionally angry. The ones she had attended were intense debates about morality, free will, and honor. Ron would sometimes really get into the arguments and while he kept his temper, his presentations could get right downright passionate. Kim had never seen this aspect of her boyfriend's character before.
Finally, there were what Kim considered 'Teamwork Drills.' These consisted of small, difficult tasks, which neither teen could accomplish alone. This brought her mind back to the task at hand. She and Ron stood at the edge of a small pond. A pole, with a platform on top of it, stood in the center of the pond. A thick, strong rope bridged the pond, tied to two large trees and passing directly over the pole. A ceramic figure sat on the platform and the teens' job was to retrieve the figure without getting wet.
"Do you have any ideas?" She asked Ron.
"The same as yours, I bet," he replied, hefting a four foot piece of rope. It was the only equipment their trainers had provided.
The two teens discussed the sitchfor a few minutes then went into action. They reached the pond-spanning rope by climbing the nearer of the two trees. Ron led as they clung to this rope and crawled out to a point abovethe platform. They were still eight feet over the platform. Ron used their four-foot piece of rope to lash his feet to the spanning rope. Trusting in his knot, he hung upside-down above the platform.
Kim went into action, climbing down Ron's body to cling to his chest. Ron reached up and grabbed her ankles. Kim released Ron and trusted both him and his knot as he lowered her down to grab the figure. She tucked the item into her belt-pouch, then curled up, grabbed Ron's shirt and climbed up his body to the spanning rope. Once she was back on the rope, Ron executed a fairly impressive stomach-crunch of his own, caught the spanning rope and untied his feet.
The two teens climbed back to the anchoring tree and descended to the ground. They took a few moments to straighten their clothing as best they could, then presented the figurine to their instructor with a polite bow. Kim's limbs ached and Ron was shaking with fatigue. Yet this had been a fairly straightforward assignment. While the physical execution was strenuous, the planning had been easy.
"Very well done," a voice commented from behind them. The teens turned and found themselves facing Sensei. They quickly bowed to the old man, who returned the formality.
"As I said, your teamwork is showing great improvement," The elder complimented the teens.
"Thank you, Master Sensei," Ron replied, with another bow.
"It really wasn't that much of a challenge," Kim commented, with a slight question on her face.
"What do you mean, Possible-san?" The old man's question was delivered in a tone of polite patience.
"I mean, there wasn't any real planning challenge," Kim expanded. "Sure, it was a physical challenge but the planning was easy."
"Are planning and physical capability the only aspects of teamwork, Possible-san?"
"I don't understand," Kim confessed, after a long minute of thought.
"Did you not learn to trust your partner in this exercise?" The old man prompted.
"Oh!" Kim's face lit up in sudden realization. "I trusted Ron to hold me, dangling upside down a good twenty feet above the pond!"
"And you trusted in his ability to tie a proper knot," Sensei concluded.
"I seem to remember a certain teenager saying that this school's headmaster can be subtle," Kim addressed both Ron and Sensei.
"Yes," Sensei agreed. "He made this statement shortly after the two of you passed another test at the airport."
"Test?" Ron was so surprised that he forgot the manners he usually showed at Yamanouchi.
"Indeed, Stoppable-san," Sensei seemed amused. "An operative on your flight could not reach her bag in the overhead compartment. Another operative's child dropped a toy. A third operative's briefcase sprang open unexpectedly and a fourth operative dropped his cell phone. I wished to determine if you would stop to help such people. I was most pleased with the results."
"I didn't see the guy with the cell phone," Ron confessed.
"Another polite bystander assisted that operative before you saw the phone," Sensei explained.
"Sensei," Kim cut it. "Did those tests have anything to do with the morality debates you've been having with Ron every afternoon?"
"Yori says that you are very perceptive," Sensei complimented her, with a slight grin. "I see that it is so in this case. Yes, Stoppable-san's morality and his willingness to help others are traits that are very important."
"Why?" Kim asked the venerable elder.
"You will learn some of these answers this evening, Possible-san," he informed her. "When the two of you join me for dinner in my quarters."
"It will be our honor to attend," Ron replied, with a respectful bow. Kim quickly joined him. Sensei bowed in turn, and left.
"Well," Kim told her boyfriend, "We'd better really be on our game in a couple of hours."
"Yeah, "Ron agreed. "We've got a sparring session coming up and it won't do for us to be bruised up for a dinner with Sensei."
Dinnertime that evening found the American teens dressed in freshly laundered training gis, waiting outside Sensei's door. At precisely 6:30 PM, the old man opened the door to greet his guests.
"Sensei, you honor us with your invitation," Ron declared with a formal bow. Kim quickly followed suit.
"And you honor me by accepting," the elder answered, returning the bow and ushering his guests inside.
Inside the door was a fairly small, formal sitting room with two low tables. One table was set for three diners while the other table held several covered containers. Mouth watering aromas wafted up from the containers. Sensei stood behind one setting while Kim and Ron each stood behind another, facing the old man.
"Please be seated," Sensei offered.
"Sensei, will you allow me the honor of serving the meal?" Ron asked, instead of sitting.
"Indeed, Stoppable-san," Sensei permitted, with a smile. Kim was puzzled, wondering what had just taken place.
She pushed her questions to the back of her mind as Ron served her and Sensei before sitting at his own space.
"I see that you are curious, Possible-san," Sensei observed, after the three had taken the edge off of their hunger.
"Yes, Sensei," Kim answered. "The dining…etiquette isn't what I expected."
"Our customs here are not that of a normal Japanese household," he explained. "In fact, very few outside of Yamanouchi would know appropriate behavior within this room."
"If I may ask sir," Kim responded. "Why didn't someone…coach me on appropriate behavior?"
"Why do you think, Miss Possible?" The old man's gaze was intent.
"Well," she mused. "You could be just amusing yourself by watching me make a fool of myself, but that doesn't seem to be your style."
"Indeed," Sensei agreed. "There is no honor in such actions."
"You could also be putting me into a strange situation to see how I react." Kim suggested.
"You are reasonably close with that guess," Sensei informed her. "Let me tell you that you haven't acted inappropriately. How have you managed to do that?"
"I just followed Ron's lead," she admitted.
"Why did you do this?" His gaze was very intent for such a simple question.
"Because he's more familiar with this sitch than I am," she answered. "Sensei, is this some sort of lesson, or maybe a test?"
"It can be both at once, Possible-san," the old man informed her. "As well as an excuse for dining with interesting company. But back to the matter at hand, what else have you learned today?"
"I learned to trust Ron and to trust the knot he tied," Kim pondered. "Which is really the same thing." She frowned. "I still don't see what that has to do with this meal."
"Try saying your lessons out loud, Possible-san," Sensei suggested.
"I've learned to trust Ron," she recited. "I've learned to trust his ability. I've learned to follow his lead in situations where he's…better equipped…than I am." She thought for a few minutes. "Okay, I've just learned that, although we're really close, Ron and I have done things apart from each other. I should make use of his…exclusive knowledge."
"Is it only the traits he has picked up, when separated from you, that you should consider?" Sensei prompted.
"I don't understand," Kim confessed.
"Have you noted any other facets in which he has proven more capable than you?"
"You mean like cooking?" Kim asked.
"That is one skill," Sensei pointed out. "But has Stoppable-san ever 'stepped up' and done something on one of your missions, without relying upon 'dumb luck,' that you could not have done?"
Kim pushed her thoughts back to previous missions. She first considered the mission that rescued this same old man from Monkeyfist's clutches. While Ron had acquitted himself well against the villain, she could have done the same. Then she considered rescuing the quasi-celebrity couple from the cabin. The hiking, climbing, and rappelling had all been strenuous, but they had both undergone the same ordeal. While Ron had pulled the toboggan, with the heiress on it, on the way out, Kim could have done the same thing. Ron had prepared a meal for the couple, but a couple of cans of soup would have had the same effect. He had also…
"I think I understand!" Kim exclaimed. "We rescued a couple from a snowbound cabin. When we got there, they were at each other's throats, probably because they were tired, hungry, and scared. Ron sort of stepped up and got them focused on something else. He unpacked their gear and had me fit them out while he prepared a meal for them. They calmed down once they had food in their stomachs and a plan to get out."
"Very good, Possible-san," the old man complimented her. "What lesson can you glean from that experience?"
"I would say to let Ron deal with frightened people," Kim mused. "But your education doesn't seem to deal in specifics. You like to deal in generalities, so I assume you want a more broad answer that includes my first answer?"
Sensei nodded once, slowly, with a smile on his face.
"Okay, here goes," Kim said. "I have to accept that Ron, and others around me, are going to be just as good, or even better, at some things than I am. I need to accept this and not allow my own competitiveness to make me do something foolish."
"Very close, Possible-san," Sensei's voice was very happy. "The lesson I sought to instill was that you, as the leader, must seek to employ your follower's unique talents, rather than attempting to do everything yourself."
"Ron is my partner," Kim insisted. "Not my follower."
"If I may, Sensei?" Ron cut in. Sensei nodded to the younger man.
"I am your follower on the missions," Ron explained to Kim. "Just like Wade is our support system. I don't mind, in fact I insist on it. KP, you're the best one to make the mission decisions. Sure, Wade might actually be smarter than you, but he isn't as good at making the calls when the pressure's on."
"Okay, so I call the shots," Kim allowed. "But there's still something missing. Sensei, I can't believe that you would call us all the way here just to tell me to make use of Ron's unique abilities. There's something that goes beyond all the physical and synergy training."
"Indeed there is, Possible-san." Sensei agreed with her. "And it is now time for more secrets to be revealed. But first, what do you know about Stoppable-san's Mystical Monkey Power?"
"Just a little more than what you told me in Arizona," Kim replied. " I know that it enhances his Tai Sheng Pek Kwar skills, that he can use it to communicate with you, and that he can use it to accelerate his healing."
"Indeed, Possible-san," the old said. "Now, I shall reveal two more aspects of this power's manifestations within Stoppable-san. The first aspect is what we refer to as the Ultimate Monkey Master. Stoppable-san has an influence upon all things simian. This aspect manifested itself within Stoppable-san during his last struggle with Lord Fisk."
"Ron can command monkeys?" Kim gave her BFBF a hard look.
"Command is too strong a term, Possible-san," Sensei corrected. "Stoppable-san is capable of influencingmonkeys. The subject of his influence experiences what you would consider a strong suggestion. Therefore, he has a greater chance of success when he tries to cause a monkey to perform an action that is not…out of character for the monkey to perform. For instance, during his fight with Fisk, he influenced the last of Fisk's trained monkeys to leave in peace. Had Stoppable-san attempted to make the monkey attack Fisk, he certainly would have failed."
"Just how strong of a suggestion is he capable of delivering?" Kim asked.
"How do you quantify the strength of suggestion, Possible-san?" The old man asked in return. When Kim couldn't answer he continued. "Stoppable-san is now able to influence a trained monkey to ignore its training and act in accordance with its own nature. As Stoppable-san continues his efforts to attune himself with the Mystical Monkey Power, his influence will grow stronger."
"Okay, I think I can understand that," Kim mused. "He can get monkeys to do things that he tells them to. Does that mean he can communicate with them?"
'Very perceptive, Possible-san," Sensei approved. "Yet, even with this ability monkeys will remain…monkeys. They are only able to convey to him and understand from him, that what their minds are capable of grasping."
"In other words, don't influence a spider monkey to try to do my algebra homework?" Ron sought clarification.
"I see you are using your humor to see if you understand," Senseichuckled. "You are correct, of course. You will be able to influence simians to perform acts that are within their abilities. Being the Supreme Monkey Master will not give your subjects abilities that they do not posses. We have already discussed the ethical concerns."
"Ethical concerns?" Kim definitely wanted to know when ethics and her boyfriend intersected.
"That's what all of the morality and honor debates have been about," Ron explained. "Just because I can influence a monkey doesn't mean that I shouldinfluence a monkey. I think that's part of the reason that the MMP hasn't embraced Monty."
"Indeed, Stoppable-san," Sensei agreed. "Lord Fisk has, in the past, instructed his trained monkeys to attack trained martial artists, even though he knew that they stood no chance against them. This is an abuse of his influence, using the monkeys as cannon fodder, if you will. Stoppable-san's…morality…is a reason why the Mystical Monkey Power has chosen to manifest this aspect in him."
"I think I can grasp this," Kim replied. "But you said that you had two aspects to reveal to me."
"Yes, Possible-san," the old man confirmed. "The Mystical Monkey Power may, under certain circumstances, enhance Stoppable-san's physical abilities. It may give him short bursts of enhanced strength, speed, and agility. Stoppable-san was able to utilize this aspect, as well, in his last confrontation with Lord Fisk."
"So Ron can become some kind of superman when he wants to?" Kim asked.
"It is not fully controlled by his desire, but rather by his need and the severity of the situation," Sensei corrected her. "Let me offer an example. During Stoppable-san's last struggle, Lord Fisk had gained the upper hand and was strangling him. Stoppable-san realized that if he fell, Lord Fisk would become a raving madman. Stoppable-san also knew that he had been getting the better of Lord Fisk. When Stoppable-san accepted his duty to halt Fisk, the Mystical Monkey Power enhanced his strength so that he could protect the world from an irrational murderer. Since Stoppable-san knew that he was a match for Fisk, the Mystical Monkey Power granted him only a slight enhancement."
"Now," Sensei continued. "Let us look at a hypothetical situation; Stoppable-san playing on your high school football team. Place him as a cornerback, with time running out and your team up by four points. The opposing receiver breaks past him and is heading for the endzone. The opposing quarterback throws the pass, it's on target, and the receiver has two steps on Stoppable-san. The Mystical Monkey Power will not enhance Stoppable-san's speed, since Stoppable-san knows that the consequence of failure, a lost game, simply isn't severe."
"Uh, Sensei," Ron said. "I understand the Allegheny…"
"Analogy," Kim interjected.
"That too," Ron continued. "About the football game, but I just didn't peg you for a football fan."
"I greatly enjoy American rules football," The old man replied.
"So let me get this straight," Kim decided that it was time for confirmation. "The MMP will crank Ron up, depending on how much he needs it to, and how much is at stake?"
"And how attuned he is to the power," Sensei added. "Even given the danger he found himself in, and the serious consequences for failure, the Mystical Monkey Power was able to enhance him just enough to defeat Fisk. I doubt that he would have been able to defeat the green woman, Shego."
Kim and Ron sat, eating silently for several minutes, dealing with what Sensei had just revealed to Kim. Finally, Kim organized her additional concerns.
"Ron?" She asked her best friend/boyfriend/partner. "How much of this do your parents know?"
"Nothing," he answered, clearly unhappy with the fact. "They think that this is simply a cultural exchange program, that Monty is some whacked-out criminal who's fixated on me, and that I've gotten tougher by helping you and spending time on the wrestling mat."
Kim nodded.
"Sensei, there's still more that you haven't revealed, isn't there?" Her tone was very polite when addressing the elder.
"Indeed, child," for some reason, she wasn't offended when he called her that. "There are things that I have revealed to Stoppable-san, but not to you and there are things that I have not revealed even to Stoppable-san. Some items I may reveal to either, or both of you in the future. Some items I will keep secret, even to my full-time students."
Kim nodded again, she didn't like secrets, but she could appreciate the old man's responsibilities.
"If you don't mind me asking, what will we try to accomplish during our last week?"
"There will be much more of the same," answered the headmaster. "We will continue to hone both of your physical abilities and individual martial arts skills. The two of you will continue to receive teamwork training, both combat and otherwise. You, Possible-san, shall receive continued continuing leadership training, under more grueling conditions. Finally, Stoppable-san shall receive more training to attune himself with the Mystical Monkey Power, as well as training in American rules football."
"Football?" Ron blurted out, forgetting his manners for the moment. "Why are you going to teach me football?"
"Several reasons, young Stoppable," Sensei took no offense at Ron's outburst. "First, your success on the football field will provide more cover for Yamanouchi, by providing an alternate explanation for your growing confidence. Secondly, as I said before, I enjoy watching American rules football, and I will be able to see you compete if you become a starter. The final reason deals with young Possible here."
"Me?" Kim had also forgotten her manners.
"You cheer at the football games, do you not?"
Kim nodded.
"If we work with Stoppable-san, his natural speed and agility will make him a starter," Sensei's face broke out with a very wide smile. "Possible-san, don't you like the idea of cheering for your boyfriend?"
A/N: I would like to thank everybody, again, who has read and reviewed. I would like to send out a big thank you to Joe Stoppinghem for his Beta services. I also must appologize for failing to mention Joe's assistance in the last chapter.