In Ranma Mizuno's timeline, this was not how things had gone. Ranma Mizuno had learned from dozens of martial artists over the years because he had a natural talent for such. His grades were decent, but the only time he approached excellence in that arena was when his sister Ami was tutoring him. Ranma had gotten into a number of fights over the years, but it wasn't a constant struggle and conflict. Instead he'd turned nearly anything he could into martial arts training because he seemed to have that talent in this direction and because of a martial arts movie he'd seen years ago that had featured a shih or "Chinese Knight" practicing martial arts to save villagers and unleash fists of justice upon the wicked. At age eight, that had been pretty cool and he'd decided that was what he wanted to be when he grew up.
Were the two to meet and fight full out in a martial arts battle, Ranma Saotome would have beaten Ranma Mizuno without strain. Ranma Mizuno simply didn't have that level of drive to always win, for one thing he'd consider it a conditional win if he learned something from the fight and the opponent showed him a measure of respect. The only way he'd get his dander up and keep coming back was if the opponent dissed him or threatened his sister.
Another difference was that Ranma Mizuno had grown up with a sister. A sister that would occasionally hit him with pranks. A sister that would occasionally bake him cookies. A sister who would cry on his shoulder, usually for things that made absolutely no sense to him why anyone would get upset. (Such as missing a question on a Biology test because she misunderstood how it was worded.) So Ranma Mizuno had learned a skill that would have been invaluable to Ranma Saotome.
He knew how to keep his mouth shut. Sometimes he regretted not using it more, but he was quite capable of it.
So when a GODDESS was training him in combat, he exercised that skill.
Viking God Style Martial Arts involved weapon use, endurance, and strength training. Lots of tests, usually failed the first time around, and the occasional mocking comment to rile him up. This was Sif, goddess of excellence of battle, who was married to Thor, god of thunder, who was known for a temper. Getting mad was playing into her hands, so Ranma was learning an entirely different manuever as he fought against that tactic.
He called it the 'Soul Of Ice' - retreating behind a wall of discipline and focus. What surprised him was that as he developed it here in this einherjar training grounds - he kept having to brush frost off of his body.
In the meantime his weapon was being finished. Mjolnir being missing had seen the commission of a second such hammer. Here was a hero trying to fight ettin and protect his sister, both perfectly acceptable goals. He had returned Mjolnir, so the copy wasn't necessary. A weapon of some kind was mandated.
Odin kept an eye (one of Hugin's actually) on the boy's progress. It looked as if that slight chance was manifesting. The boy was showing the sort of stamina one might expect of a distant relative of himself, more of the absence of Genma making itself felt. Was that a streak of red hair as well or was it just the lighting there in the training hall?
Of course with the Mizuno family connection to water, hence the name "of water", and the connection to himself - this meant that not only Odin but practically everyone could see what the result would be.
As for Ranma, what he was now being trained in as his specialty weapon was:
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(Posted Fri, 11 Mar 2005 08:35)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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