Meanwhile, in another part of the city of Omashu...
"You must concentrate on expanding your senses, expanding that which you know as danger sense so instead of picking up harmful intent you pick up the feeling of chi being naturally released by the body. Only by doing this will you be able to find a person with chi and learn the secrets of the Hero Women tribe's chi tracking technique," Shampoo explained trying to teach Ranma the skills that he would need to use the technique that she used often. She had spent weeks learning to perfect the art of tracking that her people used to survive in the hinterlands of China while avoiding the harsh government of her homeland.
She had decided to use as a target one of the easiest figures to track in this world, Aang the Avatar. The young boy had more power than anyone else in this world, with a surging of chi that could be easily found by anyone who had the skill of tracking that energy. Even now, Shampoo could feel the location of the Avatar as he went his separate way with the other natives of this world. The Amazon was now using that as a tool to teach Ranma, for if he could point out the direction of Aang from the park that they were practicing in he would have learned the skill’s basic elements.
Ranma was sitting before Shampoo in the lotus position, his eyes closed as he concentrated his sense on the matter at hand. He was breathing in deeply and in a regular pattern as his eyes twitched behind their lids, a fine glow of chi rising off him as he directed all of his energies in the lesson. It took a few moments before he reacted and raised his arm and pointed. He spoke, "Aang-sensei is in that direction about a half mile from here."
"Good, not perfect but still good. You have the direction right, but you are a little off on the distance. But that will improve with more practice." Shampoo was impressed with the speed Ranma had in learning techniques, once he got the basics of the techniques that he was trying to absorb that was. She knew that the distance would be off, it always was for beginners, but it was a start. Ranma opened his eyes and smiled at Shampoo, which caused her to use all of her willpower to stop herself from leaping on to Ranma with a tight hug.
"For the next step, you must focus on learning Shampoo's chi. It will not be as powerful as Aang's chi so it will be much harder to find in the crowded city. So Shampoo will confine herself to the area of the park making it easier for you to find Shampoo," she told Ranma as she prepared for the next step of the training, one that would be much harder for Ranma.
"What do ya mean find ya? What are ya planning Shampoo?" Ranma asked his voice filled with curiosity about what it was that she was planning.
She smiled as she spoke, "We are going to play a little game of hide and seek, which in itself is a good training method for tracking even if it is a children's game. But to make it harder, you are to only use your ability of sensing Shampoo's chi to find Shampoo when she hides. Shampoo is trained in hiding so using your chi tracking will be the only way to find Shampoo," she told him as she tried to bring out her chi aura so that Ranma could focus on it and identify it from other chi signatures.
Ranma looked at her hard as he sat in front of her. His senses were open to the fundamental energies that came from Shampoo and all living things. Shampoo knew that it would be like a scent or image of the person, as individual as a fingerprint. By discovering this essence of her nature Ranma should be able to track her from one end of the park to another. With more practice this should be able to expand from a matter of feet to miles and miles of distance between the hunter and the hunted.
Ranma relaxed and said, "I think I have it Shampoo. I think that I know your chi aura. I am ready ta play hide and seek with ya."
"We will see," was all she said as she disappeared from sight with great speed blending into the mixture of woods and fields that made up the park. Ranma took a breath, stood up and closed his eyes as he used the technique to try and track the young woman and find her hiding place. After a minute, he headed out towards the woods.
Elsewhere in the city of Omashu...
Cologne was using all the skills that she had developed in gathering information, trying to learn the basics of earthbending so that she could teach her great-granddaughter the art that she had gained from this world. The skills that she used were simple yet varied in nature, each meant to gain as much information about a subject without having said subject discover that you were up to.
The first step was observation; using what she could see to help her understand the basic steps. Watching the guards opening the gates when they entered and then studying the transportation system that was used in the city gave her an idea of what kind of martial arts was the basis of earthbending.
'It looks like the style that is the base for this power is Hung Gar which makes sense as a user must be deeply rooted with the ground and the strikes of this school were always powerful. It complements the nature of earth and this is the only southern style of martial arts in all of bending. Tai Chi, Ba Gua and Northern-style Shaolin martial arts are all northern styles meant to be used on the vast planes of northern China. Plenty of room for speed moves and leaping that is common in all three schools, which is different from the mountainous regions of the south. In the south, there is less room for speed and jumping so one would have to focus on strength rather than speed.' Cologne thought as she analyzed the martial arts that were the base of the mystical powers.
'It would certainly fit Ryoga Hibiki and would fit the opposing element of his feud with son-in-law. Wind and earth battling each other for dominance, it would be an interesting match to watch if the two of them learned the techniques.' Cologne had to admit, but she also wondered, 'Could Shampoo's skills in this art be linked to the fact that we come from a mountain region, much like those where Hung Gar was developed. That could also explain why Ranma has the element of air, which his school seems to be based on. Certainly food for thought, ’ she mused.
'It is fortunate that I know the style, still it will be difficult trying to link the moves of the martial arts with the power of the earth moving. I will need to learn more, so on with the next method of finding out the information that I seek.' Cologne thought as she moved to the next spying technique.
She began to approach those that could earthbend and complimented them on their skills, mentioning that they seemed to be better benders than those in her small, poor village. Inflating their egos, she was trying to get an example of earthbending techniques that she could memorize for later use in Shampoos training.
The city workers didn't have time to show off their skills, but they did show off their muscles as she commented on their strength. But a few of them pointed her in the direction of a couple of earthbending schools where they had learned their arts. Cologne thought, 'It makes sense since this world is pre-industrial and likely without a printing press. Scrolls would be available only to the rich, so teachers would be the only way to learn.'
It soon became clear that the most serious school could be found in a downtown area and was known for being the best non-military training school. It was also known for not giving out ranks due to payouts by patrons, which was a practice that she had always found rather insulting for a true martial artist.
'One should be willing to sacrifice blood, sweat and tears for their skills in the art! Not just give out a few coins to get a different color belt that makes you "look" cooler. This school looks like it might be the best bet for me to get trained professionals to demonstrate their art, the best chance that I can learn the link between the moves and skills that will allow me to understand earthbending.' She thought as she reached the gates of the school, adding, 'Time for the sweet, little, old lady routine! '
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(Posted Wed, 08 Nov 2006 13:43)
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