Ranma was looking at the small garden park that was placed on one of the mountain like towers of the city. He had been trying to hone the skill of finding people using their unique chi signatures as a sort of expanded danger sense which he had already developed with his training with his father. So that was why he had been playing this game of hide-and-seek with Shampoo.
Most of the trees and bushes that had been placed in their gated park were either there to provide food or to resemble a scenic view that looked like they came out of the wilderness. It did provide a lot of locations that were hidden out of direct view of those that were walking in the park, giving the bouncy young woman plenty of space to hide from those that would be seeking her.
'Which is why I am hunting her using the technique, cause if I can find her using only chi I should be able ta find anyone.' Ranma thought as he began to look again for the woman using the method that he had been practicing. It was not an easy technique as it required sensing chi when he wasn't in danger and being more selective about the chi that he was detecting.
'It's like finding one small thing in a room full of junk; ya have ta look closer so that ya can see it.' Ranma shifted his mind so that he could feel chi. The fact that he was in a garden that was full of plants and had people walking in and out of the section that they were in made it even harder to find one single source of life.
'I've gotta look at this in a different way, I have ta find a way to make Shampoo's chi different than the chi that is all around me. If I can do that, it should make it easier ta see that chi through the other chi in the park.' Ranma thought back to the chi that Shampoo had shown him before she took to hiding, to the image that it showed in his mind.
'It was a strong chi, likely the results of all of the martial arts training that she had gone through. It also makes me think of earth, like the mountains where she's from. It's also human, not plant or animal; female, not male.' Ranma was reminded of the basics of his training with Genma over danger sensing. One of the lowest level tricks was telling the difference between plants, animals of different kinds and the chi of people. Plus the fact that he changed sex so often allowed him to tell the difference between male and female chi, which was linked to the level and markings of yin and yang in the chi signature.
Shifting from the more general sense of chi to the more unique elements that made up the Amazon woman he began to sense his way through the small woods that hid her from his eyes. He started to pick up the chi that reminded Ranma of Shampoo, giving him an image of her so that he could track her. What he was noticing was that this same chi had been stationary before, but as he got closer it began to move away from the spot that it had collected.
'It makes sense since Shampoo knows this trick as well; she can tell where I am as I am chasing her.' Ranma was certain the moving chi mark was Shampoo trying to test his skills by moving away from him just as he was starting to follow her. Ranma needed to find a way for him to track her while figuring out a way for him to avoid her detecting him so that she could not run away from him.
'I wish I knew how ta hide my chi so that people couldn't find me using it, no way that Shampoo could run from me if she can't see me, ' Ranma admitted to himself as he tried to come up with solutions to the problem that the young warrior girl was making him face. Adding to his thoughts, 'But I don't know how ta do that or how to start training ta do it, at least till I know this technique first. So my only other choice is ta out run and out think her.'
Reminding himself of the torture like training method that his father had force on him during their years together he remember the trick of avoiding being caught while running away from someone. Using those traits of running away he was able to come up a different plan of attack that would nullify those methods that would aid someone running away from him.
Ranma began to look at the directions that Shampoo was running in noticing that she was staying in the small grove of trees that was his hunting grounds. That told him that she just wanted to make it a little harder for him to catch her, not cause him to fail the test that they were going through. That gave him an advantage in finding her, if he could use the knowledge of terrain to aid in getting her into a position that he could finally catch her.
The young student of airbending was learning more about area that he was in, using the trees to his benefit as he knew that the young Amazon could not run through the trees on the ground. Taking the advantage of hopping from branch to branch using his skills in both the new art that he had learned from Aang and his traditional Anything Goes school. He found that he could gain more ground that way because of the speed training that he had learned under Genma, Cologne and Aang.
As he got closer he could feel more of the chi that he was tracking and was certain that it was Shampoo that he was following. It was like her chi brought to life the different senses of the woman that had been his sensei just a few minutes before. It was only a short period of time before the chi was very close to him, so close that he could taste it. Then he could see a flash of purple in the brush, a visual cue that he had been successful in his training.
Continuing using the chi method with the addition of his other senses, he began to track his Chinese 'fiancée' through the brush. He saw more and more of her as he got closer with the running through the branches, flashes of her bright hair, her new blue clothing that she had gained on Kyoshi Island, and the signs of disturbance in the woodlands. He caught sight of her and with one look back from her she knew that he was on her tail. But she continued to run from him leading him on this chase.
Ranma stepped up his pace as he tried to catch the warrior woman, moving ever closer and closer to her as he went. He tried to judge the distance that was between her and him self, trying to set up the final pounce that he would use to hold her. Bring in a breath of air so that he could get himself ready, tightening his muscles for his next attack. Then with a final burst of speed he leaped into action as he arms opened up so that he could hold on to her so that she could not escape.
He hit his target with an accuracy that seemed some how superhuman, his arms surrounding her as he brought her down to the ground with his momentum. They tumbled in the woods for a couple of feet before they stopped with Ranma taking the brunt of the force of the landing. Ranma was on his back with Shampoo lying on top of him, both of them trying to catch their breath from the running that they had been doing.
'It's strange but this kinda feels nice. It's at moments like this that I forget that she tried to kill me or that she tries to force me to love her.' With that last thought Ranma’s mood darkened and he felt embarrassed. Shampoo started to turn in his arms so that she was facing him, a smile on her lips as she looked at him.
"You have learnt the technique and have increased your tracking skills as well. You are able to follow a moving target using only their chi to follow. You should be proud of yourself." Shampoo said as she got up out of Ranma's arms so that she was standing over him, which removed the awkwardness that he was feeling with her in his arms.
Ranma rose once Shampoo was not in his arms anymore, a mixture of sadness and gladness at being released from the closeness that they had with each other. He was also pleased that Shampoo had not kept herself glomped on to him instead choosing to release herself from him so that he could breath. He gave her back a real smile as he was glad that she was not as clingy to him as she had been before.
"Thank you, Shampoo. I'll try my best ta perfect this technique so that I can use it more, maybe even coming up with a version that I can use daily." Ranma said his eyes and face taking on a more thoughtful look as he started to come up with that version of the technique.
"So Ranma, perhaps it is time for a little friendly spar? See how advanced we have come with the training methods that we have used? Hero Woman style versus Anything Goes style." Shampoo asked as she moved to leave the woods, moving carefully over the roots and sticks that littered the ground.
"Alright, but do ya really want me going full force against ya with my martial arts? I can be rather rough when I go all out against an opponent." Ranma asked as he started to follow her again.
"Shampoo would not want it any other way. The only way to get stronger is to fight stronger opponents and improve your moves within the field of battle. Shampoo will try not to outclass Ranma with her moves, if he tries not to outclass Shampoo with his moves." Shampoo said, turning her head back to give Ranma a dirty look.
Ranma just nodded as he followed Shampoo to a part of the park that was more open field than woods.
(Posted Tue, 21 Nov 2006 01:28)
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