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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters here that belong to Ranma 1/2. The Ranma 1/2 cast belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. Nor do I own Suikoden 3 or any other characters that I put into this story except for my own OCs. Neither do I own any of the character in any of the crossovers I do. I'm just using them in this fanfiction and I have no money so don't bother suing me. You'll just lose money instead of gaining any. And remember to leave a review!
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Chapter 47– Training Days
Ranma stood in front of his three new students that he agreed to train on the river bank that's outside the village near the cabin that he made his home in. Ever since he came to this village all of the young women have been following him around. He has been trying to get them to back down, but they still try to get him to become their boyfriend. He knows that once he finds a way back home that he can't bring any of them back with him as his new homeworld is way too different from this world and that the girls would kill him if he brings back another horde of women. He decided to start things off by building up their bodies before he started to train them to fight.
"So tell me again why are we dress like this?" Sokka asks as he Aang and Katara are dress in long sleeve red shirts and black pants with a pair of shoes that are like slippers. While he didn't mind having a new pair of clothes to wear he did mind that on each of their arms they all wore metal bracelets that each weigh in at five pounds and metal ankle bracelets that weighed ten pounds each, to top it off he and Aang wore strange vests that weighed twenty pounds. And Katara on the other hand wore shoulder pads that weigh ten and a belt with small iron weights inserted in it that weighed another ten pounds, since unlike either of them Katara was developing into a young women so she couldn't wear a weighed vest. In all the weights totaled in all that each of them weighed an extra fifty pounds each.
"You three wanted me to train you and this is how I train you guys," Ranma said while looking at his three students over. In the river Appa is enjoying a swim as Momo is playing around with some frogs that he managed to scare up.
"Then why do we have to wear all of this armor for?" Aang asks as he didn't like to be weighed down like this.
"They are not armor they are weights that make your bodies hard to move around," Ranma answer.
"And these weights will help us how?" Katara asks as she has no idea why she was here as she's a Water Bender not a hand's on fighter like Aang and her brother.
"I notice that you Katara use something that's very close to Tai Chi a form of a hand-to-hand fighting style in your Water Bending that I'm familiar with. And you Aang your bending movements are like the Bagua fighting style that I know. I figure that if I train you two in perfecting those fighting styles you'll be able to use the bending skills better." (1)
"Really?" Aang asks as he had heard of unarm fighting styles but never heard of those styles before.
"Sure all of the bending moves need movement to be used. So that means that, the faster and more skillful movements will make you two more powerful benders," Ranma explained to them.
"And you will also go and help me become a stronger warrior?" Sokka asks.
"Yes and now for your workout today," Ranma said as he pulled out three knives and threw each of them at three tall wooden poles that stuck out of the ground. The knives each hit near the top of each of them, "Is that once you guys are able to climb up these poles with the weights on then your lessons with me will be done."
"What we have to climb up all the way up there with these weights?" Aang asks as he could barely move around as it is.
"You guys have to learn to walk before you can jump," Ranma said, "In other words you guys have to get your bodies to get use to the weights by wearing them all of the time only taking them off at night."
"WHAT!" All three of them shouted. They couldn't believe that their new teacher wanted them to do.
"Yes and the best way to do it, is by you guys going and helping around the village like helping with building the wall they are putting up around the village," Ranma said as he was doing the same kind of training that he saw in Dragonball, "And you guys can't use any bending to help you guys with the building of the wall or you won't be building up your body strength."
"I thought that we were going to learn some cool fighting moves not go around and build up walls," Sokka grumble.
"Learning to fight is more then just throwing a punch," Ranma said, "A true fighter is someone that has a goal that they want. Those knives on those three poles are what you three are climbing towards. You three have to face yourselves as one's worse enemy is themselves. You three can try anytime that you like to climb up the poles and remember that every time that you fall is that you only fail when you stop trying."
"Alright but what will happen when we do reach the top?" Sokka asks.
"Well you see," Ranma smile as he pointed to an old tree stump. He jump straight up into the air and flew downwards like an arrow at the tree stump hitting it with his leg splitting it from its center. Ranma turn around to see all three youngest looking at him with wide eyes, "When you guys are strong enough to reach the knives at the top of the poles, I'll begin to train you guys in my fighting style."
"Great! Appa, Momo take care," Aang shouted as he ran as fast as he could with the weights on him to the wall that's being built.
"Also, you will be staying with me as long as you are to be around here," Ranma said to Katara as she seems to be the one that keeps everything in order for the group.
"Thanks for taking us in," Katara said as she and her brother walk the best they could to the construction site.
"Well as long as I'm here I should help as best as I can," Ranma said to himself as he looked at the Lightning Rune that replace his Chimera Rune. Wondering how he's going to teach that young Air Bender to use lightning when he could only do it with magic not natural like some of the people here can. Then he felt something coming at him that both of the animals of the company sensed too and the power coming from whoever was coming is huge…
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Near the Fire Army Base –
Zuko lashed out at the targets that he set up in a rocky outcropping. He's been training as best as he could as he knows that once his sister and her troops arrive that he has to be prepared to fight her. He knew that she would go after their uncle once she gets here. Uncle Iroh is still a powerful Fire Bender but age has taken its toll on him and while he's still a skillful warrior he's not as strong as he was before. His uncle has given up so much for him that he couldn't let himself fail to protect him. He punched his fist throwing a fireball at a large rock with enough force to break a chunk of it off.
"You know if you really want to train you should build up your body and style first before you try anymore fire bending."
"Who's there?" Zuko shouted as he looks around for where the voice came from.
Out from behind a bolder a man dress in strange armor came into Zuko sights. He wore a helmet that covered his face leaving only his lower jaws expose, "Well now Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation how's your training coming along?"
"Who are you? Did my father send you?" Zuko asks as he took a stands ready to fight this stranger.
"No I'm just a traveling mercenary. You can call me Raiden," the man said.
"What do you want Raiden?" Zuko shouted.
"I have been watching you fight and I must say you can do better," Raiden said.
"And how do you think I could do better?" Zuko ask keeping his guard up.
"For one thing, you let your rage get the better of you. You let it take control of you when you use your Fire Bending. If you keep on letting your rage to control you, very soon your rage will become you," Raiden explain to him.
"And you think you know how to make me better?" Zuko shouted at him.
"Yes I do, but it's yourself who is keeping you from becoming stronger," Raiden said, "But since action are stronger then words fight me and you'll see for yourself how far you have to go."
"Find then," Zuko shouted as he punch his fists in rapid substation firing fireballs at Raiden. But he just stood there as the fireballs stuck around him unfazed of how close the fireballs were hitting around him. Zuko growled as he saw that the older man wasn't even taking him seriously, "What… you want to be hit… start fighting?"
"Only if you manage to firer straight I would start fighting," Raiden smiled at him.
Zuko let out a war cry as he waved his hands around forming a massive fireball above him and threw it at the smiling older man. Raiden waited till the last second before he made his move. Faster then Zuko eyes could follow Raiden was in front of the fireball then behind it the next, the fireball struck the rocks that are behind him now. Zuko began throwing punches and kicks sending fire strikes at him as fast as he could move his body. But each time Raiden simply dodged each of his attacks and all awhile he wore a smirk that made Zuko all the more mad, as more of his attacks miss. He leaped at Raiden trying to get close enough to hit him. Each of his strikes were block or redirected by Raiden as he hit his limbs making the fire attacks flew away from him as if he knew what move he was going to throw at him next. Zuko let out a scream of utter rage as he forced all of his power into one massive attack that engulfed the entire training area in flames.
Looking around breathing hard all that Zuko saw was a burnt up rocky area. He suddenly felt the cold edge of a sword at the side of his neck, "You lose."
"What… How did you?" Zuko ask as he was sure that he couldn't have outrun the blast and make his way to his blind backside so fast.
"I could have killed at anytime you know," Raiden said as he resheathed his sword as he walk in front of Zuko, "You simply let your rage take the better of you too much you know."
"So what now," Zuko asks as he saw he's no match for him.
"Tell me… If you do catch the Avatar, what will you do as the new Fire Lord?" Raiden asks him, "Will you become like your father and continue this meaningless war that was started by the burning desires of your father to rule this world?"
"No… I have no desire to continue this war, so much blood has been shed thanks to my father's ambition. I just wish to end this war before it's too late to stop my father," Zuko said.
Raiden had kept his eyes lock on the younger man's eyes as he wanted to make sure that he's telling the truth, "Well, well… you know this is the first time that I have met a prince that isn't all full of himself. All of the princes that I have met before all thought of themselves higher then others, that they can play around with the lives of others because they are royalty. But looking in your eyes I see that you're different. By being banished from the Fire Nation, has allowed you to grow up without being treated like you're better then everyone else around you. And that has gained you something that none of the princes that, I have met didn't have. This means that I can train you to become stronger then you are now."
"You want to make me stronger?" Zuko asks.
"Yes I do, you are the heir of the Fire Nation but you also don't share the ideals of your father. So I want to help you to become stronger then your father or that sister of yours," Raiden said as he pointed at something to the right. Zuko looks to see a set of armor that suddenly appeared out of nowhere to the right of him. A set of arm and ankle bracelets and a vest colored red, "Those things are weights that you must wear all the time but when you sleep. The arm bracelets all weigh at five pounds each, the ankle weigh at ten each and the vest weighs at twenty making your weight fifty pounds heavier when you wear them. Your body will take time to get use to the weights but when you're able to move around without any trouble but when you can move as if you aren't wearing weights you'll become stronger. When you take them off after getting use to them you'll become stronger and faster then you were before."
"Who are you really? And why should I accept this offer?" Zuko asks as he looks at the weights wondering if he should try to use this strange training method it sounds sound as the armor that soldiers wear are heavy and when they take them off they become much faster.
"It's your choice whether or not you choose to take my help. A helping hand now and then doesn't make you weak you know. It is how you use the help that makes you either strong or weak," Raiden said as he leaped onto a bolder and jump to the next, jumping out of his sights.
Alone Zuko stared at the weights that the man Raiden say that will make him stronger if he wears them. Weighing his choices he decided to take this helping hand as this will make him stronger. Clamping the bracelets on and putting on the vest Zuko found it hard for him to move as he isn't use to this kind of weight on him. Standing up to his full height he began to walk back to the base his will compiling him to become stronger then he is now.
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Back at the Earth Village –
"Come on put your backs into it," Aang shouted as he help a team of workers to place a stone block on the wall their building. Appa who had shown up awhile ago is helping out by pulling or shoving up blocks to the ramps for the stone wall that will protect the village from attacks from the Fire Nation.
"Man this is hard work," Sokka said as he pulled up a bucket of mortar by a pulley up to the wall, "And these weights aren't helping."
"Come on you do want to get stronger," Katara said as she use her Water Bending to mix the mortar as the Earth Benders of the village work to make more stone blocks. Since there are only fifteen Earth Benders in the entire village they were needed to build up strong stone blocks so that the people working on the wall and put them into place. Leaving only the heavies of the stone blocks to be lifted up the rumps by the benders, setting them on the most vulnerable parts of the wall were it's the easiest to get troops through.
"And if we want to be aloud to learn those cool moves, like that tree splitting thing, we have to work hard," Aang said as he went back down to get another block.
"I know," Sokka said as he began pouring the mortar down for the next block to be place on.
Katara turns to the Earth Bender a woman who's a couple of years older then she is. She's taller then Katara is and has locks of rich brown hair and a much more mature built on her as well. She is also wearing a set of weights on her that's just like her own, "By the way I been wondering why don't you benders just go and make a stone wall instead of all of this work building one up?"
"Well you see if we did we wouldn't be able to make it as strong as it will be after we get the cement coating over it. Ranma showed us that a wall that's been built up with stone blocks that we benders made and bonded and coated with cement is stronger then a wall that we can make. I'm sure that there are Earth Benders that can make a wall stronger then this one but all of them are at the big cities and with the army," the older woman said.
"Really? So this cement is something that Ranma showed your people how to make?" she asks her.
"Yeah something that he said he learn the hard way of making," the older woman said as she use her bending to crush rocks and drop them into the mixture that she and Katara bended together to mix up well.
As she mixed the new cement Katara suddenly spotted a strange man that's standing in plain sight. His clothes are strange as she never seen anything like them before. He's wearing an open long sleeved purple jacket, blue overalls with the legs tuck into orange color boots. The sleeves were warp around his body that seemed to keep his arms from moving at all. He also wore a green hat that's very tall, with red bands running across it. He wore a pair of yellow lens goggles that hide his eyes from view. His lower face was painted like that of a clown that she has seen as they had traveled across the lands but instead of white face paint it was yellow-green paint covering his lower face. Two blue triangles dotted his two cheeks were the only other paint on his face. Two planks of wood were strap onto his back held by two belts that were crisscrossing his chest under his tied up arms making an X shape on his back. And a tread was on each end of the planks connected to one of his limbs like a string puppet that she seen people play with now and then. His legs were warp with many belts almost hiding his legs from view making sure that the only way that he'll be able to move around was by hopping. But that wasn't the strange thing about him. What was strange was that she seems to be the only one that could see him as people walk on by him without even a second glances at the strange man that's standing out in the open for anyone to see.
He wave at her and Katara gave a small wave back and turn to the Earth Bender pointing her hand towards him, "Hey do you know who's that strange man is, the one in those strange clothes?"
"What guy?" she asks as she looks straight at the man but didn't seem to be able to see him.
"You can't see him?" Katara asks as she saw the strange man hopping his way towards a barn. He stops just once and look straight at her before hopping through the barn doors, "I'll be back."
Katara ran over as fast as she could with the weights she wearing. Once in the barn she looks around but didn't spot the strange man anywhere. She knew that he couldn't have gone far not with his arms and legs bond like that.
"Well now look at what we have here."
Looking up she spotted the man with the strange hat standing on the second level of the barn. She saw that the ladder is up but how he got up there without using his arms or legs she hasn't a clue, "Umm who are you?"
"I'm known by many titles that crazy guy, that mad man, that loon, but I prefer to be call Mad Hat," the man said smiling at her as she climb the ladder.
"Why am I the only one that can see you?" Katara asks as she wants to know.
"Simple really because I want you to see me," the man Mad Hat smiled at her, "I have the power to make people see things that I want and what I don't want as well. You must be wondering why I'm doing all of this only letting you see me while everyone else can't. Well that my dear is that I want to help my old friend the Avatar."
"Wait you know Aang?" Katara asks.
"Yes I have been around for a very, very long time I pre-date the Moon and Ocean spirits," Mad Hat smile at her.
"Wait you're a spirit?" Katara ask as she already knows that spirits can cross over to this world.
"Yes you can think of me as that if you want. I'm the Spirit of Madness, who has always been as the line of saneness and madness is a very thin line. Because it takes madness to know what I know," Mad Hat said in a singing tone of voice.
"What do you know?" she asks him as she tries to make some sense out of him.
"I know everything there is to know," Mad Hat smiled at her, "But don't expect any kind of straight answer out of me. For I never give out a straight answer to any questions asked of me. I maybe telling the truth or I maybe telling a lie, only I know what I'm saying is true or not only Mad Hat knows. But since me and the Avatar go way back I will say this. As long as you are with him Aang won't fail in his mission. I know that you and him share feelings for each other, that bond that you both share will help him to become what he needs to become." (2)
"What?" Katara said as she began blushing, "But I don't think of Aang in that way!"
"Sure my dear if you say so," Mad Hat smiled at her, "You should know that if you don't follow your feelings someone else might get him instead you know. Aang is the last Air Bender after all and through him is the future of his tribe. When he gets older many families will try to get their daughters to marry him as any child of his will become a powerful bender. And through his children the chances of them becoming Air Benders is very likely. You should follow those feelings of yours before he falls for someone else."
"Umm… why are you telling this to me?" Katara asks him as her face is very flush.
"Hehee hehe well the reason is simple really. It's been a long time since the Avatar has met someone that he has strong feelings towards at such a young age as he is now," Mad Hat smiled at her as he suddenly hopped out of the barn window that's wide open.
Katara rush to the window looking for where he landed but as she looks around she couldn't find a trace of him anywhere.
"Hey Katara we need you to mix up some more cement here!" Sokka shouted over to her.
"Coming," Katara shouted back wondering what she should do now. As she stared at Aang as he place a stone block into place, 'Should I tell him?' She wondered as she didn't know what to do now.
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Two weeks later –
As the days pass Aang and the others rose up early to help with the construction of the stone wall. As they work they noticed that there are a lot of people that wore the same kind of weights that they are wearing. The Female Earth Bender who is name Katt told them that they have been wearing the weights since Ranma told them that it will make them stronger. And many of the young women of the village like Katt are after him, for either because of his good looks or for that he's a Lightning Bender.
Katara has been seeing that strange man calling himself Mad Hat a few more times the following two weeks. Each time he talked in rhyme that left her wondering whether or not if she should listen to him or not. She did find out something strange about him. Young children and animals are able to see him while anyone older then the age of two couldn't see him. He also can talk to them and understand what they are saying. The parents of the villager starting to wonder why their kids are playing with something that isn't there.
When they weren't working on the wall, Ranma has been putting them through their paces in their training. He had them try to pull nuts out of a camp fire without burning their hands in which happened a lot, especially with Sokka. Ranma said that this would increase their arm speed that Sokka highly doubted. That was until he showed them the 'KATCHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN' sending hundreds of punches flying in the air in seconds. After that Aang really got into Ranma's training. He's been making the most progress in the fighting style that he's been showing them. Aang is also beginning to learn to do Earth Bending from Katt and he's starting to show signs of Earth Bending as Ranma is also running him through the style of fighting that is base on Earth Bending. Sokka and Katara both show signs of being able to fight well with the training that they have been doing, and that they haven't taken off the weights since they first put them on. And slowly they are getting use to them as their bodies started to gain strength on holding up the weights. Then they learn about the side effect of weight training.
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"What!" Sokka shouted, "You mean that if we continue to use these weights it will stunt our growth?"
"Well that what happens with weight training on young people like you three," Ranma said.
"But I don't want to be short for the rest of my life!" Aang shouted as he didn't want to be the same height when he grows up. He wasn't supposed to get shorter till after he starts getting real old.
"Is there someway that we can weight train without having stunt growth?" Katara ask as she didn't want to be this short either.
"Well I can do some presser points on your backs that will help in keeping you three from having stunted growth," Ranma said seeing the relief in the kid's eyes, "And once you guys get use to the weights you only wear them once awhile so that you give your bodies a chance to grow."
"That's good," Aang said, "So can you show me how to sense people's aura now?"
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Ranma began training Aang and Katara in feeling their surroundings to sense people with powerful auras. Since both of them use ki in their bending they were able to progress fast. Ranma plans to begin to show them the steps to start using their ki energy as they are already using their ki in their bending. Sokka on the other hand been trying to climb the wooden pole to reach the knife stuck on top of it. He hasn't been able to reach the top let but he is getting higher up each time he tries. Also Ranma can see that he has a deep burning desire to become stronger and why he's been able to make such a fast progress in getting use to the weights he's wearing. (3)
Because of their will to become stronger is so strong, they have been able to make progress faster then Ranma had imagined. The wall is nearing completion as Aang, Katara and Sokka work as hard as they could in getting the village defense ready for any attack that the Fire Nation might throw at them. They have also been working on the tank that Ranma manage to take from the wagon train that he had destroyed. With the supplies that he took from them and the weapons that been taken from the abandon out posts the entire village is ready to fight off almost any attack by the Fire Nation soldiers.
Ranma watched as the three youngsters try to climb up the wooden poles after two weeks of building up their bodies. When he felt someone appearing behind him, "So how's your end of the plan going?" he asks in a soft voice so only the person behind him could hear.
"The stage is all set up and once Aang gains the power of Lightning you'll be able to go to the world where Jeane is at to pick her up."
Ranma nodded, "If I didn't meet up with these villagers I would have just gotten you to send me back home."
"I know you love them all dearly, I know that well. But having some alone time will help you as your emotions are still wild when you left. You need to be balanced with yourself again before you can fight against that man Anarchy."
"How come I have the feeling that you already know who he is?"
"Maybe I know, or maybe not. But if I told you how this stage performance plays out, that we are all actors in, it wouldn't be much of a show then would it."
"Well I can see that I can't get anything out of you. But tell me how are the others doing without me?"
"Time is almost to the stand still only a few hours or days will pass before you and the others get back home. So take this time to turn back into the person that you use to be or you will become what you hate the most."
"I know, I know so much has happened so quickly I know that I have changed from the person that I use to be."
"Good that means that you'll be able to change back than," he smiled as he disappeared again.
"Hey Ranma we did it!" Aang shouted as he, Katara and Sokka manage to climb up to the top of the poles.
"Yeah these weights aren't as heavy as they were before now," Katara shouted over.
"Are you going to train us in your fighting style now?" Sokka ask as he pulls out the knife from the pole.
"Alright get ready for the hard part now," Ranma said as he only has a few more days to train them before the Fire Nation reinforcements get here. For the second part of the play that's being playing out before them.
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Next Time – Princess Zula and her Viper Unit arrives at the Fire Nation base. There Zula finds that her brother has change a lot from the last time that she has seen him. The Viper members are sent out to sneak into the Earth Village to find the Lightning Bender and get him to change sides. Aang and the others on the meanwhile are now students of Ranma's fighting style becoming stronger then they were before. Next time in 'Enter the Vipers'.
I also finally got a new pre-reader Dralan The One.
Author's Notes
1 – All of the bending forms that are use in the show are base on fighting styles.
2 – Mad Hat is like the Cheshire Cat from Wonder Land. He knows everything but never really helps or really gets in the way either. And because of the way he acts no one know if what he's saying is true or not.
3 – Those who didn't watch the last episode of Avatar Sokka fell in love with a princess who gave up her human form to become one with the Moon Spirit.
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