As Sokka left the training house his mood turned darker. Seeing this Cologne left to follow him. Sokka had just gone a little into the woods, kicking the occasional rock when a voice came from behind him. "I see that the injuries to your ego are quite series, sonny.” Sokka jumped as he turned to see Cologne standing on her staff as she looked at him.
"Still it is good that it has happened. Perhaps you have increased your wisdom?" Cologne asked, using her staff to pogo a bit closer.
"What? That I was beaten by some dumb girls? It's nothing," Sokka said glumly as he took a seat on a large tree root. "I mean they just used some kind of dirty trick to cheat. That's all."
"Actually they were using a form of martial arts. Many martial arts in my world have the ability to use the strength and aggression of the attacker against them, including the art that your sister practices. With those skills, you can defeat someone stronger and bigger than you in a simplistic manner," Cologne said adding, "So cheating is not the words I would use. The word would be your ignorance."
"Ignorant? Me?" Sokka said getting worked up by her accusations, frustration clearly in his eyes as Cologne continued.
"You underestimated your opponent because she was a woman. Ranma has a bit of the same problem. He doesn't like fighting girls if he can help it as he doesn't like seeing girls hurt. Ranma, however, knows that women can be powerful warriors and if he wants to defeat them he must respect them like that," Cologne said as she took out a tea set and started to drink down a cup of the warm liquid. “Though to tell the truth he still has a long way to go before he can respect any opponent he faces as an equal.”
"One of the greatest pieces of advice my grandmother gave me was to believe that if I had to misjudge my opponent, it was best to believe him better than me rather than believe him weaker. If I would do that, I would be prepared for the worst, but pleasantly surprised if things turned out for the best." Cologne smiled as she looked at Sokka.
"So what do I do now? I know that the girls are better than me. But how do I get over that?" Sokka asked starting to clam down.
"You could ask the girls to teach you, if you want to improve your combat experience." Cologne said, as she mentally counted down the time till the explosion.
"WHAT!?! You expect me to go crawling back to them, after I humiliated myself in front of them!" Sokka exploded.
"Ranma has discovered that sometimes you have to swallow your pride to become better, though it’s always been like pulling teeth for him. Besides, all you have to do is show the girls some respect and be willing to swallow that overwhelming pride of yours and they should be willing to aid you in your quest to improve yourself," Cologne said finishing up her tea. Smiling she added, "Or if you are not willing to train as a man, I could give you a female point of view with a temporary water curse like Ranma's."
Sokka paled as an image of himself, looking a lot like a mature version of his sister appeared in his mind. The fact that the image had larger breasts than his sisters also kept him quiet for a few minutes. "You know, humility is a virtue. Just give me a few minutes before I try it. Okay?" Sokka got up and slowly moved away from Cologne. The elder honestly tried to suppress the giggle that was coming up her throat. A few cackles did get out though.
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(Posted Fri, 02 Jun 2006 16:43)
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