Of course, that was mostly because he didn't get nearly enough sleep at the Tendo household, and he knew he could trust his father to wake him in time for school.
Last night he'd gone to bed early - the entire household seemed to. And he knew that he had to rise early to prepare his own breakfast. So this morning, his own natural clock forced him to wake before anyone else in the household.
He moved as silently as a thief as he prepared himself for the day, careful not to wake Haruka. He wondered briefly why she was sleeping on the couch. It didn't look comfortable at all. Didn't she have her own bed?
He was actually up much too early to cook breakfast just yet. But then, he was in the habit of getting some warm-up exercises done before breakfast.
Today, however, he couldn't just head out to do his morning exercises. First, he had to wake his new student.
Opening the door to the room Setsuna had put Hotaru in revealed a room painted in dark colors. It was difficult even for his better-than-average eyes to find even Hotaru's bed with all the darkness that hung over the room. When he did finally figure out exactly where her bed was, he shifted a bit uncomfortably.
Hotaru was a very cute girl. He'd actually reached that conclusion last night when he'd had to carry her home. Now, seeing her curled up in bed reinforced that idea.
He hated having to wake her, but she wouldn't get better without it.
Hotaru was having very pleasant dreams. Not that she didn't usually have pleasant dreams - nightmares were not common for her. But then, she didn't usually remember her dreams.
She wouldn't remember these dreams either when she woke. All she would remember was that being carried home last night had been very pleasant. She had been warm and safe, and she missed that feeling, even now.
A slight shake marked the end of her dreams as consciousness began to return to her. "Hotaru."
Hotaru opened her eyes at the sound of her instructor's voice. Seeing his blue eyes above her, looking at her, caused her to start blushing.
"Get dressed," he instructed.
Hotaru nodded, and felt some disappointment as he walked out of the room. Then she felt only embarrassment, wondering why she hadn't wanted him to go. She had to undress, after all.
As soon as Hotaru exited her room, Ranma lead them both outside. Hotaru was a bit surprised to notice the sun wasn't even up yet.
The park was a good distance away, and Ranma set a pace just as fast as he had yesterday. By the time they arrived, Hotaru was once again out of breath.
Ranma smiled as he observed Hotaru for a moment. "Good. You remembered your breathing." He sat her down nearby on a park bench, and then moved off a short distance. Going through katas would be a good warm-up exercise, but not as good as sparing with his father would have been.
Hotaru caught her breath quickly. The park wasn't quite as far as the market had been, so she wasn't quite as tired. As her breathing slowed down to a more normal rate, she watched her instructor go through a kata.
He was a thing of beauty, flowing between movements like water. And yet there was a sense of power in his movements that lied just beneath the speed he moved at. It was more than just watching a dance. It was like watching a symphony, all the players working in complete concert. Event when Ranma was relatively still, there motion going on, his feet shifting to prepare not just for the next move but the next three, his knees flexing just so before they released their power, his entire body shifting from support to attack to defense and back again without ever stopping or slowing.
She stood and moved closer. She wanted to be able to do that.
"What are you doing?" Ranma asked.
Hotaru stopped. And looked at Ranma in awe for a moment; he hadn't stopped his kata, just paused in a position that couldn't possibly be comfortable. Shaking herself, she responded, "I caught my breath, sensei."
Ranma dropped his stance now. "You want to learn?"
Hotaru nodded.
"Alright," Ranma stated, "But you do exactly as I say when training. From now on, if I tell you sit, you sit and wait until I say otherwise, agreed?"
Hotaru hung her head, "Yes, sensei."
"Okay. First rule: stop calling me sensei. The Anything Goes style ain't taught like other styles; you gotta teach yourself how to fight. I'm just the guy who tells helps you learn, not the teacher."
"Yes, Ranma," Hotaru replied with a grin.
"Better," Ranma commented. "Alright. I'm gonna do some basic kata. Follow along as best you can, 'kay? Don't expect ta get it right, yet. You got a long way to go 'fore then."
Hotaru nodded again.
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by Brian Drozd
(Posted Sun, 17 Aug 2003 04:36)
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