By Donny Cheng
Ranma tried again for a piece of chicken. Again, the older man's chopsticks got there before his own. He glared angrily at Vejita for but a single moment before he quickly went to the other plates on the table. However, make no mistake he would get some chicken before the night was done.
Trunks looked thoughtfully at the two ravenous men at the dinner table. If he wasn't sitting at the table, he would not have believed it. Though, even as he was here now he still doubted his eyes. His father was eating side by side with a human. His father, who couldn't even sit beside Uncle Kuririn at the dinner table, was sharing plates of food with the boy. A twinge of jealousy crept into him as he continued to look, not quite sure what to make of it.
Bra gently nudged her father. He ignored her, which was unusual in that he always had time to say something to her even if it was to tell her to be quiet. His entire focus seemed to be bent on eating all the food before Ranma could. She glanced at the boy again. He was looking better and better to her every minute. This was one boy at least that had gotten past her father's 'examinations'. Of course, her father had yet to know that she was seeing Ranma. Ranma for that matter had yet to know that he was seeing her.
Pan glared at Uncle Vejita. He was the one that had specifically ordered that some food be kept for him and Ranma. Now the big jerk was eating all of it before her friend could. She gulped as Vejita glanced up from his food to look at her, seemingly reading her thoughts. She lowered her eyes from his gaze and when she looked up again he was back to eating. She decided that maybe it was time to get Uncle Goten to take her home.
Goten looked forlornly at the diminishing food. The reason he had skipped one of his mother's wonderful meals was that Trunks invited him to dinner. Being rich meant that there was usually more than enough for seconds, even thirds, which were rare at Goten's house. However, Bulma only allowed him one plateful of food since Vejita wanted most of it for him and his new student. Goten had stayed after dinner because he didn't think a human, even with Vejita, could clear such a large spread. He was wrong.
Bulma glanced around to table to make sure she wasn't the only one looking at the pair currently putting a small dent in their food bill. From the short phrases she could get out of her husband, she gathered that the boy would be staying with them a while. After two decades of marriage she thought she knew what went on in Vejita's mind, but this she had no answer for. What she did know was that she was not going to let him go off like Goku to who knew where for ten years.
Vejita snatched another chicken from Ranma.
Ranma looked up at the unfamiliar ceiling. Even asleep he could feel Vejita's radiating power. The man was not one to hold back, but Ranma could sense that if his new sensei did not, the entire planet might not be safe. While he took pride in his growing ability to sense chi, he cursed it at the same time. Currently he felt at least a dozen chi signatures great enough that he could feel them here even here in bed. Some could be all the way on the other side of the world, Ranma knew. It did not help his confidence in the least bit.
If any of them were as good as Vejita, Ranma didn't think that the mantle as one of the best in the world would ever be his. He thought back to his first 'training' session with the older man.
Ranma stood in his battle stance awkwardly as the aura around Vejita continued to grow. The first wisps of chi pushed at Ranma, forcing him to step back a step.
Vejita stopped raising his chi level. His current power was about double what Pan had been using during her match with Ranma. More than enough to beat Ranma with both hands tied behind his back. That is if Vejita would ever do such a thing. "I won't get into gravity training yet since the room is still being repaired. I will, instead, test you. I want to see just how far in your training you are. Three times, I will hit you. Dodge or block them to the best of your abilities."
Ranma tensed himself and nodded. Vejita came at him with a frontal assault to which he quickly sidestepped. However, the moment he turned around to reorientate himself, Vejita's elbow smashed into his stomach.
"That's one," Vejita said before he came at Ranma again.
Ranma thought quickly and decided that blocking was the best procedure. Dodging against a faster more skilled opponent was fool hardy and just a waste of movements and time. This time he saw Vejita's leg coming and blocked the following kick to his side with his forearm. Knowledge from his previous battle with Pan told him that this kick would have the power of an oncoming train, so he was ready to absorb most of the blow after a sleight shifting of his weight on his foot. Even with his preparation, he felt his knees nearly buckle from the sheer strength.
Vejita frowned as a grin formed on Ranma's face. He easily dodged the boy's counterattack. He hadn't been prepared for Ranma to actually be able to hit back under an assault from a much stronger opponent. He hadn't made a mistake when he guessed that this boy would be a challenge. "Two," he counted and decided to wipe that grin from the boy's face.
Ranma didn't even have a chance as the third strike easily passed his defenses and caused his body to fly into the wall of the room and denting the metal plating on it. Ranma fell to the ground in a slump. Groggily he tried to get back up as Vejita's voice called out to him.
Vejita nodded approvingly as the boy fought to get up to his feet. What Ranma lacked in power, he easily made up for in his willingness to learn and determination. "Three. Not as high as I would like you to be, but easily improved upon. Now, I want you to hit me. As hard you could. I won't dodge or block, so use every ounce of your power."
Ranma spit out some blood and gave Vejita a look of respect. As good as Pan was, she could not hold a candle to this man. Unlike Pan, his new sensei possessed a great amount of skill and experience to go along with the power. Vejita wanted power, Ranma would show him it.
Vejita stood and watched as Ranma suddenly started to run. A slow jog at first, but gradually getting faster and faster. A small aura formed around the boy as he continued to run laps around Vejita.
Ranma knew that his physical strength and chi alone were not enough to deal any damage on Vejita. He would have to draw upon outside elements if he had any chance of it. Turning his direction somewhat when he reached his full speed, he ran directly at Vejita.
Vejita had himself slowly began to power up when he caught on to what Ranma was doing. Smart boy. The boy had reached the level where he could transform kinetic energy into energy that he could use. Vejita prepared himself for the flying kick, but was surprised to find Ranma sail over him.
The moment Ranma's foot touched the wall, he started to call forth all of the chi in his body. Using the wall, he rebounded off of it back to Vejita. This attack was a modified version of the attack he had used to defeat Taro. Instead, this time he didn't have the elastic pantyhose to help him and needed the wall for its replacement. "Vejita Shooting Star Kick!" he yelled out. He grinned as he saw the shock on his sensei's face. However, that would be the last thing he saw as a flash of bright yellow erupted in front of him.
Vejita dusted himself off as he looked at Ranma's unmoving body. Good. The boy really had went all out when as Vejita had commanded. He estimated that Ranma's chi was slightly lower than the average Saiyajin, which was quite an accomplishment for one from such a weak race. It gave him a good idea as to where to start in Ranma's training. Now all he had to see was how fast a learner the boy truly was. Vejita stepped out of the small crater formed by their impact, and put Ranma's body over his shoulder. He looked back over his shoulder at the charred ground and figured he would have to get Bulma to upgrade the room again.
Vejita stared up at the ceiling. It was a strange feeling. This excitement. Was this what Goku felt when he taught Buu's reincarnation? He had to admit that he had once felt this way a few years ago. Back when Bra was young and also another time when Trunks was but a boy. Both he had taught and he had secretly took pride in how they both surpassed him when he was there age. However, both his children soon stopped coming to him to learn. Both had decided they knew enough and he did not press them. A father did not beg and the thrill of the battle really could not be taught.
This world of his was truly different in that respect. Whoever heard of a Saiyajin that preferred playing and working to fighting? This Ranma was a refreshing change. A person, he could tell who enjoyed the fight as much as he did. He was sure the boy knew what the gap between the two of them were but no fear was shown. Remarkable. Not for the first time, he wondered again if somehow the boy might be Saiyajin.
Bulma awoke just then and looked over at Vejita crossly. "You're stealing the all of the blanket again. What are you still doing up?"
"Nothing. Go back to sleep."
Bulma had a knack for knowing when 'nothing' was something. "Thinking of that boy you brought home? Ranma?"
"Please. He's just a human."
"Oh? Is that why you've brought him here, had me set up a room for him, and will start training him tomorrow? I know you. You would not do this for anybody. Especially, a human as you put it."
"I need someone to fight. I don't like Goku's friends."
Bulma grimaced at Vejita's short curt answers. Years of marriage and they still couldn't have a decent conversation. "Why him?"
"He reminds me of me," Vejita said simply.
Bulma laughed, much to her husband's annoyance. "From what I've seen of him so far, he's nothing like you. He outgoing, talkative, and if I'm correct about Pan and Bra, a lady's man." Her husband, on the other hand, was withdrawn, quiet, and she was the one that started their 'romance'.
Vejita pointedly ignored his wife's still going laughter and looked at her intensely. "It's his eyes. The fire in them is what I remember I used to have."
Bulma gave Vejita a worried glance. Vejita rarely talked of his past and his emotions, even in bed together like this. She had caught the emphasis he had put on 'used to have'. It was true her husband had mellowed out some. She suspected the birth of the children were the main reason for this and she hoped that she too were part of it.
She looked back and remembered what had drawn her to him in the first place. It was the passion he displayed. He wanted so much to defeat 'Kakaroto' and it seemed to be his only reason for living. Over the years, Bulma saw first hand the fire being doused as Vejita finally accepted that Goku was better, though he never stopped trying to top his rival. In some ways, the made her sad even though Goku was her friend. She had tried to get her husband interested in other things, but like Goku, he was too set in his ways to change.
With the addition of Ranma, she began to see the old Vejita again. That grin of his, that drove her crazy during their youth, appeared on his face again. In fact, she noticed that he was also looking at her with that same glint in his eyes that he had during their first time together. "Aren't we a bit old for this?" she asked huskily as Vejita started to move his hands about her body.
Vejita ignored Bulma's half-hearted protests and bent his head towards hers to shut her up. He wasn't very successful about halfway through the night.
"Where are we going again?" Ranma asked. He looked down and shuddered. Once he had almost lost his concentration and nearly fallen off the long pole that seemed to have no end.
"Quiet. Just keep climbing." Vejita flew beside Ranma at a slow pace. His mind was preoccupied with methods of bringing Ranma up to as close to his level as possible and to do it in the least amount of time. One of the best methods he knew was the Room of Spirit and Time. That is if one knew how to train there. He had foolishly wasted his allowed two years there without much of a plan. While Goku had come up with a course of action that used the Room's advantages to its optimum potential. It was one of the few times Vejita acknowledged Goku genius, when it came to fighting.
Ranma grumbled and continued to climb. He looked up and still could not see an end in sight. It was going to be a long day.
Dende stifled his giggle. "This way, please, Vejita-san." He sneaked a glance over at Ranma again. He shouldn't really be surprised to see the human here. After all he did watch the boy's adventures for over a year. Easily the most hilarious human he had ever had the pleasure of spy... watching upon.
Being Earth's Kami meant a lot of watching humans kill each other over pieces of land. It was draining work and once in awhile he would amuse himself by turning his attention to a small group in Nerima that he had come to love. He had even helped Ranma sometimes by creating rain clouds at the right time. Though, once in awhile the martial artist would do something that the Kami disproved of, and another rain cloud would be sent to Nerima at the wrong time as punishment.
Ranma felt the hairs behind the back of his neck rise. Kami. Never in his life did he ever expect there to actually be one. The fact that Kami was also an alien from another planet made it all the more surreal. The cause for his worries, though, was that Kami seemed to be laughing at him.
Vejita looked at the clock on top of the doorway to the Room of Spirit and Time. He had used most of his time allowed there and had at most a half hour left which amounted to about two weeks Room time. Should be sufficient to teach Ranma what he needed to know. "Time passes faster in this room. One day in it is equivalent to a year. Two hours, a month. The gravity is ten times greater than that of the gravity on earth. The temperature will often change varying from freezing to extreme heat. The air is also very thin in there much like being atop a mountain. I want you to stay in there for a month."
Ranma stared at the room in front of him. He had heard of a place like this from his father. During their ten year long training trip together, his father often tried to find this place. It was rumored to be the best training ground in the entire world. Who would have guessed that it was miles above the earth?
"I'll stay with you there for a day of Room time to show you what I want you to do," Vejita said as he opened the door and stepped in.
Ranma quickly followed in after him. The moment he stepped inside, he gasped. They stood on a platform that was about the size of a small house. All around them, was nothing. Absolutely nothing. The ground to seemed to stretch forever from every direction. He moved off of the platform to touch the ground. He immediately fell on his face.
Vejita watched as Ranma got familiar with his surroundings. With a slight rise in chi level, the boy got back to his feet. Good, it seemed to boy could survive. Vejita had been worried that this might have been too early, but with the Gravity room still unrepaired, he needed to do something. The boy was really too weak for Vejita to get anywhere. "Survive here for one month and I will let you come out. This is your goal."
Ranma watched as Vejita immediately started to power up. His chi awareness had become more acute with use and now he could tell exactly how strong Vejita was at the moment. "One month? I can get there in a couple of weeks," Ranma replied confidently.
Vejita looked at Ranma's cocky smile and couldn't help but remember that same smile plastered on his own back when he was still young. In truth, he didn't have much doubt that Ranma could reach that level. The strength he displayed to Ranma was about the same he had when he first came to earth. Goku had spent over four months on Kaio's planet to get to that level all those years ago. If Vejita was right in how strong Ranma was and how smart he was, he should be able to almost duplicate Goku's feat in the harsher environments of the Room.
It was not much, but it was a start. The boy could not even fly for long periods of time at the moment. That stopped Vejita from having any hope of having sparring matches in the air. Hopefully, one day of teaching would be all that he needed to show Ranma the problem areas. "Put these clothes on."
Ranma grabbed the blue jumpsuit as Vejita threw it to him. His arms nearly came off from the weight. At first he thought it was the gravity of the room, but when he stepped off of it and back on to the platform he found that the clothes were still quite heavy. He shrugged and put them on. His father had trained him in the wearing of heavy objects before, so this was not unusual to him.
"The clothes are about the same weight as your body. Where them at all times. Also, they are made of a material that should survive the elements in this room."
"Elements?" Ranma's question was answered by the room itself. The temperature suddenly raised at a dramatic increase. Flames sprouted from the ground itself. The entire area seemed to be on fire. "Oh."
"Now, we begin."
Vejita stepped out of the room. He had been wrong when he thought that it might take a day to explain to the boy what needed to be done. It took only a few hours for Ranma to grasp the training program. Very adaptive martial artist. Someday, he would have to see this father of Ranma's. The man was obviously very skilled indeed if he were able to train that into a boy no more than sixteen years of age.
Beads of sweat flowed from Ranma's face as he performed the basic katas again. After another hour had passed, he stopped and let out a deep breath. Only two hours and his body was pushed to the limit. Before he could do these basic katas in his sleep. He sighed at how far he still needed to go. A quick dinner and an half hours rest, he should be able to try again.
Stepping back on to the platform, he headed to the fridge. The platform was quite strange in that the fridge was always stocked with food. No matter how much he ate. Too bad the bed didn't make itself, though. It was also the only place the gravity was normal. Already he could feel the strain on his muscles decrease. But he did not let go of his hold on his chi.
Another thing he learned from Vejita. It was true in a battle, chi should be kept as low as possible to avoid strain tiredness and only pumped up when needed. However, when training, the more the body worked, the better the results. There were limits of course and Ranma was determined that he extend that limit as far as possible each day.
One day was almost done, twenty-nine more to go. Vejita had warned him to start with the basics first. Basic katas, involving only fewest of varying attacks. Punches and kicks in a standing position. It was a roundabout way of training, but necessary in a new environment. He needed to give his body time to adjust and the basics were the best place to start.
Ranma stared at his duplicate. It had taken him twelve days to get this far. He was surprised that it actually worked. When Vejita had shown him on the first day, Ranma had eagerly lapped it up. With enough chi, one could use half of it and create another body. With even more chi, four bodies could be created. The body moved as his mind willed it to. It took extreme concentration to control his own body in tandem with that of the chi created one.
The practical purposes were very apparent. One could effectively create a sparring partner where none was available. Also one could use this against an opponent. It would not work against multiple opponents though, Ranma figured, since the concentration would be split. Immediately, his mind had searched for weaknesses. If Vejita showed it to him, there might be a chance that either his sensei will use it on him or his sensei will be able to counteract it if Ranma used it himself. He smiled at the challenge.
His counterpart remained stone quiet. With a mental command, the both of them collided and the sparring began.
Ranma examined the ball of energy in his hands. Another thing Vejita had explained to him. While emotion had been needed at first to spark his first chi blast, it was hardly needed. Only primitive races, as Vejita pointed out, relied upon emotion to do something as simple as this. Experimentally, he threw the ball towards one of the blocks of ice that covered the entire ground. The impact was quite a bit more destructive than his moko takabisha. Maybe he could modify this somehow.
Vejita frowned. Three hours had passed. Did something go wrong? He had specifically said a month. He decided enough time had passed that Ranma should know that a month was done. He stepped towards the door and found that he did not have to go in after all.
Ranma stepped out. His blue jumpsuit barely covering his body as it was ripped and torn in many places. "Sorry, I was late. Did you know that the room is as big as the entire world. I know, because I tried flying around it."
Vejita narrowed his eyes. He hadn't told Ranma that on purpose because he had planned on making it a training lesson for the boy. "You can do it already?"
"That's not all I can do. Want to spar?" Ranma asked cockily.
"I was counting on it," Vejita replied and was surprised find his own voice just as cocky. This would prove to be interesting.