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miko2I'm at 36,152 words. Last night was the first night I did not write enough to shorten the number of words needed per day to finish on time. I'm supposed to write 1667 words a day for every day in the month, but since I'm so far behind I currently need to write 2308 words a day to finish on time. Only wrote 1861 words yesterday. Still, I'm doing good. I think I'll finish on time no problem.
"Master of the school?" Akane asked. She was cooking curry over the campfire. After days of nothing but rice and tea and the sweet potatoes that Happsai had a knack of finding (and which the Master loved), Ranma was happy to eat nearly anything else, and Akane had proven lately that she could manage a passable curry without poisoning people. Nevertheless, Ranma was glad to note that Sachiko and Cologne were helping.
"That's right," Happosai declared. "If Ranma can master my best moves by the end of the week, I'll declare him a Master of Anything-Goes Martial Arts. Not," he added, seeing the objection on Akane's lips, "simply the master of the Saotome school. I'll name him master of my own school, the foundation of all the Anything Goes schools."
Akane glanced at Ranma. He was once again a guy, though still bald. "In only a week? Do you think you can do that, Ranma?"
Ranma shrugged. "Sure," he said.
"Well, if you were planning to stay out here another week, you should have at least called us," Akane said. "Mother is not very happy with you at the moment."
Ranma shrugged. "It's not like I've got a phone out here or nothin'....."
"Oh, that's right!" Akane exclaimed. "I almost forgot!" She dug around in a bag and produced a phone. "Miyuki got this for you. To replace the one your father destroyed."
Ranma turned the phone over in her hands. It was peach in color, and was decorated with magical girl stickers. A small magical girl figurine dangled from it as well.
"Wedding Peach?" she asked.
"That's right," Akane replied. "Miyuki was very excited to find those decorations. It's not exactly a popular show anymore."
"There are two phone numbers programmed into it already," Sachiko said. "Your mother's house, and Miyuki's. You should call them."
Ranma's stomach rumbled. "Maybe after dinner," she said.
"So you're really going to reveal your greatest secrets, Happy?" Cologne asked. "I never thought I'd see the day."
Happosai nodded. "The time has come," he said. "I'm not getting any younger, and I want to secure my legacy. Ranma's my best student."
"Still," said Cologne, "you will never acknowledge another master of the school."
"That's not true!" Happosai exclaimed. "If Ranma fulfills all of my requirements, then I will have to recognize him!"
"All of your requirements?" Cologne chuckled darkly. "And I wonder what those are?"
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XXX
Ranma lit the bomb and tossed it across the rocky mountainside. It exploded, knocking an improvised dummy "enemy" into the air.
"Faster!" Happosai shouted. Ranma gritted his teeth. He went through the progression again – pull the bomb out, light the bomb, toss the bomb.
"Happodaikarin!" he exclaimed. Another piece of the mountainside exploded.
"Faster!" Happosai demanded. "I can see everything you're doing! Show me that legendary speed that Cologne-chan taught to you! I know she taught you her chestnut fist, so I know you can do this as well."
"This is more complicated than simply throwing punches," Ranma muttered. But he knew the Master was right. He had the speed to perform Happosai's signature move. He just needed to get the mechanics down so that he no longer had to think it through. "It's just like Bohr's Law."
"Bored what now?"
"Niels Bohr," Ranma said. "He was a Flemish philosopher. Or maybe German, I don't remember. He won a Nobel Prize in Physics."
"Quite a feat for a philosopher," Happosai said. He took a puff on his pipe. "And what's that got to do with martial arts?"
"Well, you know how in westerns, the bad guy always draws first, but the good guy always wins? He postulated a law to explain why that is."
"The good guy doesn't have to think," Happosai said. "He only reacts. Reaction is faster than initiating an action."
Ranma stared at Happosai in surprise. "What?" the Master exclaimed. "Isn't that obvious? You need a philosopher-physicist to tell you these things? Any martial artist knows this!"
"Well, yeah, I guess," Ranma said. "I just thought it was neat that there's a verifiable law that a some bureaucrat wrote down."
"He's a bureaucrat now?"
"The point is, I'm thinking about this too much," Ranma said. "And my other point is, I can learn things from studying that's applicable to martial arts."
"Less talking! More bomb tossing!" Happosai exclaimed. "We only got a week to make you a Master! Go, go, go!"
"Master of the school?" Akane asked. She was cooking curry over the campfire. After days of nothing but rice and tea and the sweet potatoes that Happsai had a knack of finding (and which the Master loved), Ranma was happy to eat nearly anything else, and Akane had proven lately that she could manage a passable curry without poisoning people. Nevertheless, Ranma was glad to note that Sachiko and Cologne were helping.
"That's right," Happosai declared. "If Ranma can master my best moves by the end of the week, I'll declare him a Master of Anything-Goes Martial Arts. Not," he added, seeing the objection on Akane's lips, "simply the master of the Saotome school. I'll name him master of my own school, the foundation of all the Anything Goes schools."
Akane glanced at Ranma. He was once again a guy, though still bald. "In only a week? Do you think you can do that, Ranma?"
Ranma shrugged. "Sure," he said.
"Well, if you were planning to stay out here another week, you should have at least called us," Akane said. "Mother is not very happy with you at the moment."
Ranma shrugged. "It's not like I've got a phone out here or nothin'....."
"Oh, that's right!" Akane exclaimed. "I almost forgot!" She dug around in a bag and produced a phone. "Miyuki got this for you. To replace the one your father destroyed."
Ranma turned the phone over in her hands. It was peach in color, and was decorated with magical girl stickers. A small magical girl figurine dangled from it as well.
"Wedding Peach?" she asked.
"That's right," Akane replied. "Miyuki was very excited to find those decorations. It's not exactly a popular show anymore."
"There are two phone numbers programmed into it already," Sachiko said. "Your mother's house, and Miyuki's. You should call them."
Ranma's stomach rumbled. "Maybe after dinner," she said.
"So you're really going to reveal your greatest secrets, Happy?" Cologne asked. "I never thought I'd see the day."
Happosai nodded. "The time has come," he said. "I'm not getting any younger, and I want to secure my legacy. Ranma's my best student."
"Still," said Cologne, "you will never acknowledge another master of the school."
"That's not true!" Happosai exclaimed. "If Ranma fulfills all of my requirements, then I will have to recognize him!"
"All of your requirements?" Cologne chuckled darkly. "And I wonder what those are?"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
XXX
Ranma lit the bomb and tossed it across the rocky mountainside. It exploded, knocking an improvised dummy "enemy" into the air.
"Faster!" Happosai shouted. Ranma gritted his teeth. He went through the progression again – pull the bomb out, light the bomb, toss the bomb.
"Happodaikarin!" he exclaimed. Another piece of the mountainside exploded.
"Faster!" Happosai demanded. "I can see everything you're doing! Show me that legendary speed that Cologne-chan taught to you! I know she taught you her chestnut fist, so I know you can do this as well."
"This is more complicated than simply throwing punches," Ranma muttered. But he knew the Master was right. He had the speed to perform Happosai's signature move. He just needed to get the mechanics down so that he no longer had to think it through. "It's just like Bohr's Law."
"Bored what now?"
"Niels Bohr," Ranma said. "He was a Flemish philosopher. Or maybe German, I don't remember. He won a Nobel Prize in Physics."
"Quite a feat for a philosopher," Happosai said. He took a puff on his pipe. "And what's that got to do with martial arts?"
"Well, you know how in westerns, the bad guy always draws first, but the good guy always wins? He postulated a law to explain why that is."
"The good guy doesn't have to think," Happosai said. "He only reacts. Reaction is faster than initiating an action."
Ranma stared at Happosai in surprise. "What?" the Master exclaimed. "Isn't that obvious? You need a philosopher-physicist to tell you these things? Any martial artist knows this!"
"Well, yeah, I guess," Ranma said. "I just thought it was neat that there's a verifiable law that a some bureaucrat wrote down."
"He's a bureaucrat now?"
"The point is, I'm thinking about this too much," Ranma said. "And my other point is, I can learn things from studying that's applicable to martial arts."
"Less talking! More bomb tossing!" Happosai exclaimed. "We only got a week to make you a Master! Go, go, go!"
