Genma’s modifications to the Bakusai Tenketsu were proceeding exactly the way he planned.
“Oof!”
Slam.
“Ouch!”
Bash.
“Yipe!”
Smash.
Well... they were proceeding, at the very least.
Soun sighed and rubbed his temples. This was not a comfortable position to be in, but the fact remained that he had made a particularly boneheaded parenting decision (especially since Kasumi was old enough to make such decisions herself) and now he had to reap the bitter consequences of having to explain his actions in a way that would satisfy his oldest daughter’s very irritated curiosity. “Look, Kasumi, there’s no easy way to say this, but Genma... well... you know how I tend to avoid talking about my own training in Anything Goes?”
“Yes,” his daughter replied, uncertain where this was going.
“Well, that’s because our Master... well... he had a way of persuading his students to do things of a... less than savory nature.”
“Less than savory? What do you mean?”
“Nothing violent—it’s just that he often used to structure his training in such a way that it also accomplished goals that aided his personal eccentricities.”
Kasumi wasn’t sure whether to be suspicious or impressed at her father’s extended euphemism. “What do you mean?”
“I’d... rather not get into specifics. Suffice it to say that he could probably convince anyone to do anything, so long as he knew what could serve as one’s motivation. In the case of his students, it was his knowledge of the Art, which was considerable.”
“I see—and what does this have to do with your antics?”
“Well, you see, it seems that Genma managed to pick up several of... the Master’s tricks. The two of us have wanted to unite the schools for a long time, and combined with the rather confusing state of things in the past 24 hours, it basically made me a bit more open to his argument.”
Kasumi stared at her father, obviously unconvinced.
“Look, that’s not supposed to be an excuse—just an explanation. But we’ve been waiting for this for so long, and impatience can often cloud a person’s judgment.”
“So, you’re saying that he was able to convince you to do it because he knew you wanted an heir eventually?”
“Yes—and he managed to imbue a sense of urgency into the situation that simply wasn’t there. The... Master could do that sort of thing all the time.”
“But it hardly seems as though Genma could be all that persuasive.”
“Oh, trust me, Kasumi, Genma is much smarter than he looks.”
“Ack!”
Crash.
“Oop!”
Whoosh, crash.
“Aha!” Genma had managed to push off of that last boulder that hit him, allowing him to dodge the next. This might not be so bad after all.
Rumble...
“Son of a—”
Slam!
Back in the Tendo dojo, Akane was still questioning her brother-in-law. “I still don’t understand how you can let your father hurt himself like that.”
“Uh, ya were payin’ attention ta all that stuff about the Neko-ken, right?”
“Yeah, but still, he’s your father, right? I mean, you don’t want him to be killed, do you?”
“Who said he’d end up dead?”
“I’m pretty sure you did.”
“Yeah, but I was exaggeratin’. Pops ain’t really gonna get himself too hurt. He’s got a real good sense of self-preservation, ya know? I mean, he might get banged up, but he ain’t dumb enough ta get himself inta a situation where he can’t get the hell out before it’s too late.”
Genma’s breath was haggard as the onslaught of boulders finally stopped. Somehow, his previous training had managed to get him through that ordeal with little more than a dislocated shoulder, a broken toe, and massive bruising and abrasions. As he continued dangling uncomfortably from his ropes, he did what he always did when faced with the unpleasant results of his own foolishness: blame somebody else. “Stupid psychotic harpies with their stupid Chinese language and stupid vague illustrations,” he muttered, very easily convincing himself that the fault of his predicament lay with the Amazons who came up with the technique in the first place. “Never should have bothered—as if they’d produce anything useful without a man around to supervise them.” Ah, yes, knee-jerk sexism did wonders to soothe the male ego, particularly one as injured as Genma’s. “When I get out of here…”
Genma didn’t get a chance to finish that curmudgeonly vow, as he reached out towards the nearest cord to pull himself out of his personal Gordian knot, only to feel it go slack as he remembered that he’d set up a second series of boulders to continue the training when the first series finished. Furthermore, as the first boulder appeared in the corner of his eye, he remembered that this second wave, unlike the first, contained much larger rocks than those indicated in the instructions, since he’d assumed that he (being male) would require a much greater challenge than those unfortunate enough to lack a penis.
It was times like these that Genma seriously entertained the notion that he should have just become a dentist like his mother wanted.
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(Posted Fri, 05 Dec 2008 21:39)
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