Long story short, Ron wasn't surprised that he felt an extreme amount of familiarity with Master Sensei even before he met him.
Master Sensei smiled back at the boy conveying with his expression that he felt a similar feeling of knowing. "Ahhh, Stoppable san, I imagine you know that I am a Sensei here or the Master Sensei to most of the residents here… Despite the trouble you had getting here and the shameful actions of my students, I really am very pleased to meet you in person."
Ron smiled back at the almost stereotypical old man in front of him. The elderly Japanese man had shock white hair both on his head and in a very long beard down his chest. He also had curly eyelashes which were also snow white.
Master Sensei looked like what he was… an ancient martial arts Master and wiseman…
Moving across the room, Ron kneeled down at Sensei's height before nodding in recognition. "It is good to finally meet you Master Sensei, and you're right, seeing you in person is like experiencing deja vu. You look like an image that my brain was tenuously supplying for you in my head… Then again.... I don't think anyone on Earth could look more like a ninja school headmaster than you do…"
In the seconds following that last statement, Ron reflected on how dumb he is and how rude that comment actually was...
After a few quiet moments passed, Master Sensei put Ron at ease by roaring with healthy laughter, before giggling like a child and nodding his head with a smile upon his face… A few moments later, when he finally came down from his fit of highly amused snickers, he smiled at Ron again as if they were sharing a joke... "I was very much looking forward to that American style sense of humor that Yori san told me about. You are also correct in your statement. I do, in fact, look like a Hollywood movie rendition of an old Japanese wise man…"
It was Master Sensei's turn to give Ron a sly grin as he leaned forward over his desk and arched his eyebrows meaningfully at the boy. "The question you need to ask yourself though... is whom stole the look from whom… I am very, VERY old, Stoppable san, and predate almost all forms of modern media…"
Due mostly to where he was and what he'd been through over the last week, Ron managed to take Master Sensei's words at face value, at which point, he immediately started freaking out over the implications. He wanted to ask like a hundred questions starting with the obvious HOW OLD, but he forced himself not to say a single word. He'd already been way too impertinent since entering the room, and he didn't want to push his luck.
Master Sensei must have caught on to Ron's dilemma, since he almost immediately volunteered an answer to his unspoken question with a gracious smile upon his face. "I have been old since before your great grandfather was born, as a result of the spiritual training that I've performed throughout my life. A fact that I have no interest in keeping to myself for one very important reason… The longevity that I enjoy is the primary reason why being a student at this school is so sought after… despite all of the dangers involved in the association…"
While Ron was increasingly blown away by what he was finding out, he wanted to hear Master Sensei's orientation in its correct order, he knew that the man was going to tell him what he needed to know, and he knew that asking a shotgun blast of random questions would just get him confused… With that much in mind, Ron adopted as close to a traditional seiza (formal respectful kneeling posture) as he could on the tatami mat floor, and then he gave Master Sensei his undivided attention.
Master Sensei grinned in delight as he saw Ron eagerly await his every word. "Oh you are fun Stoppable san. It is not often I get to fill in people about the school like this. Everyone I meet seems to know everything about both me and this school long before I meet them."
Ron grinned back at the clearly awesome old man, but he also didn't move or say a word.
After pouring tea for Ron and himself, Master Sensei settled in for a long explanation… "Did you perhaps notice the Tori that you walked through as you entered the school, Stoppable san?"
"Yes, I noticed the Tori," Ron replied with a nod. "I also noticed a change in the atmosphere around me as I passed beneath them. I'll admit, at first I was surprised that a school would also be a sacred site. Then I decided it made sense, since students here are learning to access and use spiritual powers."
"Everything you've said is true at face value, but none of that is the primary reason," Master Sensei conceded with a smile and a nod. "Yamanouchi has existed in its current state for hundreds of years, but it was originally a monastery. As a monastery, it was eclectic in nature, mostly centered around Zen Buddhism with some variations. The major variation was the fact that we were heavily involved in martial arts. The reason this sect of monks were so involved in martial arts are twofold. First off, martial arts is a mental discipline just as much as it is a physical one. A monk who practices a martial art is usually doing so to further his journey to spiritual enlightenment. Unfortunately, that was not the main reason in regards to the monks present HERE. The area we are in was originally the location of a vast source of spiritual power and so the monastery grew around it. Over time, the monks here began to be affected by the spiritual power in the area. While that is usually a good thing for the individual, what it leads to is an awareness of what we call 'the unseen.' If you grow up here or spend a few years here you will become aware that the world houses far more than the mundane things that you are seeing at face value…"
At this point, Ron was just barely keeping up because of all the wild things that he was hearing. The only thing keeping him calm was the fact that he was frequently visiting a mindscape and had used the MMP in small doses in the past.
After confirming that Ron was taking what he was saying in stride, Sensei's face returned to a calm look and he took a sip from his tea. "Stoppable san, this next part is important to you specifically, because you do not live here. Here at Yamanouchi we are sheltered by a great benign spiritual power present all around us. The outside world however, is home to every creature imaginable of all shapes and sizes. These spirit realm creatures range from the most benignly beautiful to evil abominations beyond your wildest nightmare. These creatures only very seldom interact with the physical world because it is uncomfortably foreign to them. The kind that DO cross over more often than not are malicious and like to use humans as food or tools. Living your life outside of this location once you are trained in spiritual powers is HARD Stoppable san. The reason for that is because once you see these spirit realm creatures, they become more aware of you in return. At that point you very well might find yourself attacked by the evils in the world that are not noticed by mundane people…"
Once again, Sensei watched Ron for his reaction thus far.
Ron was becoming visibly more determined as the story was being told. He would NOT allow himself to be ignorant of the dangers around him, merely to enjoy a feeling of superficial safety. More importantly, he wouldn't let those creatures be near KP or any of his friends unseen. If he was a target, then so be it, but he would keep those people close to him safe.
When Master Sensei saw in Ron's eyes that he'd understood the danger and was undeterred, he drew in yet another sip from his tea, and then he continued with his story... "As Monks are often extremely moral men, a few of the bravest that lived here back then decided they needed to protect the world from the unseen. The monks that lived here trained to fight these evils, thus, we became a fighting force over a great many years. It is a very important distinction that we were never a military unit. We closely resemble the stories regarding ninja, but even that isn't completely accurate. We are where the image of ninja was stolen from. Our techniques and training were at some point misappropriated and used for mere feudal lords. Ninja skills were initially designed so that we could slay monsters, not follow the whims of any single man. Mere territory battles are nothing in the face of some of the evils that this world is visited by. The ninja in the history books are mere shadows of what we became capable of while utilizing our spiritual powers."
After pausing in his explanation, Master Sensei took a very sloooow and dramatic sip of his tea… "Everything I have explained thus far happened near the beginning of written history. Yamanouchi is a VERY old institution, and we know how to make people strong. Our teachings are exceptionally strict, and they're focused on a mixture of martial arts and zen meditation. You will find yourself being pushed beyond the demands of your body because that's exactly how we work. This next part is very important, Stoppable san. If you wish to subject yourself to our training, you must make an oath to us first. We do not teach these things for your benefit only. Our purpose is to fight the worst evils, so if you want to be taught by us you must be willing to do the same. On Tuesday, before your training begins, your whole training group will perform the oaths. We will never force you to fight something beyond your abilities without support, but you will be expected to fight. Another matter is we are not as secret as we once were. We are known around the world by several governments. They know us as the only fighting force that can put a stop to three specific words. Here at Yamanouchi, we deal with the unseeable, the unexplainable and the dangerous. That is our calling and our honor. Earlier, you told those students that you were sent here by GJ. They wouldn't have liked that, but they also would've believed you because Global Justice HAS called on us for favors in the past. If/when you become skilled and are capable of fighting large scale creatures, we will highly compensate you. The reason for that is not because we are mercenaries, but rather because of the training involved. It is hard to maintain the skills required to fight against evil, if you have a side job at Mcdonalds. We are funded by the agencies around the world that ask for our skills, thus, we have many more resources than you would believe at first glance."
Once again, Master Sensei took a moment to drink his tea and let Stoppable san digest what he'd said so far.
Ron was ready to keel over at this point, but that was because he was blown away by all the earth shattering info that he was receiving. He was still waiting to find out why HE was here though? Hell… Yori had done an excellent job of explaining just how hopelessly weak he was in comparison to the average student here...
"Master Sensei," Ron began as respectfully as he could. "I've become increasingly determined to take part as I've listened to you speak, but I've also become increasingly confused. At one time, I thought this school was centered around martial arts and I could train. I believed because I have some access to MMP that I MAY become strong. What's confusing me, is that you appear to have some… expectations of me… You seem to believe I'll be able to see spiritual creatures within only five months of being exposed to this location. You also appear to think I'll be capable of fighting large scale monsters by the time I leave…"
While taking in Master Sensei's expectant expression, Ron decided just to be as straightforward as he could be. "How strong do you expect I'll become here, and why do you believe it's possible?"
Master Sensei beamed in response to Ron's question… "You are exactly right, Stoppable san, I WAS trying to imply that you can become strong here. I fear that you're going to become frustrated with me however, because I'm going to be the stereotypical Japanese wise man. I imagine you understand what that means?"
Ron nodded with a look of long suffering on his face. "It means you're going to be cryptic and ambiguous to the point that I want to tear my hair out."
Master Sensei laughed good and hard again in response to Ron's melodramatic suffering. "Yes, yes I will never spoon feed you information like what you're asking. I will only say I have high hopes for now, and then I'll expand on that later. Let me ask you this though. Do you believe it is a simple matter to make a mindscape and that just anyone can make one?"
Ron had never thought about it like that. It was so damn useful… "If everyone could have one then everyone would," Ron said out loud. "It is by far the most useful thing I have ever learned. The purposes it could be used for are countless."
"Exactly," Sensei said with a smile. "To develop a mindscape is to interact with your very soul, which let me tell you is no small matter, and requires that you have a large amount of spiritual strength at your disposal. So you see, you are far from ordinary Stoppable san."
Ron knew in that moment that he couldn't put off the big reveal any longer. He needed to explain how his mindscape wasn't the ultra-private and exclusive location that Master Sensei was describing… but he thought he might start with something a little less… dramatic. "Master Sensei," Ron hedged, in a rueful tone of voice. "I've had one or two somewhat interesting events happen in my mindscape over the last day or two…"
"I'd be interested in hearing about them then," Master Sensei casually prompted with a small wave of his hand.
"Well first of all, I'm experiencing some pretty wild time dilation in my mindscape, and by that I mean I slept maybe four hours last night and yet it felt like I was in there for half a day," Ron casually explained, as this part wasn't actually his earth shattering revelation.
Master Sensei stared at Ron with his mouth hanging slightly ajar… "Stoppable san… I have been increasing the potency of my soul for over two-hundred and forty years, and I have only increased my perception of time within my mindscape up to about two and a half the norm… What you're describing sounds closer to four… if not five…"
"That's not actually my big reveal though," Ron slowly, hesitantly warned, as Master Sensei's over the top reaction was beginning to make him nervous.
"Please… do tell." Master Sensei requested with a newly serious expression upon his face, and his hands curled around his teacup.
"I'm being visited by…. girls… female friends of mine… within my mindscape," Ron slowly, haltingly breathed out, while rubbing the back of his neck. "At least two of these girls have achieved fully corporeal bodies within my mindscape, while another two are more like ghosts that are observing me from the sidelines…"
Clink, clatter, rattle, roll….
Master Sensei's cup of tea (mostly empty) was rolling to the side of his desk, completely forgotten, as the elderly man stared down into Ron's eyes with a cattle prodded expression upon his face. "There are… people… there are… WOMEN… inside of your mindscape, Stoppable san… How? When? What led to this?"
"These girls have started visiting my mindscape whenever they go to bed at night, where they've been watching me train," Ron answered with a dramatic shrug of his shoulders. "All of these girls have admitted to watching me train, at least one of them admitted that she knew she could leave my mindscape if she wanted to but that she'd never be able to return, and yet another explained that she's been experiencing unnatural health and vitality ever since she started visiting me…"
"What relationship do you have with these young ladies," Master Sensei asked in a choked out little voice.
"Before you say it, no, these girls are NOT my soulmates," Ron asserted in a desire to get ahead of Master Sensei's massively overstimulated train of thought. "They all have something in common, yes, but a profound spiritual connection with me is NOT what it is…"
"Then I fail to see what you and all of these…" Along with a spluttering exhale, Master Sensei's words suddenly ground to a halt, as the man took in Ron's visibly sheepish and awkward facial expression, saw the slight blush that was beginning to heat up his cheeks, and then gawked at the boy in his dawning comprehension… "Stoppable san… you made lov."
"Sex," Ron suddenly interrupted, in order to stop Master Sensei from saying the taboo term. "I had sex with all these girls over the past week…"
"You… you're that popular with… women," Master sensei slowly breathed out, as if this detail was by far the most unlikely aspect of everything that Ron just described.
Ron forced himself not to take offense, as he nodded that yes, yes he was... "Four different women took an interest in me for one reason or another over this past week, and now they're hanging out with each other within my spiritual center every time they go to sleep."
"This time it was Master Sensei's turn to be rendered mute with shock, the hands that he was holding the teacup in left hanging limply open in the immensity of his preoccupation… Then he abruptly shook out his head, started to grin, and leaned in over the table again. "These girls are your soul ma…"
"STOP," Ron bellowed with extra enthusiasm, while waving his hand in front of his face and grinning back at Sensei. I'm barely on speaking terms with one of the girls involved, and one of the others is exactly the reason I decided to come here in the first place!"
"Please see reason, Stoppable san," Master Sensei immediately argued in a highly amused tone of voice. "Kim Possible and these other girls were all present in your mindscape. Your mindscape is a construct designed for you to interact with your SOUL. I am having trouble finding another description for what is currently happening with these women beyond the fact you have found several of your SOUL MA...."
"Stop please," Ron groaned out while holding the palms of his hands to either side of his head.
"As you wish, Stoppable san… Let's move on," Master Sensei graciously allowed, as he moved away from his desk and then sat down in a full lotus on a nearby pillow.. "I, of course, want to find out more about the harem you're building within your SOUL, but unfortunately for me, it's of vital importance that we begin acclimating you to the air density and fixing your various injuries. If you are skilled at the practices I am about to teach you, you can be mostly repaired by the time training begins on Monday. I will admit that very few are able to put together the mental constructs that I'm about to teach you and no one has ever done so as fast as we are going to attempt."
Ron tilted his head at Master Sensei in confusion. "Is there a specific reason why you believe I will have the ability to do all that in a day and a half?" Of course Ron KNEW the elderly ninja wouldn't actually tell him, but he thought he'd put in a token effort anyway.
"Shoot for the sun and land on the moon is an adequate English proverb," Sensei replied with a grin. "I want you to try to break every skill and speed record we have because if you fail you will still learn at an accelerated rate. You also simply don't have the time required to be weak because you're not going to be popular here… I would intervene on your behalf, but sadly that would just make it worse…"
Ron nodded in very real understanding. No authority figure can protect a student all the time, so it was up to the student to prevent himself from becoming a victim…. Fukushima is just a far less attractive Bonnie Rockwaller that Ron would need to deal with. With that in mind Ron said, "I would like to begin Sensei."
Sensei smiled and folded his hands on his lap. "Okay then… Enter your mindscape and I shall explain in there. I can touch your arm and convey more information that way. Touch does increase understanding, but I will never be able to enter your SOUL like your various SOUL MA....."
"LET'S GET TO WORK," Ron interrupted, both loudly and enthusiastically.
"Yes. I agree. Let's get to work," Sensei enthused while beaming with contentment.
It was a very good time to be Master Sensei.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
After entering his Mindscape Ron found a suitable patch of grass about twenty meters away from the tree-fort, sat down in a full lotus position, and then waited to commune with Master Sensei…
He didn't have to wait long.
All of the sudden Ron felt a solid inner certainty that Master Sensei was about to talk to him. There really is no other way of describing the feeling other than 'oh, okay, Master Sensei wants to talk to me.
"Stoppable San, are you prepared? Master Sensei's voice was somehow both close and far away at exactly the same time.
"Yes Master Sensei, I am ready," Ron replied while shaking out his arms and shoulders as if he was about to do something intensely physical.
"Good, good," Master Sensei enthused. "In order for you to heal, bolster and acclimate your body using your spiritual powers, I intend to help you build an avatar within your mindscape that directly represents the various parts and systems of your body."
"Like… a lifelike statue of myself or a doll," Ron asked, when Master Sensei's words started feeding him images of a perfect, carbon copy replica of the elderly man laying atop a dais.
"Unfortunately, completing an avatar the likes of which my words just conveyed into your mind will probably be impossible, at least in the short term," Master Sensei apologized with a rueful quality to his voice. "I myself have a symbolic avatar of myself the likes of which you just witnessed, yes, but in order to build something that perfect within my mindscape, I needed to study human anatomy for several dozen years even as I grew stronger spiritually. Thankfully for you, Stoppable san, the avatar that you use need not be a perfect replica of your body. The most important aspect of this avatar is the SYMBOLISM it represents…"
"So as long as I can assign a powerfully meaningful connection between what I create and the part of my body that it represents, I don't need my avatar to be perfect, or even human…" Ron mused, as Master Sensei's explanation conveyed a jumbled mass of knowledge that he struggled to organize.
"Yes, and yet the actual process involved is the farthest thing from easy," Master Sensei warned. "Please keep in mind that your construct must represent the shape and function of your brain, lungs, heart, stomach, intestines, liver, bladder and kidneys, as well as the various systems that maintain your body and the way that they work together… With our mindscapes acting to impart greater understanding between the two of our minds, I will lead you through all of these organs and systems one at a time, during which time, I want you to build yourself a symbolic body… Do not worry about perfection or even convention, merely focus on the connection between what you're building, and your real physical body…"
"I understand, and I'm excited to get started…" Ron was stoked, and he knew that Master Sensei could feel his excitement in his voice.
In return, Ron could feel the satisfaction in Master Sensei's voice when he began his explanation. "Okay then… Let's start with the very basics… Your vascular system deals with your blood, how it moves and what it moves. Your blood is responsible for transporting nutrients and oxygen to your body's cells. It is also the way waste products are removed from them."
"Food delivery and junk removal," Ron muttered to himself. "I have a question," he said almost immediately after.
"Go ahead, Stoppable san." You could hear the surprise in Master Sensei's voice.
"You said that these systems can be symbolic in nature right?" Ron had an idea that he was forming in his mind and needed to ask more questions before he could get excited.
"Yes Stoppable San, and the way that these systems work only need to make sense to YOU, within the confines of YOUR mindscape," Master Sensei answered Ron's unspoken question.
"Do I have to have one construct that does all three functions of the vascular system," Ron asked with a hand on his chin. "I was wanting to make food and oxygen transport two systems and garbage removal a far removed third. It seems counter-intuitive and messy to have one system carrying both garbage and food."
With that one slightly misguided question, Master Sensei could already tell that Stoppable San was going to make himself far more than merely human, because the boy didn't have any of the hangups that he and the rest of Yamanouchi's elders labored under while approaching the same project. Even Sensei himself had built his mindscape avatar based on a REAL one with REAL limitations, because doing so made the process easier while making use of the spiritual powers that he had on hand at the time… Well, Ronald Stoppable didn't need to conserve his spiritual power the way that a normal practitioner would, as he already contained more power than he could possibly imagine... He didn't have the same roadblocks regarding what was applicable or too difficult to implement, and he was a very, VERY creative young man.
Master Sensei almost shivered at the implications of Ron's question, because it revealed the fact that the boy was a monster in the making…
"While yes, you can assign the different components of your avatar to complete any and all of the tasks I've listed so far separately, what you need to keep in mind is the fact that you only have the one set of arteries and veins in your body, and creating duplicates will endlessly complicate your physique," Master Sensei cautioned. "I think, instead, what you really want to accomplish, is to symbolically master the various cells comprising your body…. For instance… What if…you could direct the blood cells in your body to focus entirely on one job at a time or suddenly change jobs at your direction… I have heard of stem cell research that touches upon this type of versatility, but it is scientifically impossible so far…"
"Well then, it's a good thing we aren't doing this using science then, isn't it," Ron asked with a meaningful smile upon his face. "I plan to create something that can be interfaced with. Something that represents every system of my body separately so that I can affect it in real time. Something… cool…" he quietly breathed out at the end."
"When you describe it like that, it just sounds like common sense," Master Sensei slowly replied. "It's too bad I received what amounts to a medical degree before I grew strong enough to build my body's avatar. "I wanted mine to be as true to life as possible to conserve the power requirement involved, and now I wish I'd just thrown away common sense like you are."
Ron smiled because thinking outside the box was always a skill of his. Speaking of which, an idea had just occurred to him, but he needed to swing it by Master Sensei before giving it a try… "I was wondering if I can create a workforce within my mindscape?"
"Normally no, because complicated personalities would be too much to imagine," Master Sensei almost immediately responded. "You would need to keep it relatively simple and straightforward…"
"I have just the thing in mind then," Ron said aloud for Sensei's benefit. "It'll be perfect and probably the cutest damn thing ever seen on the face of the planet." Ron was already forming a plan of action and just needed to know the rest of the systems involved. "If you can continue your explanation of the human anatomy I need to affect, I'd appreciate it. Please be patient with me because I plan to ask many, many questions."
By this point, a lotus position sitting Master Sensei was smiling like a loon back in his office because Stoppable San was so damned entertaining. "Very well, Stoppable san… The next system is the digestive system and it is responsible for…"
Master Sensei and Ron spent hours and hours talking and brainstorming ideas for Ron's mindscape avatar, during which time Master Sensei realized that he had nooo idea what Ron had in mind for his symbolic construct. He only knew for certain that It was NOT a human body and that it would be an efficiency superhighway. He only had one more item on his agenda before he left Stoppable San to get to work... "Stoppable San, there are two things you need to focus on most, in order to prepare for Tuesday morning…"
"Go ahead," Ron allowed as he constructed something off in the distance.
"You will need to have your muscles healing within just minutes of use," Sensei began in a completely candid tone of voice. "We will be tearing them to ribbons multiple times a day because you're so far behind."
"Understood. I will get to work on that. And what was the other thing to focus on?" Ron was already figuring out how he would accomplish what Master Sensei wanted of him.
"You will need to be completely acclimated to this air density," Master Sensei continued. "I want you to aim for a body that uses even less oxygen than is available here. Aim for a vascular system that can use every scrap of oxygen available with no waste whatsoever. Create massive amounts of what you picture as red blood cells and capillaries, increased lung capacity and osmosis into the body. I need you to be as creative in that objective as possible, Stoppable San. Acclimating to this air density would normally take months and even then only be partially successful. I need you to be at the top of your game if you're to survive both the training and your fellow students."
Ron smiled as he looked around his construct and then he nodded his head. "Okay… I'm going to be heavily involved in this mindscape construction process until classes start on Tuesday. For that reason, I'll spend all day meditating except for meals until that time. I have a firm idea of how I would achieve so much work and to such efficiency, but it'll be a lot of work."
"Naturally," Sensei replied with a truly impressed sound in his voice. "I'm only surprised that you're not in a panic of activity right now and are capable of talking to me."
"I am creating it as we speak." Ron responded conversationally. "Keep in mind the extreme time dilation that I mentioned earlier... Until just recently, I didn't know why you were talking to me so infrequently, but now I understand why. To me, you're only speaking once every five minutes or so, because my perception's altered in here. Apparently, you've been speaking this whole entire time without stopping, but I only get the info in manageable chunks over time. I have about a hundred and twenty hours until Tuesday morning in this space. It also appears I am very good at this mindscape construction stuff. It doesn't hurt at all like you described to me before. In fact it feels more like a very rewarding creative outlet. I'm currently building a better me and nothing is more satisfying than that…"
Outside, in the real world, Master Sensei could hardly believe just how strong and efficient Stoppable's mindscape actually was. The amount of work the boy could get done in just a single day was astounding… "Okay Stoppable San. I am going to bed because I am old. I will have Yori San bring food to my office and then show you to a private room. Later, you will be housed in a barrack room with the other students in your trainee group, but right now you are essentially defenseless. I will not put you at risk in a public room."
"I appreciate all of your support, and I'm confident that I'll have the important aspects of my avatar built by Monday night." Ron assured in a very casual tone of voice.
"So am I," Master Sensei whispered. "It is amazing to me that I truly believe you're so casually going to do the impossible. Good night, Stoppable San."
"Good night Master Sensei."