Anko’s derisive excitement at discovering her pet had the infamous Uchiha eyes turned to disappointment when he collapsed flat on his face.
Then he rolled onto his side with a snore.
Anko put her hands on her hips. “Typical male. I’m ready to go another round and he’s out like a light.”
Getting comfy on the ground, Ranma mumbled in his sleep. “Stupid... snake lady... sucks...”
Anko actually grinned at that, partially because it gave her a new way to tease him later since he was a little shy around the girls. Also it was a perfect excuse to let another snake slip out of her sleeves and give the boy a nice wake-up kiss.
Ranma tossed the snake remains at her feet and rolled over in his sleep to get comfortable once again. “Mhmm... chicken.”
Despite herself, Anko grinned in amusement. Kid that ate snakes in his sleep? She could appreciate the irony.
Also this could still be considered training instead of torture, yet another bonus.
Nabiki was impressed.
At some point Captain Yamato had seemingly forgotten he was making sunken earth emplacements and had started using his wood release to build a sunken room. It somewhat resembled in style the artillery emplacements her homeland of Japan had once built on the Pacific islands. After getting a decent pit made, he’d built a sturdy room and piled earth on the roof to bolster the passive defense against impacts and shockwaves. Hexagon shaped, the sunken room had three large openings and ramps leading up that gave it enough airflow to not feel all stuffy and dank from being underground.
Luckily for her, while distracted with his interior decorating, Yamato didn’t seem to expect her to actually pick up nature transformation instantly simply by observing. They were instead talking about theory and practice, including what the earth techniques could be used to accomplish.
Nabiki was enjoying the tea break using the wooden cups he’d made, apparently preferring them over stone. “This certainly feels much more secure Captain.”
Yamato nodded, finishing his furniture and resuming using earth techniques to reinforce their walls. “Something like this is a good defensive position, but it could also be used against you. Mitarashi for instance knows some earth techniques that could turn this into a prison and water techniques could be used to flood us out.”
Nabiki couldn’t hide her amusement. ”This must be really handy when setting up camp. Better than a tent.”
Not wanting to ruin this break in training, Nabiki hastened to clarify that point. “You should show Saotome these techniques, he’s the one that absorbs all martial arts like a sponge. He’s pretty decent at teaching too.”
“Aww, you’re gonna make me blush.”
Despite technically being a ninja now, Nabiki couldn’t help but jump when she suddenly realized Ranma was sitting right next to her. “When did you get here Saotome?”
Yamato put his cup down, expecting Anko to come rushing after any moment now. “Yes, what of your training with Mitarashi?”
Ranma shrugged. “The me fighting her decided to field-test the Sleeping Tiger technique, so I thought I’d come visit.”
Nabiki asked the question for Yamato. “...and what is the Sleeping Tiger technique? I don’t see any explosions, no earthquakes, no tornadoes or other natural calamities.”
In the distance, there was an explosion and Mihoshi’s voice. “I totally didn’t mean to do that! Honest!”
“Besides her.”
“Tea please.” While waiting expectantly to be served tea as well, Ranma continued. “You know, I could help train her. I’m not so scared of it that I’d have to use a clone. It’ll probably go easier that way.”
Waiting long enough to see that Captain Yamato was considering his point, Ranma went on to explaining his technique. “The Sleeping Tiger is a revision of the Feigning Death technique.”
Nabiki tried not to sigh at his lack of explanation. “...which is?”
Yamato poured the young man a cup of tea. Hearing this was worth it. “It’s a technique that puts the shinobi to sleep. I’m interested in why you thought falling asleep in front of Anko Mitarashi during training would be a good idea.”
Ranma shrugged. “I dunno, he’s not me. Besides, it’s a revision, it doesn’t interfere with my ability to fight in my sleep and it speeds stamina recovery. Hence Sleeping Tiger.”
Nabiki allowed herself to grin. “Only you Saotome.”
Yamato thought this was at least a good chance to evaluates Saotome’s psyche, something he considered more important than his combat ability. “Still, to use a technique like that in combat with Mitarashi does not seem wise. Do you really think she’ll let you rest?”
Ranma simply enjoyed his tea without concern. “She seemed to think I’d run out of gas and was amused. She’ll probably play with my body for a bit before doing anything crazy. Meanwhile that body is recovering, this body is, all of us are resting up to have some fun later.”
Nabiki decided she’d enjoy her tea while it lasted. “You sound like you’re having fun.”
Ranma merely grinned. “Oh, I think Auntie might be fun. More fun than the old man at least, he got kinda boring.”
Yamato decided that was enough for him. Someone that could have a tea break while fighting Anko didn’t need help in that regard. “So what’s this about training Kuramitsu? Is there some secret to it?”
“Mihoshi is a screw-up. An accident prone ditz.”
The older ninja frowned a bit. “Perhaps I’ll concede that, but that doesn’t tell me how to train her.”
Ranma wagged his finger. “Nuh-uh, that’s very important. I wasn’t saying it to be mean ya know.”
Yamato’s frown turned thoughtful as he pondered it briefly. “So there is significance to acknowledging the fact of her incompetence instead of simply correcting it?”
“Exactly.” Knowing smile in place, Ranma was enjoying himself a bit. “If she had no sense of balance and couldn’t walk straight, would you teach her Strong Fist? Gentle Fist? Give up when she stumbles around and hurts herself?”
Letting that sink in, Ranma’s body loosened up as he started drunkenly swaying. “...or do you adapt Drunken Fist and make a Dizzy Fist style for her?”
Yamato frowned, partially because it sounded like the kid was lecturing him, but mainly because he somewhat understood it. “...so the teaching method must be adapted to her?”
Ranma straightened up from his drunken stance. “Exactly. Teaching her directly will just make the screw-up part worse. If I put her in a maid outfit and taught her housekeeping, she would wreck the place. Teach her to fight with a broom and she might get something done. She can learn, and normally her accidents aren’t that bad.”
Even Nabiki raised eyebrows at that. “Can you actually teach her martial arts? Like Maid Fu or Ditzy Fist?”
Ranma shook his head. “Dunno, haven’t got her exactly figured out yet. I know the straightforward thing is doomed to failure, but I haven’t figured out what exactly to teach her yet. It might be like Po in Kung Fu Panda, except she’s not driven by eating. Fighting might not be her thing anyways.”
Captain Yamato hated to ask. “What is this Kung Fu Panda?”
Ranma thought of how he could explain a children’s show without it sounding silly. “It’s a children’s show using animals as characters. Po was supposed to be the legendary warrior, but he was clumsy and weak, and any training went horribly wrong. Then his teacher figured out he could be motivated by food. Even when he did learn martial arts, he was still clumsy and tired easily, but he was also unpredictable and attacks that should have worked on him failed horribly.” Ranma shrugged. “Anyways, Mihoshi is basically like that. Even when she learns it, she won’t really do it the normal way.”
The older man wasn’t about to just agree with the kid, even if he did make some sense. “You’re sure of this?”
There was an explosion that this time destroyed his clone. The difference this time was that a still smoking Mihoshi appeared in Ranma’s lap, the young man catching her with a distinct lack of surprise. The bubbly blonde wrapped her arms around Ranma’s neck and buried her face in his chest without wasting any time.
Nabiki raised an eyebrow, it was rare for Mihoshi to be bothered enough that she stayed quiet. “Hey, Mihoshi, Ranma said he wanted you to wear a maid outfit for him.”
Scary exploding combat stuff fading from her mind, the blonde spoke up hesitantly, hope springing anew. “A cute little maid outfit?”
The snarky kunoichi shouldn’t have been surprised that instead of a joke she sounded happy about the prospect. “Sure.”
Mihoshi squealed and hugged Ranma tighter. “Yay! I get to be a maid like my mom!”
Ranma no longer wanted to know, instead turning a raised eyebrow to his team leader. “Well then, your call. I guess my time might be better spent playing with Auntie Anko.”
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(Posted Sun, 22 Sep 2013 03:18)
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