Lighting A Fire Under Their Feet

By John Biles

Series:  Mai Hime (distant aftermath)

***************

	Meiko still doesn't quite get it.  "That's not right," I 
told her, as she thrust her sword forward.

	Meiko frowned, pouty again.  She's always so pouty 
whenever I criticize her, but how else will she learn?  "I did 
it exactly like you did it!"

	"Hit me," I tell her.

	She thrusts out with her sword, striking at my chest.  
Her form is very good, very good indeed.  But it doesn't 
have her heart in it.  There's no power in it.  Like most of 
my students, she doesn't grasp how to put real power into 
her blows.

	So I take the blow, standing there, barely having felt 
it.  She stares at me, frowning.  "See?"

	I thrust back in exactly the same manner, and she goes 
sprawling, rolling across the floor.  She misses Hanako, 
which is what I had planned.  With my students, at least, 
everything usually goes right when I do something.  Just 
not when they do it.

	Hanako stares at her, then idly kicks her; Meiko's long 
red hair flops about as she turns and tries to kick Hanako, 
who leaps out of the way, her own blonde hair flapping 
about wildly.  She really needs to cut her hair shorter if she 
wants to fight, or it will get in her eyes.

	Like it does now when Meiko rises and charges at her.  

	I start forward to stop them, then decide to stop and 
see if perhaps Meiko will apply her heart better.

	When she swipes Hanako's legs out from under her 
and sends her toppling, I nod my head.  Very good, I think.  
That's using her heart.

	I gesture at the other students to keep practicing and 
sprint over to them, watching as Hanako grimaces and 
kicks out Meiko's legs.  When they start wrestling instead 
of sword-fighting, then it's time to step in.  "Now, now, this 
is not a wrestling school," I tell them.  "I only wrestle with 
Mai-chan and Tate-kun, so unless you two are..."

	Ooops, I'm not supposed to mention that in public, so I 
put my hand over my mouth.  I'm gonna be in big trouble 
now.

	They both stare at me for a moment, and then 
suddenly Meiko goes red and scrambles away, while 
Hanako looks confused.  "Who?  Are they in one of your 
other classes?"

	I'm not good at hiding my love, though I did get 
through Tate-kun's entire office party without jumping on 
his back once this year.  Mai-chan was very pleased with 
me.

	I still don't know how Mai can resist riding around on 
Tate-kun; he's so good at it, even as good as my brother.  
On the other hand, Mai's breasts would tend to get in the 
way, so maybe that's it.

	"Nothing," I tell them.  "I'm not hiding anything at 
all."  That should fool everyone, right?  I hope so.  I'm 
normally much better about this.  Maybe I need to eat.

	Hanako continues to look confused, while Meiko says, 
hastily, "Was my sword form any better?"

	"Yes.  You have to put your heart into it," I tell her, 
then I blow my whistle, and everyone comes to attention.  
"Practice your chest thrusts while I get a snack."

	I must need food; my stomach rumbles and confirms 
it.  I still don't understand why I get so hungry all the time.  
But it's my life.

	This is why I keep a well stocked fridge and 
microwave in the office, since Mai can't cook for me when 
I'm working.  Just thinking about her cooking makes me 
drool, which Tate always tells me I shouldn't do in front of 
the students.

	Which is why it's good that I'm in the office alone 
when I start drooling.  Fortunately, hot pockets warm up 
quickly, and soon, I forget everything in my food.

	I like teaching people, though it took me a while to 
adjust from how I was taught, which apparently is not the 
way things are done these days.  And the finance part of it 
makes me glad I have Tate-kun and Mai-chan to handle 
those things, as when numbers get very big, I glaze over.

	Having eaten, I carefully wipe my face, as it helps the 
students to respect me more; I had a lot of trouble with 
getting the older ones to respect me without beatings until I 
learned this.  

	Ambling back out, I find everyone is busy thrusting in 
unison.  It is impressive to look at, but they're still not 
putting enough heart into it.  

	They need a rival.  That's what really lets a person put 
their heart into it.  But I don't want to turn my students 
against each other.  Not after...that's not an option.  They 
need an outside foe, someone to get their blood up and 
unite their hearts.

	But where will I find one?

***************

	"A rival school, of course," big brother tells me, 
smiling, as I sit on his couch and drink his tea and eat his 
cookies.  He's always been so smart, you know.

	I really should have thought of this, but it makes 
perfect sense, I think.  "I really should have thought of this, 
but it makes perfect sense," I tell my big brother.

	He relaxes back on the couch, sipping his tea.  "You 
could challenge the Arisugawa school."

	I thought about the last time I had clashed with them.  
"My...thing...will go up again."

	He turns to half-face me, raising an eyebrow.  
"Your...thing?"

	"Insurance.  Fire insurance," I tell him.  "Her friend is 
crazy.  But bald now."  Or maybe her hair has grown back.  
It has been a few years.

	"I see," he says, but I can tell from his voice he doesn't 
remember that.  "Perhaps the Hanwa school?" 

	Oooh, good choice.  Big brother is so smart.  "The 
Hanwa school it is," I tell him.  "They're a good choice."

	He sips his tea again, then puts it aside.  "Very good, 
then.  I wish you luck."

	I smile at him; he always wants me to succeed.  My 
big brother loves me very much, though not like Mai-chan 
and Tate-kun.  Whatever some people may think.  Of 
course, they're not supposed to think Tate-kun and Mai-
chan love me like that, either.

	You know what I mean.

*************

	"I don't think people just barge into someone else's 
dojo and start slapping everyone around these days," Mai-
chan says, frowning at me.  She doesn't like my plan, I 
think.

	Tate-kun staggers out of the kitchen, carrying 
everyone's food, since Mai was busy at the table with me.  I 
dart over and grab his and put it down on the table; I used 
to always grab my own first, but I have learned some 
manners.

	He smiles at me and passes me mine, then turns to 
hand Mai hers.  "Depends on the dojo.  Some will want a 
challenge, others will call the police."

	"I think Hanwa is traditional enough," I tell Mai, 
trying to reassure her.

	Then...something is missing...tea!  I dart into the 
kitchen and pour everyone a glass and bring it out.  "Ta-
da!"

	Mai takes them and lays them out.  "Thank you, 
Mikoto-chan."  She smiles at me again, and everything 
feels more right.  I can't stand it when she stops smiling at 
me.

	"Anyway, I would suggest you do a little target 
investigation first," Tate-kun says to me as he sits down.  
"That way, you avoid embarrassment when it comes time 
for your offer."

	"Tar...oh, right."  For a moment, I was thinking about 
shooting things...with an investigation...it made no sense.  
But then I got it.  

	"When dealing with other businesses, it's very 
important to have enough information," Mai-chan says as 
she finally sits down.

	We all pray over the food a moment, then Mai-chan 
continues.  "However, you're going to have to think about 
how this may impact your training schedule for the 
students, if you're really going to go through with this."  I 
could tell she didn't want me to, but if I was, she was going 
to make sure I did it right.  She always backs Tate-kun and 
I up, once she sees she can't turn us aside from what we're 
planning.  I love my Mai-chan so much.   
	
	By the time dinner was over, I'd been thoroughly 
interrogated and Mai had come up with several plans.

	"Practice time," I tell Tate-kun.

	"I need to finish some things in the office," he tells 
me.  Which means I'll have to attack him in the office if he 
takes too long, but he knows I'll do that and he doesn't tell 
me not to, so clearly it's okay.  I can tell he'd rather be 
sword-fighting.  I certainly would.

	Mai just shakes her head and says, "You can help me 
clean up, Mikoto."

	Yay!  I love to help Mai-chan.  I spring to my feet and 
secure all the dishes at once.  "Let's clean!"

	I don't know why, but it always seems like both of us 
together can clean the dishes in a quarter the time it takes 
Mai by herself.  Shouldn't it be half?  I'm not good at 
numbers, though.

	So Tate was still working in his office (or pretending 
to work, as he sneaks computer games, sometimes), when 
we finished, so Mai takes me over to the couch.  As we 
walk, I try to figure out if she wants to talk, to snuggle, or if 
we're going to make out loudly on the couch until Tate can't 
focus any more and comes down and jumps on us and it 
gets really fun.  I wish it was as easy to read people's 
moves outside combat as it is in it.  I'm getting better and 
almost never embarrass my loves in public any more, but it 
always seems like they can read each other better than I 
can, which makes me a little jealous.  I just can't even 
figure out where to start to learn, and when I ask them 
about it, they just end up confused.  It's kind of frustrating.

	Mai depositing me on her lap gives me some hints, so 
I lean forward and kiss her.  This would be easier if it was a 
video game.  Mai smiles and kisses me back, softly, which 
is probably a sign to not start taking her clothing off and 
moaning loudly until Tate can't hold back any more.  
Harder kisses usually mean it's time to get naked.  But not 
in public.  But we're not in public right now.

	She kisses me again, so I kiss her back, uncertain 
whether to escalate or not.  It would be so much easier if 
there were rules for all this.  They can get in the way, 
sometimes, but they avoid confusion.  And I get confused 
by a lot of things.

	She breaks off the kiss, looking a little guilty, though 
I'm not sure why.  "You're so understanding," she says 
softly.

	I nod, liking praise, even though I don't understand 
what I'm so understanding of.  Must be sword fighting.  I 
understand THAT, anyway.  "You understand lots of things 
too," I tell her.  A lot more than me.

	"No, no, not like that," Mai says, sighing.  "Just, all 
the false fronts and...I wish I could marry you.  But not 
with three of us."

	She's feeling guilty again.  But I don't mind.  They 
love me and that's enough.  I look terrible in a dress, 
anyway.

	"We do what we have to, right?", I tell her.  "You can 
give me ice cream if you feel guilty."

	Mai laughs at that, and I feel better.  I like to see her 
happy.  She kisses me again and goes and gets a tub of ice 
cream and two spoons, and we both start eating from it.  
We're not supposed to do this; Mai gets mad when I do it.  
Unless we're using it in bed together.  But it must be okay 
today for some reason.  Even though this isn't a bed, unless 
we fold it out.  Maybe that's close enough for ice cream 
eating.  

	After a bit, I'm full; I'm not completely hungry all the 
time, whatever Crystal may think.

	I wish she was still living with us and not off at 
school.  She's fun to play with, and I miss her, but she 
needed a better school than any of the ones around here, 
and none of us wanted to move.

	But I miss her anyway.

	What's taking Tate-kun so long, anyway?  He'd better 
not be secretly playing Master of Orion XII again.  Can't he 
do that at work?

	Mai comes back and snuggles up to me again, turning 
on the TV.  I put an arm around her and snuggle up close, 
watching the news.  "Don't we need to clean up?" I ask her, 
to my own surprise, as I tend to forget such things.

	"I'll do it while you two spar," she says.  "Your turn is 
tomorrow."  We rotate the cleaning up between us.  Tate 
and I can't cook well, so Mai-chan always cooks, but the 
two of us take turns cleaning up, usually.  But sometimes, 
Mai lets us off the hook, like tonight.

	"Are we going to get naked tonight?" I ask her.  I'm 
feeling a little frisky, after our snuggling earlier.

	"Well, we'd have to go to bed early," Mai said.  "As 
both of us work tomorrow.  But if you want to, we can."  
She leans over and kisses my cheek, but she looks a little 
guilty.  I can never tell when she's guilty because she's been 
bad and bought food without using a coupon or when she's 
just guilty for reasons I can't understand.  

	"I gotta finish this letter before I can get naked," Tate-
kun shouts down from the office above.  His hearing is 
pretty good.  When he wants it to be.

	Mai looks just a little...excited?  Nervous?  
Anticipatory?  I'm not sure.  Sometimes this means she 
wants me to be naughty and sometimes it means that she's 
worried about something I'd never think of.  

	So I try the breast test.  A quick snuggle shows me 
she's wearing a boring bra.  That won't do.  Time for a 
phone call.  "Be right back!"

	Cell phone...I have one, but I don't use it much and 
half the time, I can't find it.

	My infallible instincts, however, lead me to the 
clothing hamper, where I find yesterday's jeans, with the 
phone in them.  It's time for a quick call.  

	"Natsuki-san!" I say when she answers.

	"Oh, hi, Mikoto-san.  How are you?"

	"Mai needs a special bra for tonight.  Her current one 
is too plain," I tell her.

	I hear Mai rise from the couch, "I have plenty of bras, 
Mikoto-chan!  Who are you calling?"

	Who else WOULD I call for underwear?  Natsuki has 
the best, forget about the rest.

	Natsuki laughs.  "She should have plenty in her closet 
by now, you know."

	"I already know those ones.  I want a surprise," I tell 
Natsuki.

	"Mikoto-chan, I don't..."  Mai grabs the phone.  
"Natsuki-chan, I have plenty of bras.  I don't know why 
she's bothering you."

	"Oh, it's a boring night and I don't work for two days, 
so I could bring some over, have you try them on for 
Mikoto-chan," Natsuki says, teasingly.  

	"We can all dress up!" I tell her enthusiastically.  I 
have to admit, all my bras are kind of boring.  I have some 
fancy ones Natsuki gave me, but I have hardly anything to 
put in them, which really isn't fair.  "It'll be fun!  You 
wanna stay overnight with us?" I shout at the phone, so as 
to make sure she can hear, since Mai stole the phone from 
me.

	"But Mikoto-chan, that would get in the way of...I 
mean..." Mai is starting to get flustered.  She was fine a 
minute ago.  Right?  Why is she embarrassed now?

	"Well, if you really want me to," Natsuki says, almost 
laughing.  

	Mai's face turns red; it's so cute when she does that!  
So I kiss her.  On the cheek, since the phone's in the way.

	I'm sure Natsuki must be lots of fun when she's naked.  
"Come on over!," I tell her, then yell up to Tate.  "Natsuki's 
going to get naked with us tonight!"

	There is a moment of utter silence which now 
descends upon the house.

	Traditionally, such a moment happens just before 
Akira suddenly ambushes me or right before Mai knocks 
the bookcase on herself again or right during some sports 
game which Tate is now missing because I snagged the 
power cord with my sword or right after Crystal catches me 
reading her porn.  

	My brain quickly assesses which form of doom is 
coming.  Probably Akira, who could EASILY have driven 
up and positioned herself to attack without me noticing.  
Mai isn't near anything that can fall on her, Tate isn't 
watching anything, and Crystal took all her porn with her 
this time.  Ergo, it must be Akira.  

	I jump up onto the counter and look around, seizing 
the nearby broom for defense.

	Tate shouts down, "Say WHAT?"

	My keen senses hear Natsuki saying, "I...uh...I 
mean..."

	Mai says, "We...she...joking...NOTHING, TATE-
KUN!"

	Where is Akira?  I can't see her anywhere, but since 
nothing is exploding or falling on anyone and there's no 
orphans in the walls, what else COULD it be?

	Yet she remains perfectly hidden; she knows I'm on to 
her, so I try to act casual, like I'm sweeping.  "Oh my, I'm 
just up here to get more leverage as I sweep the floor."

	Mai has no red left to turn.

	Natsuki finally says, weakly, "Mikoto-chan is such a 
joker."

	"Yes, she's a real space cowboy," Mai babbles.  "She 
was just calling to tease you about your underwear.  I'm 
sorry."

	"It's okay," Natsuki says.  "If you really need any..."

	"No, we're good," Mai tells her.  "We...we're good."

	"What are you all yelling about?" Tate yells down.

	"Just finish your work, dear!" Mai yells up.  

	WHERE IS AKIRA?  The tension is killing me.  
There's only one choice.  I pull my cellphone now that I 
remember I have it, and I call her.

	She answers.  "This is Tokiha Akira.  Good evening."

	"Akira-san, where are you hiding to ambush me?  You 
win, I can't spot you at ALL," I tell her.

	Mai mumbles something about sugar.

	Natsuki says, "Okay.  Just call me if you ever need 
anything special for a special occasion."

	"Akira?" I ask again.

	"If I tell you, you will find me," Akira says, sounding 
amused, then hangs up.

	So it's going to be that way, is it?  I'm going to have to 
tear the house apart to find her.

	I sprint off, poking my head into things, trying to find 
where she's hiding.  My first search reveals she didn't 
remove all the plates and glasses.  

	By this time, Mai finishes on the phone and drags me 
off by my feet.  "I'm sure my sister is not in the house," she 
tells me.

	I keep wondering how exactly that works.  If my 
brother marries someone, will she be my sister?  Are Mai 
and Tate my big brother's siblings now?  

	I mean, we're not actually married, but it's practically 
the same thing.  "Mai-chan," I say.

	"Yes, Mikoto-chan?" she asks as she takes me back to 
the couch.  

	"Is big brother Reito your brother now?" I ask her.

	She blinks at me, and then I see the light click on in 
her eyes.  "Oh," she says, then looks a little guilty.  She 
stares off at the crossed swords over the fireplace we hardly 
ever use.  "Yes," she says.

	"You don't call him brother," I point out.

	"Well...I would be in error," she says.  "I mean, I 
should."

	"He's a very good big brother," I tell her, then kneel on 
the couch, hugging her around the neck.  

	Then a thought hits me.  "How..umm..."  There's a 
word.  I can't remember it.  But I figure out another way.  
"So does that make Akira and big brother siblings?  And 
Takumi-san would be his brother too, right?"

	"Well, I..."  Mai's eyes cross.  "I'm not sure how that 
all works."  

	"TATE-KUN!" I shout.  "ARE AKIRA AND BIG 
BROTHER SIBLINGS NOW?"  Just in case he wasn't 
listening.	

	He wasn't.  "Uh, what?" he shouts down.

	"Akira-san is Mai-chan's sister and Reito-oniichan is 
her brother, therefore, they're siblings too, right?" I shout 
up to him.

	"I have no idea.  You should ask Midori.  She studies 
history and geneaology and all that sh...stuff," Tate-kun 
says.  
	
	I whip out my phone and dial.  There's a sound of 
explosions.  "Hi, Midori-san!  Are you having fun?"

	"Loads," she says cheerfully, then shouts, "Dammit, 
Nao, load the gold cartridges, not the silver ones!"	

	I hear a mechanical grunt, then a whistle and a distant 
boom and screaming.  "Should I call back later?" I ask.  I'm 
missing a good fight!  That's kind of disappointing.

	"Is this important or social?" Midori asks.

	I can hear Alyssa shouting something about gargoyles 
on the other end.

	"Umm...it's importantly social," I tell her.

	She laughs.  Mai says, "Do I hear explosions, Mikoto-
chan?"  She sounds worried.

	"Tell Mai we're fine," Midori said.  "What's the 
problem?"

	"Midori-san says she's fine, Mai-chan."  I turn back to 
the phone.  "So, if Reito-oneechan is Mai's brother and 
Akira-san is Mai's sister, are they brother and sister?" I ask 
her.

	"When did Reito-san become Mai's brother?" Midori 
asks in confusion.

	"Same way Akira-san became her sister."  I pause.  
"Well, not exactly the same way, as I'm not Mai's sister."  
Now I start to get confused as to how it all works.

	I hear a great squawk and Nao shouting something 
about bastards.  

	"I think it's up to them whether to regard each other as 
such," Midori says.

	Well, that makes sense.  "Okay, thanks!  Good luck 
with the fight!"

	"Good luck to you too," she says and hangs up.

	"Hey, Tate-kun, are you done yet?" I shout up 
impatiently.  

	All is silent.  This could mean he's in the bathroom, or 
focused on work...playing computer games...or ambushing 
me.  But he normally can't sneak up on me.

	"Tate-kun?" I shout.

	"Trying to find where I hid my practice swords," he 
shouts down finally.

	Mai rises.  "I'll go clean the kitchen, then," she says.

	"Mai-chan put them in the rack thing by the back 
door," I shout up.

	"Oh, right," he says.  "I'll be right down, then."

	I rub my hands in eager anticipation, go and find 
myself a practice sword, and head outside to wait for him.

************

	Tate-kun's never been as good as me, but he's one of 
the very best fighters I know.  

	Which admittedly isn't saying much, as most of the 
ones I know are either my students or people with powers 
who rely on the powers over skill.

	He thrusts for my shoulder and I slide under it and jab 
him in the gut; my size has its advantages, and one of them 
is ducking under things.  

	Tate-kun staggers back, and I have to move and kick 
him to one side so he doesn't squish the violets that 
Takumi-san spent so long planting.  Unfortunately, this lets 
him thwack me in the chest and I roll to one side.

	As he tries to follow up, I flip over him and jab him in 
the back and the butt, then jump over his revenge swing 
and tap his shoulders as I come down.  He switches grips 
and brings his sword up at an unexpected angle and I tangle 
a leg on it.  

	Quickly, I hook my leg around it, so when I fall, it 
yanks the blade away.  Really, that was cheating, as I'd cut 
my leg on a real blade.

	"Damn, you got me," Tate says.

	I rise and hand him the blade.  "Well, in a real fight, 
I'd be bleeding from the knee now."

	"True," he said, twirling his blade.  "Want to try 
another..."

	My phone rings.  "Hold on."  I answer it.  "This is 
Mikoto," I say.  

	"Sensei!  Meiko got liquored up and now she's on a 
rampage and none of us can stop her and we're afraid the 
police will come and take her away," the woman on the 
other end says.  It's my student Natsume, who is very 
sensible, but not a very good fighter.  She has skill, but she 
tends to hold back.

	"Why is she attacking people?" I ask.

	"Attacking people?" Tate asks, worried.  "Crystal's not 
in another fight, is she?"

	"Not Crystal," I tell Tate; he looks relieved.  

	"She got drunk to forget her fight at lessons, then 
some guy was hitting on her and wouldn't take no for an 
answer, and now she's on a rampage," Natsume said, then 
sighed.  "I'm never taking her here again."

	"I can come help," I tell her.  "Where are you?"

	"What's wrong?" Tate asks, leaning forward.

	I hold up my hand to him to wait just a minute.  

	Natsume gives me the address and I get Tate to copy it 
down for me; he's always got something to write on.  "I'll 
be there soon," I tell Natsume.

	"Thank you," she tells me, half-crying.

	I hang up and get the address.  "I'm sorry," I tell him.  
"I have to go help a student."

	"What's wrong?" he asks.

	I explain it all, and he sighs.  "Want some backup?"

	"I'll be fine," I tell him, then pull him down so I can 
give him a goodbye kiss.  "It's my duty."

	"Well, call us if you need us, okay?" he tells me.

	"Of course."  But I usually don't.  Except the time I 
tried to take those graduates to...well, now I know what a 
'kitty bar' really is.  THERE WERE NO CATS AT ALL.

	Anyway, time to head out.

************
		
	I race across town on my bike, heading for the bar.  
I've never quite understood the appeal of bars, as they 
rarely have tasty food and you can drink at home without 
getting robbed.

	As I approach, I try to decide if it is urgent enough to 
ride my bike in through the front window.  But probably 
not, as Tate-kun's afraid we'll get a lawsuit if I keep doing 
that.

	So I park out front and rush in, instead.  Meiko is up 
on a pool table, a pool stick in each hand.  "I AM QUEEN 
OF THE MOUNTAIN!"

	Everyone's knocked out or drunk or hiding under 
tables, except for Natsume, who meets me at the door, and 
the bartender, who is hiding behind the bar.  

	"Meiko, this is Sensei!  Stand down!" I tell her.

	She peers at me.  "Sensei?  What are you doing here?"

	"Natsume said you went crazy."  I wave my arms.  
"Are you trying to get our school into a war?"

	"Just 'cause I beat up a few guys from the 
Ryuugenzawa school doesn't mean we're at war," Meiko 
says, twirling her sticks.  She points one at me.  "Didn't 
they teach you?  Our constitution makes war illegal!  I was 
just a self-defense force!"  She belches now.  "Drunken 
Samurai Style is great!"

	Stupid drunk people, I think.  I take up two cues 
myself.  "Come on, we have to get you home," I tell her.

	"Come on, Meiko, don't do anything stupid again!" 
Natsume says and I wince.  That's not going to help.

	"I'll show you stupid!" Meiko says, leaping forwards.

	I vault over her and as I pass, grab her with my cues 
like seizing sushi with chopsticks.  TASTY sushi with 
chopsticks.  Though sometimes, I just grab it with my 
fingers and stuff it in my mouth and pour some tasty sauce 
down after it.  YUM.

	Anyway, so I'm flipping over her and grabbing her, 
and it throws off her charge as she goes flipping around and 
we tumble and I land on her chest.  Which is bigger than 
mine, which I regret.  But not right now, as it gives padding 
for my landing, which knocks the breath out of her.

	I pick her up and sling her over one shoulder.  "Come 
on, it's time for you to go home."

	This presents a problem.  If I put her in Natsume's car, 
she may do something stupid.  But I can't really carry her 
all drunk like this and drive at the same time.  Or at least, 
it's risky, and I don't want to risk her.  

	For a few seconds, I consider whether maybe we could 
fit the bike in Natsume's trunk.  That way, I could ride with 
her.  But it won't really work.  

	Not much choice except to call in backup.  "Keep her 
propped up, Natsume; I'm calling for backup," I tell 
Natsume.

	She nods, and takes Meiko off my hands.

	I call Natsuki.  "Hi!," I say to her.  "You're not naked 
with your new boyfriend or anything, right?"

	"No, I'm not," Natsuki says, oddly nervous.  "Is this 
about underwear?"

	"No, I need your bike-transporting truck.  I had to go 
get a student out of a bar and she has a friend, but I'm afraid 
if I don't ride with them, she'll wake up and do something 
stupid, but I don't want to leave my bike here.  Please?" I 
ask Natsuki.

	"Okay, but you owe me one," Natsuki says.  

	"That's fine.  You can come eat up our ice cream once 
we're done here."

	She laughs and I tell her where to find me and she 
hangs up and comes.

	As I ride with Meiko in the backseat of Natsume's car, 
with Natsuki following us in the truck, Natsume asks 
softly, "Is she your Mai?"

	I can feel my brain melt down.  What is she...how 
does she...my big mouth!  "She's my good friend Kuga 
Natsuki," I tell Natsume.  "We went to school together.  I 
would have called Mai-chan, but she doesn't have anything 
that can haul a bike around, though I keep telling her we 
ought to get something."  I'm talking too much, I realize.  
Don't mention getting naked, I tell myself.  

	DON'T MENTION GETTING NAKED.

	"So..." Natsume begins, then shakes her head, then 
drives in silence for a bit.  "Sensei, can I ask how old you 
are?"

	"Yes," I tell her.

	But she doesn't.  Why do people do that?

	"Umm..."

	"Are you going to ask me?" I ask her.

	She looks confused.  "Didn't I?"

	Now I'm confused.  "I don't remember it.  Anyway, 
I'm in my thirties."  

	"You look so young," Natsume said a little enviously.

	"I wouldn't mind looking a little older," I tell her.  And 
having at least Natsume-sized breasts.  Which wouldn't 
match Mai, but then Tate might get confused in the dark if I 
was as big as Mai.

	"Have you had many boyfriends?" she asks me 
nervously.

	"I have a lot of male friends," I tell her.  I met a lot of 
guys when I was in the Kendo club, later in my school 
career.  

	"No, no, I mean, like your...Tate-kun."

	Finally, it all sinks into my brain.  What do I say?  I 
can't just...Things get around.  I know that much.

	"I've not loved many men."  Hah!  That's totally true 
yet totally evasive.  I just have to pretend to be Shiho-san 
for this.

	"See, there's this boy I like, but I haven't been able to 
get his attention," Natsume says hesitantly.  

	"Challenge him to a duel," I tell her.  "If he doesn't 
notice your skills after that, he's blind."  

	"..."

	I'm never sure if I reduce people to silence with my 
brilliance or my stupidity or both.  

	I hear Meiko stir, but a good rap to the head keeps her 
out.  

	"But Natsuki-san has LOTS of boyfriends, so she 
could give you better advice.  I've just stuck to one," I tell 
her.  

	"What does a guy want from a woman?  I mean, 
besides the obvious."  Natsume asks me.

	I'm confused as to why she is asking me about love; 
I'm not a love teacher.  But it is my duty to help my 
students.  

	I rack my brain, trying to figure out what the obvious 
thing is.  Cooking?  A good sword partner?  Business 
skills?  The ability to summon a Child?  No, wait, hardly 
anyone knows about the last one.  Must be cooking.  Or 
getting naked?  But that shouldn't be obvious, given you do 
it in private.  Right?

	I try thinking about my big brother.  Maybe I can tag 
this off to him.

	I whip out my phone and call big brother, while 
Natsume glances at me in confusion.

	"Hello, sister, how are you?"

	"You have lots of girlfriends, right?" I ask him.

	"Well, yes," he says, sounding confused.

	"Can you tell my student Natsume what you want in a 
woman beyond the 'obvious'?"  I try to sound 
knowledgeable.

	"Umm, I suppose," he says, sounding confused still.

	I pass the phone to her, then settle back as they talk.  
Really, you want to ask a MAN what a MAN wants, right?  
I could talk about what I want in a woman, but that 
probably wouldn't help her.

	We reach Meiko's apartment building around the time 
that she finishes.  "Did he help?" I ask her.

	She smiles nervously.  "I think so."

	We park and man...womanhandle Meiko out of the 
car.  Natsuki comes over and helps.  

	"Thanks, Natsuki-san," I tell her.

	"No problem," she says.  "I was kind of bored, 
anyway."

	"Want to come over to our place after this?" I ask her.  
"You won't be bored then."

	Natsuki looks very embarrassed, though I don't know 
why.  

	Natsume's eyes flicker, and then she guides us inside 
to take Meiko upstairs to her apartment.  Natsume bangs on 
the door and a short, skinny blonde answers.  I don't know 
her.

	The blonde sighs, pushing her glasses up her nose.  
"Again?"

	"Aika, this is my teacher, Kanzawa Mikoto, and her 
friend Kuga Natsuki," Natsume tells the blonde.  "They 
helped me get her home.  She's drunk and cranky again."

	Aika sighed.  "Thank you all.  Would you like to come 
in for some tea?"

	"I should get home," I tell her.  "But..."

	"We also have cookies."

	"COOKIES!!!!!!"

*************	

	They HAD cookies, anyway.  I changed that.

	As we're leaving, I say to Natsuki, "Really, if you're 
bored, we'd love to have you."

	"I wouldn't want to be a burden," she says as we get 
my bike down to the ground.

	"You're never a burden except when you get really 
drunk and we have to carry you," I tell her.  "And there's all 
sorts of things we can do with four people."  At least in 
Crystal's porn collection there is.  And I have a few ideas.

	Her eyes cross.  "I have a boyfriend, you know," she 
says.

	"Oh, I forgot.  Should we invite him too, then?" I ask 
her.

	"..."

	"Is that a 'yes' or a 'no' staring at me?" I ask her.

	"He's off on work," Natsuki says, sounding a little 
lonely.

	"I'm sure he's thinking of you," I tell her.  "If he loves 
you as much as we do, I'm sure he can't help it."

	That's supposed to make her feel good, not make her 
cry, so when her eyes tear up, I get very confused.  "Did I 
say something bad?"

	"You're such an innocent," she says softly, wiping her 
eyes.  "I'm sure he's thinking of me," she says.  "But it will 
be a long time, if ever, before he can love me as much 
as...you do."  She sounds tired and frustrated, and I know 
I've hurt her, but I still can't figure out how, which 
frustrates me.  "You're lucky, Mikoto, having two of us, 
two who know...you don't have to hide anything from 
them."  She stares at the ground.

	I want to comfort her, but now I'm worrying I'll hurt 
her more.  "Well, you should come stay with us a while, 
where you don't have to hide anything either," I tell her.  
"Let it all out."

	She stares at me silently, then says, "Okay.  I'll see 
you there."

	"Let's go to your house, then we can race to my 
place," I tell her.  "It'll be more fun that way."

	She cocks her head, then finally smiles a little.  "I'll 
kick your ass," she says.

	"It's a very small target," I remind her.  

	"We'll see," she says.  "We'll see."
	
****************

	Racing through the streets, I took a curve too fast and 
almost wiped out.  As a result, Natsuki took the lead on me 
and cruised on past me to get home faster than I could, 
though she almost ended up crashing through the front 
window again.  She's lucky Mai can't throw fire around the 
house, or she would have cooked Natsuki's goose for sure.

	Goose...Goose is so tasty.  Have you ever had goose?  
I like it in an orange sauce, so it's tangy.  Though barbeque 
sauce can be good.  We visited the Great Wall about a 
decade ago and had some REALLY good goose in Beijing.  

	Or was it duck?  I can't remember, but it was unusual 
and tasty.

	Anyway, I brought my bike to a halt and sigh.  "You 
win," I tell her.

	She grins a little, then knocks on the door.

	"You don't have to knock," I tell her, then open the 
door and walk in.

	"I'm home!  I brought Natsuki-chan, so she could let it 
all hang out!" I shout.  

	The thought suddenly hits me that I've been gone so 
long, they may have already gotten naked, and now they 
may be embarrassed when we walk in together.

	Of course, it hits me too late to do any good.

	I hear showering noises and dishwashing noises, 
which relieves me.  "We're home!" I shout.

	Mai-chan comes out of the kitchen.  "Hi, Mikoto-chan.  
Natsuki-san!  Did you two run into each other?"

	"She helped me with a student problem," I tell Mai, 
taking her hands.  "She, umm..."  I'm not good at explaining 
emotional stuff.  "She needs ice cream."

	"She needs ice cream or you want ice cream?" Mai 
asks, knowing me well.

	"YES," I tell her.

	"Well, you do get lots of exercise," Mai said.  "Okay, 
let's get some."

	Soon, we're all at the kitchen table, eating more ice 
cream.  Mai-chan and Natsuki-san are busy talking about 
some movie or something, and it hits me that I need a bath, 
so I slip off upstairs, letting them talk.  

	I stalk up carefully to the shower.  PROBABLY it is 
Tate.  But you never know when some woman is in the 
shower about to be killed by a knife-weilding psycho 
whose dead mother tells him what to do.

	I didn't take a shower for a week after that.  Brr...

	Though it's more likely I'll walk in on Takumi-san, 
and then Akira-san will go crazy and try to beat me to death 
with a shovel.  She really fights well when she goes all 
monkey-crazy-style.

	I slide into the master bathroom; there is no sign of 
any knife-wielding maniacs, and the shadow in the shower 
looks like an outline of Tate.  "That you, Tate-kun? Or a 
knife-wielding maniac?"

	"Knife-wielding maniac," he says, laughing.

	I quickly slide out of my clothes and slip into the 
shower to investigate, tackling Tate-kun.  "Die, maniac!" I 
say.

	It's a joke, of course.  I can recognize his voice easily.

	We wrestle around for a while; while I can CRUSH 
him with a sword if I want to, I have to admit he 
outwrestles me eight out of ten times.  So I end up upside 
down with the hot water running down me while he holds 
me by my feet, swaying back and forth gently.  "Give up?" 
he asks.

	"Yeah.  Natsuki-san's downstairs!" I tell him.  "We 
have to get all pretty."

	He puts me right side up and begins shampooing my 
hair.  "How you can attract so much dirt," he mumbles.

	"Even dirt loves me," I tell him, wiggling as he scrubs.

	"Any news, or just a social call?" he asks, hands still 
scrubbing.  I start washing myself to save time.  

	"She's feeling kind of lonely because of the family 
secrets," I tell him.  

	He stops scrubbing and sighs, putting his hands on my 
shoulders, which feels very good.  Normally, I'd take this as 
a signal for naughtiness, but we have a guest who wants to 
see us downstairs, so I restrain myself.

	He puts my hair in the stream from the faucet and 
washes out the soap, saying, "We're very lucky to have 
each other."

	"Yeah," I say, feeling a little melancholy for a 
moment.  "Maybe she'd feel better if she slept with us 
tonight."

	I can hear him rub his forehead as I'm trying to 
balance on one foot and scrubbing a leg.  "I always feel 
happy after I wake up with everyone.  Even though her 
breasts don't make as good a pillow as Mai's do."

	"Mikoto, there are things which aren't done," he 
begins.  I can feel a lecture coming.

	"We don't have to get naughty.  But I think she needs 
her friends around her," I tell him.

	"She has a boyfriend," he tells me.  "Who might not 
understand the difference."

	"Oh," I tell him.  "Can't I explain it to him?"

	His hands are on my shoulders again, gently kneading 
my shoulder muscles.  I wiggle happily at that, though I 
don't have much to jiggle.

	"I have a feeling that he would probably not 
understand," Tate-kun says.  "But maybe the two of us 
could sleep in your room and let Mai sleep with Natsuki if 
you think she needs some company.  Or you two can and 
I'll stay in your room."

	I frown at that.  Natsuki-san needs company, but I 
don't want to make him end up alone instead.  "Well, we 
can ask them," I tell him.

	He nods and we both finish getting clean, then head 
downstairs in pajamas.

	"I don't know," I hear Natsuki-san say, then gurgling 
drinking sounds ensue.  "He's a good guy, but we're both 
pretty busy.  Especially him."  She sighs.  

	We come out to the kitchen; Mai is having some 
lemonade, while Natsuki is on beer #2.  Natsuki takes 
another swig, then says, "He and Shizuru get along better 
than most of my boyfriends do, though.  Oh, hey, guys," 
she says.  "Wanna get drunk with me?"

	"I don't think we have enough beer left for that," Tate-
kun says, coming over to sit down opposite Natsuki, while I 
plop down next to her.  

	"So are we all going to pile up in one bed?" I ask 
Natsuki.  "Or should Tate and I go to my room and let you 
sleep with Mai?"

	Natsuki has another beer.  "Hell, I don't know.  I may 
just sleep on the floor here."

	"That's not good enough," I tell her.  "It's cold and 
hard and sleeping here is not fun at all, not even if your 
head is in the refrigerator where the food is."

	Natsuki laughs.  "I can just go on the couch."

	"O...," Mai starts to speak.

	"Well, you can sleep with Mai-chan in the big bed.  
It's best and she has the softest breasts for you to put your 
head on," I say.

	Tate says, "I'm afraid mine aren't soft at all."  Then he 
started laughing.

	"Yeah," I continue, and now Mai and Natsuki laugh.  
"Tate-kun and I will just go to my bedroom."

	CHUG.  "I...okay," Natsuki says softly, looking at me 
with that weird look.  You know the one.  The one I can't 
FIGURE OUT AT ALL.  You'd think I'd get it by now.  
She reachs over and ruffles my hair.  "You're a sweetie, 
Mikoto-chan."

	"A big sweetie," I say, smiling broadly.  

	We talked a while longer, then went to bed.

**************** 

	Sometimes I'm the first to sleep, usually, really.  But I 
could feel Tate relax in my arms as we laid in my bed, with 
me basically lying on top of him as he embraced me.  I 
could hear his heart beating, which usually lulls me to 
sleep.

	I could hear Mai and Natsuki talking.  Not well 
enough to understand them, but enough to know they were.  
It was part of what kept me awake, wondering what they 
were saying and whether maybe I should have called her 
boyfriend to get his permission for her to crash with all of 
us. 

	Part of me wanted to wake Tate up to talk to him, but 
he had work tomorrow morning, so he needed to sleep, 
really.

	Finally, I managed to drift off to sleep myself.

*********************

	The next day in class, I was busy drilling everyone 
when someone began pounding on the door.  This made me 
glad I’d switched out the glass door that used to be there 
and had it replaced with fairly sturdy wood.  It had only 
taken one time of someone breaking the glass to make me 
see it we needed stronger doors.  

	I run over, hoping maybe someone had come to 
challenge my students.  Instead, however, it’s Akira.  Who 
is my sister.  I think.  Anyway, I like her a lot, but you 
already know that.  “Hi!” I say, hugging her.  “Are you 
bored and feeling like teaching?”

	“The Ryuugenzawa school is on its way here to 
challenge you and your students.  There was some sort of 
brawl last night, my sister told me, and now they’re angry  
They’re on their way.” Akira is, as usual, hard to read.  I’m 
not sure if she is mad, but hiding it, or worried, but hiding 
it.  She is hiding something, anyway.

	“Meiko!,” Natsume says, slapping her forehead.

	“They sucked,” Meiko says flatly.  “We can take 
them.”

	“Mai asked that I assist you if things got out of hand,” 
Akira says.

	“Cool.”  I turn to my students.  “This is my sister 
Akira,” I tell them.  “She is a great master of 
swordsmanship, so you should respect her as you do me.”

	Akira looks slightly embarrassed.

	“I thought you just had a brother,” one of my students, 
a short, blue haired boy named Rei says.  

	“It is complicated,” Akira says.  “You are all about to 
be challenged by the Ryuugenzawa school.  I am not sure if 
this means a formal challenge or an all-out attack to steal 
the Dojo sign or a brutal brawl.”  She whips her swords 
from nowhere.  “But I will help Mikoto-san to protect you.”

	“They suck.  We can take them,” Meiko says  
defiantly.  Her fighting spirit was good and I approved, 
though I wasn’t so sure she was ready for this.  On the 
other hand, even drunk, she’d taken several of them out...

	The students mill about nervously; this isn’t going to 
cut it.  If my students looked scared when these guys 
arrived, we were dead already.  “While we wait, we drill.  
Pair off and spar.”

	“But...,” Rei begins, voice wavering.

	“No buts,” I say.  “Meiko, I want you to practice with 
Akira.  Show her your spirit!”

	Meiko nods enthusiastically.  Her drunken victory had 
lit a fire in her at least.  She soon faces off with Akira, who 
bows to her, and they begin to fight.  

	Meanwhile, I decide to work with Natsume.  I press 
her back against the floor, then remind myself to hold back, 
or she’ll become discouraged.  I don’t like holding back but 
it’s an essential part of teaching.  Especially if I’m sparring 
with a student.  

	‘Accidentally’, I deliberately slip on the mat to see if 
she’ll exploit it.  To my delight, she does, lunging to strike 
my shoulder as I wobble over, leaving it open.  “Very good, 
Natsume.”

	She smiles a little and I smile back, then go for her 
legs, knocking her down.  “Don’t relax until the match 
ends,” I tell her.

	She nods and rises.  She needs more power.  Her form 
is good, but I have to find something to motivate her.  

	There’s that boy she has a crush on...I could take him 
hostage, let her rescue...no, that went really badly last time 
I tried to help someone with their love life like that.  Hmm, 
maybe I could teach her the secrets of getting naked with 
boys...I know a good amount about that.  Assuming it 
applies to boys beyond Tate, but surely it does.

	I hear her laugh a little and feel her hit me hard in the 
stomach and I snap out of my reverie, extremely 
embarrassed, finding myself sitting on my ass, having been 
knocked down.  “Very good,” I tell her.  “You got me.”

	“You had a very cute smile,” Natsume says, smiling 
brightly.  

	As I stand up, I see Akira and Meiko going at it; 
Meiko is yelling loud enough to wake up Tate on a 
Saturday morning; her moves are sloppier than they should 
be, but her power is good.  Akira presses her hard, dodging 
the wild blows and forcing her into desperate parries to 
hold off Akira; Akira has enough power to hold off 
Meiko’s long blade with just one of her short ones, then 
slash at her with the twin short blade in her other hand.  I 
can tell she’s holding back just enough to push Meiko to 
her limits.  Very good.  It’s easy to get carried away and 
push the students too hard.  

	 Suddenly I remember I’m leaving myself open.  
Focus on the fight, I tell myself.  But Natsume is also 
watching the fight.  “Your sister is really good, Sensei,” 
Natsume says.  “Maybe even as good as you.”

	I think I’m a little better, but our fights tend to get 
interrupted by everyone else or when one of us tags the 
other, so I’m not sure.  She’s really good, though.  “She’s a 
ninja.”  Well, not any more and now I’m not sure I should 
have mentioned that.  

	Natsume laughs, clearly thinking I am joking.  Whew.  
“Ready to resume?”

	Meiko now backs into another student and they both 
fall down, then start yelling at each other.  “Hold on.”

	I stride over, even as Akira is saying, “In a real fight, 
you have to keep an eye out for trouble like that.  If I was 
trying to kill you, you’d have given me a huge advantage.”

	Meiko starts pouting.  “Yes, but we’re not trying to 
kill each other for real.”

	“But someone else may,” Akira begins.  

	“She’s right,” I tell Meiko, helping her up, while Ran 
(who she ran into), is helped up by his sparring partner, 
Arthur (another one of those kids with weird foreign 
names).   

	And then there is another banging on the door.  They 
let themselves in, all twenty five of them, wearing blue gis 
with a black turtle insignia.  A turtle?  For martial artists?  
Wait, these are...

	The leader is a tall, muscular man who I think 
probably is big enough to be four of me at once.  He wears 
a red bandana around his messy hair and he yells, “Who’s 
in charge in this hellhole?”

	“That would be me,” I tell him, walking over.  “You 
must be Ryu Ryuugenzawa, master of the Ryuugenzawa 
school.”

	“Yeah, one of your students attacked some of mine 
with a dishonorable surprise attack.  We’ve come to 
challenge you to a match.  If we win, you have to kick her 
out of your school and we’re taking your sign.”  He studies 
me carefully, looking dubious.  “There’s no way you’re the 
master of this school.”

	I smile brightly and point to the picture of me on the 
wall with my national kendo trophy.  

	He frowns deeply like a man sure he’s being conned.  
“I don’t want to have to beat up a kid.”

	“A kid?  I’m in my thirties!” I tell him.  Looking  
young and cute always seems to cause me trouble with my 
teaching.  “And what do we get if we win?”

	“You won’t win,” he says confidently.

	“Given I kicked the ass of five of your little kids when 
I was drunk, I think you shouldn’t be so confident!,” Meiko 
says, pointing at him.

	He glares at her and she glares back.  Excellent.  Now 
I just have to light a fire under everyone’s feet.  In their 
belly.  Whatever the expression is.  

	“If we win, Meiko and I get to play dressup with you 
and your boys,” I tell him, hoping he’s like Shun, who 
would throw bets and then laugh when we dressed him up.  
This guy doesn’t look half-girl like Shun, though.

	“...”

	My students start laughing; I think they will want to 
help.

	“I’m not doing something totally gay like that!,” one 
of the Ryuugenzawa boys protests.

	“You will DO what I tell you,” Ryu says.  “Fine.  
Sounds good to me.”  He folds his arms across his chest 
like a barrier.  “If we lose to these idiots, we deserve it.”

	It surprises me he said yes so easily.  Unless maybe he 
is like Shun in secret...  I eye him carefully.

	“Come back Saturday morning.  My students can be 
free all day,” I tell him.  

	“Agreed,” he says.  His students groan and look 
outraged, until he stares at them, and they shut up.

	We haggle out a starting time and then he leaves and I 
turn to my students, who look nervous, though a few of 
them are more confident than the rest.  “Best we double up 
on studying,” I tell them.  “We have to make sure we win, 
for Meiko’s sake.”

	“Would you like me to keep an eye on them?” Akira 
offers.  “It’s best to have some good intelligence before a 
fight.”

	I did okay in school, with Mai and Tate’s help, but I 
could definitely use more intelligence, so I tell her yes.

	She nods and heads out.

	“Okay, everyone, let’s practice!”

************

	Later, I have dinner with Mai and Tate, crab soup with 
lots of cream the way I like it.  Inbetween bites, I tell them 
the contest.

	Mai nods, while Tate purses his lips and studies his 
soup as if looking for something in it, so I take a look as 
well, but I don’t see anything except for the turnip slices.  

	Finally, Tate says, “It seems to me that unless he puts 
a lot of value on taking your sign, he agreed to far more 
penalty for losing than you did.”

	“Well, the honor of the dojo is in that sign,” I tell him.  
“It is very important.  And while he might be embarrassed, 
it’s only for a little while, right?  Whereas losing Meiko is 
forever and losing the sign could take a long time to get 
strong enough to get it back.”

	“It just doesn’t read right to me,” Tate says.  “He may 
think he has some special edge.”

	“He may just be very confident that he won’t lose,” 
Mai says.

	We eat quietly a little while, then Mai says, “I have an 
idea.  Maybe he believes his men will work harder to train 
if they fear being forced to play dress-up.”

	“That’s true.  It gives his men more incentive to work 
hard,” Tate said, finally plucking a piece of crab out of his 
soup.

	“You’ll both come watch, right?” I ask them.  I can 
fight even better with them watching me.  

	“Of course,” Tate said.  “Hmm, I could probably take 
Friday off if you want me to come help your people train.”

	“Really?” Getting him or Mai to take time off work 
usually requires a huge amount of effort.

	“I have plenty of vacation time and the Muga deal 
closes Thursday.  So my boss can’t complain if I take the 
next day off.”  He smiles, plucks out a turnip slice and 
tosses it into the air, then catches it, making Mai smile.  “I 
could use a good workout.”

	“That’s great!,” I say, fighting the urge to grab the 
turnip before he can.  

	Mai taps her cheek thoughtfully.  “Natsuki’s new 
boyfriend is a negotiator.  You might want to talk to him, 
see if he can think of anything we might not have about 
your deal with the head of the Ryuugenzawa school.”

	“That’s a good idea,” I tell her.  “I’ll talk to him 
tomorrow.”

**************** 
	
	The next day, I get up early and head off to his office 
after getting the address from Natsuki.  It’s only when I’m 
knocking at the door that I suddenly realize that I probably 
needed to make an appointment.  

	The door swings open as if self-propelled, and inside I 
find not the waiting room I expected, but a red-haired 
woman playing the piano and some very nice chairs for 
watching, so I plopped down to listen.  

	She plays and plays and plays, an endless ocean of 
music.  Somehow, I go from being comfortable in my chair 
to being curled up on the floor, desperately hungry with my 
stomach rumbling loudly.

	“You are hungry,” the woman says to me.  “Your 
stomach begins to drown out my playing.”

	“Feed me,” I mumble, trying to stand up and noticing 
the shadows have shifted; somehow it is now mid-
afternoon!  What happened???

	She studies me, then leads me into the back; we pass 
an office with a desk and enter a small area like my office 
in my dojo, complete with a small fridge, a microwave, and 
some plates, cups, and silverware.  She gets out some hot 
pockets and puts them in the microwave, while I stare 
hungrily, telling myself not to drool.  

	Finally, the food comes out and she puts it on a plate 
for me; I gobble it down desperately, then bow to her.  
“Thank you very much.  I’m Minagi Mikoto.  Are you Mr. 
Smith’s secretary?”

	“I am his assistant.  He is off on a case, but is 
supposed to be back by now,” she says.  

	“Aren’t you going to eat?” I ask her.  

	“I am not hungry,” she says.  “Do you intend to wait 
for him?”

	“Until I have to leave to go teach,” I tell her.

	She studies me for a moment, then nods and returns to 
the piano room and begins playing again, while I sit in a 
chair and try to not fall asleep.

	I’m still trying to stay awake when Roger Smith 
wakes me up.

	“You’re Minagi Mikoto, right?  Natsuki’s friend?” he 
asks me softly.

	“Yes, I am!,” I tell him, smiling and glad he 
remembers me.  Glancing over, I see Dorothy sitting 
silently at the piano, watching me impassively.  You know, 
she reminds me of Miyu for some reason.

	But that’s not important right now.  “I think I may 
have been suckered in a deal and Mai-chan thought I ought 
to consult with you.”

	“Of course,” he says.  He glances over at Dorothy, 
who simply nods, staying at the piano, and then leads me 
into his office where I plop down in a nice comfy chair.

	I explain the whole deal to him as he listens to me, 
looking hard to read.  I’m not even sure he’s paying 
attention, given he takes no notes or anything.

	Dorothy changes tunes on the piano, which makes him 
smile, but I’m not sure what she’s playing now.  Not that I 
knew before.

	When I reach the end, however, he says, “I agree.  I 
wouldn’t call it a deadly trap, but I get a clear feeling he is 
up to something.  Mind you, he may think you are luring 
him into a trap.”

	“...”

	“One of your students ‘accidentally’ gave offense to 
some of his boys while ‘drunk’.  Honor demands he can’t 
ignore that, but now you’ve snared him in terms of definite 
humiliation for his entire school if he loses,” Roger says, 
hands folded on the desk.

	I hadn’t thought about that.  I’d planned a 
straightforward challenge.  But he doesn’t know me, so 
what might he think about it?  Maybe he does feel 
suckered.  Though Akira may find something out for me.

	“Or he may be very overconfident, assuming no 
women can overcome him.  You need some good 
intelligence on him,” Roger continued.  “I can gather a 
report for you; it’s important to know the other side well in 
negotiations.”

	“Could you?” I ask.  “I’d be really grateful.”  What  a 
nice guy, I thought.  Looks like Natsuki finally struck gold 
in her boyfriend hunt.  “Why don’t you and Natsuki come 
over for dinner tomorrow night?  You can deliver the report 
then.”

	He nods seriously.  “Of course.”

	I grab his hands and squeeze, then let go, suddenly 
worrying if he’ll find that too intimate.  “Thank you,” I tell 
him.

	He smiles that broad smile again.  “You’re welcome, 
Minagi-san.”

	“Oh, you can call me Mikoto, since you’re Natsuki’s 
boyfriend,” I tell him.  “We’re all on first name basis ever 
since...we went to school together.”  Almost slipped up.  
He’s not part of the secret yet.

	“I wish I was so close to those I went to school with,” 
he said ruefully.  “I fear I have lost contact with everyone 
since then.”

	“We’ve tried very hard to keep in contact with 
everyone,” Mikoto said.  “Mai-chan is very well organized 
and so is Tate-kun.”

	“It was nice to meet some professionals the last time I 
visited your house, Mikoto-san,” he says.  

	I get up.  “I had best get going to go teach,” I tell him, 
bowing.

	He rings a bell on the desk.  Dorothy says, her voice 
somehow carrying clearly from the piano room, “I am not a 
trained cat.”

	I’m the trained cat, I think, giggling.  Then I force 
myself to turn serious in a non-deadly way, offering him a 
hand.  “Thank you, Mr. Roger Smith,” I tell him in English 
as seriously as I can, then shake his hand.  “I will look 
forward to seeing you again.”  Then I pray I got it all right.  
I did okay in English in school, but I can’t say I’m as good 
at it as Midori-chan or Yukino-chan or Haruka-chan or 
Tate-kun or my big brother. 

	He looks surprised a moment, and then it’s gone.  I 
don’t think I was supposed to see it; I’m just that good.  
Then he smiles more broadly.  “And I you, Ms. Mikoto.  
Good luck.”

	“You too!”  And then I’m off.

**************

	“Do you really think it would work?” Natsume asks 
me shortly before class, catching me off guard.

	I stare at her in confusion.  “Is this a special move?”
	
	“Asking...a friend to come see me fight?” she asks.  
“Guys do seem to like seeing fights.”  She shuffles her feet 
back and forth.

	OH, the guy she likes.  “Yes,” I tell her.  “I’m sure 
once he sees your strength...and he’d BETTER see it,” I tell 
her, just a little menacingly.  We certainly can’t afford to 
lose this match.

	She laughs nervously.  “I will do my best.”

	“So what’s his name, anyway?”  

	“Kaoru Frederick,” she says.  Then, crimson, she 
mumbles something about ‘Freddie’.  

	These weird modern names still make my head hurt.  
It’s like all the languages are starting to cross-breed.  Or 
like I’m back in my high school English class with the 
teacher who insisted we all take a English name, then got 
mad for no good reason when I wanted to be ‘Mark’, which 
I think is a good name.  

	I’m not sure why he laughed so hard when Natsuki 
wanted to be Nevada, either.  

	Anyway, back to the present.

	“Can he fight?” I ask her curiously.

	“His father is a fencing instructor, I just found out.  
And pretty rich.”  She pauses hesitantly.  “But I’m not after 
his money.”

	“His mother isn’t a giant red-head with a crazy purple-
haired friend, right?” I ask with a sudden terrible feeling.

	“No, Frederick has black hair like his mother; she’s 
from Britain, I think,” Natsume says.

	The languages ARE cross-breeding, I realize.  “Okay.  
I had some trouble with a fencing school a while back.”

	“Anyway, I was thinking...maybe inviting him would 
be good.  I think.”  Shuffle, shuffle.

	I pat her shoulder.  “It should be fine.  Let’s practice!”

*****************

	Later, Tate and I are in the backyard sparring when 
Tate suddenly flies into the air with a yelp.  This is enough 
warning for me to duck low under Akira’s strike and knock 
her down with a knee blow.  

	“I am queen of the yard!” I announce laughing as they 
both fall down.

	“Hello, Akira-san,” Tate says, getting up and helping 
her up.

	“I have done some scouting, though I also noticed 
Natsuki’s boyfriend poking around,” Akira said.

	Tate goes and gets us some chairs to sit on and we sit 
down under a large tree.  “That’s odd, seems...oh, wait, 
Mikoto, did you go talk to him?”

	“Yes.  Oh, and remind me to tell Mai he and Natsuki 
are coming for dinner tomorrow.”

	Tate nods, then we both turn to Akira.

	“He has a half-dozen very good students, a lot of ones 
who could handle a street thug, and a few who are terrible 
but too stubborn to give up.”  Akira frowns at that.  “They 
seem a waste of time to let them keep training.”

	“Maybe he sees some secret potential,” I tell her.  
“Some of my students just take a long time to get it.”

	“How are they compared to Mikoto’s?” Tate asks, 
leaning forward.

	“Not quite as good in technical skill, but more spirited.  
Probably because most of yours are women who were 
taught from birth not to be agressive,” Akira says, shaking 
her head.  “Unlike you or myself.  I am glad to see you did 
not supress Crystal’s strength.”

	“It’s all very strange to me,” I tell her.  “They are 
trying harder, but I need something to really light them on 
fire.  Many of them only seem to really get lit on fire by 
love, though.”

	There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence as I 
realized my own statement and we all remembered times 
past.

	Finally Tate breaks the silence.  “Positive incentive,” 
he suddenly says.

	“That’s true.  Some are better motivated by reward 
than fear of punishment,” Akira pointed out.

	“Hmmm.  I could promise them a date with Tate-
kun...,” I muse.  Actually, I’m just teasing.  Though that 
would likely motivate some of them.

	“...”  Tate stares at me in surprise and I giggle.

	Akira glances at me, then smiles a tiny smile.  “I could 
ask my husband to put himself in as a prize as well...” she 
says teasingly.

	“...”  Tiny wisps of smoke curl out of Tate’s ears.

	So I pounce on him, cuddling up to him.  “I’m just 
joking,” I tell him.  

	Akira begins laughing softly but her smile is broad.  

	“I didn’t think, but sometimes you say things without 
thinking...uhh...,” he mumbles.

	“They’d go crazy for you,” I tell him, kissing him 
softly, quickly.  “But your body is for us, not them.”  

	He finally relaxes and embraces me; I can feel Akira 
trying hard to not notice what we’re doing, so I climb back 
off him to my chair.  “I’m just being vain, anyway,” he 
said, shaking his head.  “I do want to help, though.  I 
definitely will have Friday off.”

	“Good,” I tell him.  “Maybe I could make some kind 
of special medal for those who do well.  Or trophies.”

	Tate nods.  “Wanting to win those Kendo trophies was 
a big motivator for me back in the day.”

	“Teaching secret techniques can be an incentive too,” 
Akira says.  “I know a few tricks I’d be willing to give 
away as a prize.”

	“Really?  THANK YOU.”  I hug her firmly.  

	“My old clan will howl if these get out,” she says, 
smiling a little more broadly and hugging me tightly.  

	I laugh too.  We haven’t had trouble with them in a 
long time, thankfully.  I think they’re scared of us.  Which 
is smart on their part.

	“You want to practice with us?  Or do you have any 
other secrets to share?”

	“Let me give you the run down on each of them.”

	I end up having to take notes with Tate’s help.  It’s a 
lot of people to keep track of.

***************

	“Are you sure you’re up to that?” Mai asked me when 
I told her about the invitation.

	“Up to what?” I ask.

	She slaps her forehead.  “I have to do extra work 
tomorrow night for my presentation the next day, so you 
volunteered to cook, since Tate is busy too.”  Mai usually 
does all the cooking as she’s a lot better than the rest of us.  
I’d completely forgotten about this.

	“I will give them my very best!,” I tell her, trying to be 
reassuring.

	Mai looks dubious, then says, “Well, you invited 
them.  So it’s on your head.”  She’s clearly not happy.

	“I need to improve anyway, right?” I tell her.  “You 
never get better if you never practice.”

	She softens.  “That’s true.”

	And in fact, I have a plan already.

*****************

	“Please!,” I beg Akane, down on my knees.  “You 
have to help me!!!”

	Mai’s a great chef, but Akane’s the second best of us, 
maybe even first on some things.  Her cakes and other 
baked goods are better than Mai’s, I have to admit.  Which 
is why she runs a bakery now with her husband.

	“You really need to learn to cook better so you don’t 
have to always come beg me,” she says, waggling a finger 
as her two younger kids also do, imitating her.  

	Crystal hates them, I know, but I think they’re a lot of 
fun as long as you keep them away from anything too 
breakable.  They’re good at making me laugh.  But not 
right now.  

	“I can come mow your yard or something.  PLEASE.” 
I beg of her looking as pitiful as possible.  I’m good at that.

	She sighs and ruffles my hair and I perk up.  “Okay, 
I’ll help,” she says.  “But you are going to have to be my 
slave for it.”

	“Slave reporting for duty!”

	“And you have to work on learning to cook.”

	I really should, anyway.

	“And you get to mow the lawn tomorrow.  And I need 
help moving the couch.  And...”

	I am starting to get the feeling I should have asked 
Natsuki’s boyfriend to come negotiate for me.

***************

	Well, there are worse fates than being Akane’s slave, 
anyway.  After I did a few thousand chores for her, we start 
doing some preliminary cooking which would keep until 
tomorrow or else would have to be done now to be ready 
tomorrow, like marinating some meat.

	I am busy chopping up a cabbage when Akane asks, 
“Mikoto-chan, can you put the kids to bed?”

	“Of course,” I tell her.  “I thought they were old 
enough to put themselves to bed, though.”

	Akane rubbed her forehead.  “They insist it has to be 
you,” she mumbles.

	I smile.  “Will do!”

	Stage one of putting these kids to bed involves 
sneaking up on them.  Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to get up 
inside the ceiling of Akane’s house and sneak around.

	I find them waiting for me, each concealed behind 
some of their toys with nerf baseball bats.  Their mother 
spanked them for five hours the time they tried to use real 
ones, even though I said it was okay.  I couldn’t find a nerf 
broom to bring with me, so I’ll just have to be gentle.

	“I can’t hear her,” Katsuhito whispers to Keiichi.

	“Shhh, she’ll hear us!” Keiichi replies; he’s trying to 
feign death, just in case I saw through his cover.  Once 
again, he is forgetting to look up.  Most people do.

	I position myself, then drop down on Katsuhito, who 
howls as he goes down.  I quickly knock his bat aside, then 
spin him by the shoulders to nail Keiichi with Katsuhito’s 
legs as he breaks cover.

	Keiichi goes flying, but Katsuhito twists out of my 
grip and manages to grab my legs, slowing my movement 
enough for Keiichi to pile on.

	We roll around in the mess on the floor, both of them 
trying to pin me while all of us laugh and laugh.

	They can’t keep this up as long as I can, though.  
Pretty soon, they’re both lying around winded, and I get up 
and throw Keiichi up onto the top bunk and Katsuhito onto 
the lower one, hoping they haven’t changed that since my 
last visit.

	I pull the sheets up as Keiichi splutters, “We’ll get you 
next time, Auntie.”

	“Of course you will,” I tell him, kissing his forehead, 
then I clamber down to the bottom bunk and give Katsuhito 
a kiss as I pull his sheets up too.  “Sleep tight, and don’t let 
the bed demons bite.”

	“Tell us a story!,” Keiichi begs before I can go.  

	I’m ready, though, as I knew he would.  “Once upon a 
time,” I begin.  “There was a hobbit who lived in a hole.”

	They settle down and listen quietly.  They like stories 
about hobbits, ever since they saw those movies.  I’m not 
entirely sure what the difference between a hobbit and a 
pygmy is, but my stories seem to work for them so far.  

	“Unfortunately, he had delved into an ancient Muvian 
burial ground, full of the ANGRY DEAD.  So every day, 
when he got out of bed, he had to fight his way to the 
kitchen to make breakfast, then fight his way out of his 
house to ride his pony to work.  But he liked it like that, as 
the angry flesh-eating dead kept his mooching relatives 
away,” I continue, pulling out a chair and sitting on it.

	“How did he keep them from eating the pony?” 
Keiichi asks.

	“The pony had a stable up on the surface, where the 
evil dead feared to go,” I tell him.  They notice this sort of 
thing more than they used to, so I have to work harder.

	“Where did he work?” Keiichi mumbled, yawning.

	“Bobo was a policeman,” I told them.  “So he spent 
his days cruising around on his pony, busting people for 
riding their ponies too fast and breaking up drunken hobbit-
dwarf brawls.  Or arresting people for forgetting about 
tricky taxes with weird names.  Or for breaking their 
sibling’s toys.”  I give Katsuhito a look and he mumbles  
into his pillow.  He’s got a bad habit of breaking things that 
belong to his brother.  Who has a bad habit of accidentally 
leaving Katsuhito’s underwear in the toilet.  I’m not sure 
which usually comes first.

	“Today, however, he found out that Elven ninjas had 
been stealing cookies from the cookie jar when the Mother 
Goddess wasn’t looking,” I continue and now Keiichi 
twitches.  “This could only be resolved by finding and 
recovering the cookies, followed by beating up lots of 
ninjas.  LOTS of them.”

	“Look, ninjas!” Keiichi says desperately, pointing up 
to the AC vent.  

	I dutifully pretend to be tricked and look up halfway, 
just enough so I also see him throw three cookies across the 
room, but it can’t be proven I saw it.  

	“Someone dropped something,” Katsuhito reports, 
yawning.

	“Look, they left cookies behind!,” Keiichi says.  
“Look, Aunt Mikoto!”

	“Oh my, three cookies.  I’d better take these to the jar 
right away,” I tell them.

	“Can you finish the story?” Katsuhito asks, yawning.

	I pocket the cookies to eat later.  “Everyone is very 
happy when he brings back the cookies so everyone can 
share them at dinner the next night.  So they give him a 
medal and he goes home to kill more of the hungry dead so 
they can’t try and steal his dinner when he cooks it.  Good 
night, hungry dead.”

	“Good night, auntie,” they both mumble and fall 
asleep.

	I turn out the light and sit in the dark a few seconds, 
watching them and smiling a little, then head back to help 
Akane some more.

******************

	“I hope they weren’t too much trouble,” Kazuya says 
to me as I return.  He’s on the couch watching TV while 
Akane frets over the food prep.  

	“No trouble at all,” I tell him.  “They’re sweet little 
darlings.”

	He looks relieved, if a little dubious.  “Well, I did play 
baseball with them for an hour so I expect that helped wear 
them out.”  

	I check the TV; it’s some show with lots of people 
yelling, shooting, and blowing things up.  In other words, 
my kind of TV show.

	This is why Akane had to come drag me back to the 
kitchen to finish helping her.  “Thank you for taking care of 
the boys.  They really love you a lot.”

	“I love them too,” I tell her, smiling as she hands me 
carrots to skin and slice.  “You’ve been a good mother to 
them.”  I wouldn’t mind having kids like that.  Oh, I love 
Crystal like my own, but I think Akane’s boys have a lot of 
potential.  And they’re a ton of fun.  

	Akane turns red and mumbles incoherently at the  
marinating beef, then starts getting out more ingredients.  
“Thank you,” she finally said, pouring flour into a bowl, 
then adding salt, sugar and water to it.  Then she got a bowl 
out of the fridge and poured an odd kind of bubbling batter 
into the mix.

	“What are you making?” I ask curiously.  

	“Sourdough bread,” she says.  

	“What’s the bubbling stuff?”

	“A magic potion,” she says, smiling a little impishly.

	I put my hands on my hips, then regret it as I smear 
carrot juice into my pants.  “I’m not twelve any more.”

	“Sorry, I couldn’t help it,” she says.

	I could tell you the ‘magic potion’ story, but it’s better 
that be forgotten for all eternity.  Let’s just say if you’re 
looking for...actually, let’s just forget it forever.

	“It’s starter.  I’m going to make sourdough bread,” 
Akane says.  

	“It looks alive.”

	“It is alive, sort of.  Wild yeast isn’t all that alive, but 
it’s more alive than the floor,” Akane says.

	I stared at it a while as it sat, mixing, then went back 
to work.

****************

	The next evening, I flit about our kitchen with Akane, 
having helped her to bring everything over.  Mai sticks her 
head in.  “Everything...” she began.

	I shoo her out.  “You are busy, go work, we have it,” I 
told her.  

	She laughs softly and runs in mock fear.  

	I study the sourdough bread to make sure it wasn’t 
bubbling, but it had stopped doing that once it turned into 
proper dough.  It just makes me a little wary, though.  

	Akane puts out several bottles of wine.  “Looks like 
you’re good.”

	I clap my hands.  “Wait, salad!”

	She watches me as I quickly assemble the salads from 
the big mix we’d pre-done.  I can follow instructions and 
cook decently, but I always seem to have trouble with 
recipes, except for my trail mixes.  Making salad, I can 
handle that too.

	“Okay, you’re on your own,” Akane said.  “I have to 
go home and make food for myself and Kazuya.”

	I whip out my wallet and hand her some cash.  “Take 
him out to eat,” I tell her.  “And thanks for the help.”

	She smiles and pockets the cash.  “That’s very nice of 
you,” she says.

	“You cook all day, and you helped me cook all this,” I 
tell her, fighting the urge to stuff salad in my face, as I’m 
getting hungry.  
	
	She helps me take out the salads to the table, then 
heads out while I putter about, getting everything ready.  I 
really shouldn’t be this excited, but I hardly ever cook and 
this is far better than any of my other attempts.

	Mai comes in again; she really needs to be working on 
her presentation, which is the whole reason I’m doing this, 
but every time Tate-kun or I cook, it seems like she can’t 
help checking on us every few minutes.   

	She’s still dressed up in her suit-dress, so I dressed up 
today as well; I don’t have a lot of dresses, but I’m wearing 
an orange chinese style dress with blue flowers on it, and a 
blue flower in my hair, over my right ear.  I wanted to do 
up my hair with those sticks, but I don’t actually have 
enough hair to do that, as I keep it pretty short.  Mai comes 
over and ruffles my hair and kisses me softly, and I cuddle 
up to her, just for a moment, then stand back.  I’m trying to 
be dignified, which doesn’t come easily to me, but I can do 
it.  “I think everything’s ready,” I tell her solemnly.

	“I think so too,” she says.  “You didn’t have to go to 
this much effort, though.”

	“Well, Mr. Smith is doing me a big favor,” I tell her.  
“And you deserve a nice special meal with friends every so 
often that you don’t have to cook.”

	“You’re so sweet,” she says softly and kisses me 
again.  I fight the urge to cuddle too much.  Best to take no 
risk of us being naked on the table when Natsuki-chan and 
Mr. Smith arrive.

	“Hmm, wait, is Dhuran coming?” I suddenly ask her 
out loud, thought rushing to my lips.  

	“D...oh, her latest pet,” Mai says, frowning.  “You 
didn’t tell her to, did you?”

	“Well, we have some dog food for emergencies,” I tell 
Mai.  “Dry dog food pretty much stays good forever, 
right?”

	“There’s an expiration tag,” Mai tells me.

	I nod and go check it.  We’re good.  “Everything’s 
ready for them to arrive, then, I think.”  I give Mai a gentle 
shove.  “Go work, dear.  I’ll call you when we’re ready.”

	She starts to speak, falls silent, studies me a moment, 
then smiles and nods and goes back to her work.

	I flit about for a while, waiting for our guests to arrive.  
I check the sourdough twice, but it still looks normal, so I 
tell myself to stop being paranoid.

	“No snacking,” I tell Tate when he tries to slip into the 
kitchen.

	“But...”

	“No snacking right before dinner,” I say in my best 
Mai imitation voice.  Which isn’t very good.  But he laughs 
and turns around.

	“I’m going to go watch TV, then.  I’m all done with 
my work.”

	“Good,” I tell him and go watch TV with him.

	We couldn’t find anything good on, so we were 
watching a show on antiques when the doorbell rang.  I 
don’t like antiques, though big brother does.  Inevitably, 
anything I get near which was made before I was ends up 
broken, it seems like.  

	Just as the doorbell rings, I suddenly wonder if I 
should have invited Mr. Smith’s assistant.  Probably not, 
right?  I’ve never been good at manners and I didn’t even 
think about it.  Well, there’s enough food for six, if it 
comes down to it.

	Clothing...I didn’t even say anything about what to 
wear, which Mai always...

	I swat down my fears and run for the doorbell, trying 
to get there before they ring again.  I succeed and open the 
door.  Mr. Roger Smith is wearing one of his suits again.  
Actually, I’ve never seen him NOT in a suit.  A lot of 
Tate’s work friends are like that, though, so it doesn’t really 
surprise me.

	Natsuki, to my surprise, is wearing a red dress, long-
sleeved with green lace trimming, and a rose in her hair 
over one ear.  Not a chinese dress like mine; this is more 
western style and leaves your body kind of ambiguous 
under it, as it's loose.  It looks pretty good, I think.  It also 
makes me glad I thought to dress up.  

	“Hi, Mikoto-chan,” Natsuki says.  “I hope we’re not 
too late.  Dhuran kept trying to come, and it took me a 
while to get him to stay home.”

	“It’s okay,” I tell her.  “Mai’s still working her butt 
off.”  She’s got a lot of butt, really.  

	I then step back, and say, “Come in, come in,” and 
escort them to the living room (admittedly a short trip) 
where Tate is.  “Tate-kun, entertain them for a few seconds 
while I get Mai.”

	Mai seems to appear from nowhere.  “I’m here,” she 
says from behind me, making me jump.

	“Then let’s eat!”

	I drag Mai to the table and sit her down with our 
guests, then I put Tate to work helping me serve the food; 
this makes me feel oddly like Mai, but that’s a nice thing to 
feel like every so often.  

	Once I finally sit down, Natsuki is talking about her 
misadventures trying to keep a diva from doing stupid 
things when she’s in danger.  “The bedtime was the 
hardest.  She wanted to party all night, but nightclubs are 
practically handmade for getting people killed,” Natsuki 
says.  “So, of course, I go to the bathroom and when I get 
back, she’s pulling out of the parking lot.”

	You know, how exactly do you bodyguard someone 
all the time without having to worry about the killer waiting 
for you to go the toilet?  I still don’t know.

	“By the time I catch up with her, she’s dancing with 
some dark skinned guy with pale purple hair, while the 
guy’s creepy blonde girlfriend stares at both of them like 
she wants to kill Simaya-san.  Fortunately, she was 
unarmed and looks can’t kill,” Natsuki continued, waving 
her glass around, wine sloshing inside it.  “So I come in and 
grab her.  By this point, I was kind of fed up with her 
behavior, but I’m a professional, so I ignore her being an 
idiot and pull her out of there.  She’s busy protesting, and 
the guy she was dancing with calls the management before 
his girlfriend drags him off, probably for his beating.”

	Mai and Tate are laughing, while Mr. Smith looks 
amused.  I giggle.  

	“Now a huge crowd gathers as I’m trying to get her 
out and she starts trying to perform, already moderately 
drunk.  Then a news crew shows up and she starts yelling 
about how I’m not her girlfriend at all and everyone needs 
to quiet down so she can dance.  That’s when the nutjob 
after her shows up and tries to stab me, but I punched him 
out,” Natsuki continues, then takes a sip of her wine and 
puts the glass down.  “I have to confess the woman can 
sing pretty well even when drunk, though.”

	The dinner goes pretty well; the food was all as good 
as I hoped and it was clear everyone was enjoying it.  And 
the sourdough didn’t cause any trouble.  We were close to 
finished when Mr. Smith...Roger Smith...Roger...he never 
did say what to call him when I told him to call me 
Mikoto...  Anyway, he passed me a folder.  “Your report on 
the Ryuugenzawa Dojo,” he said.  

	“Thank you,” I said.

	“We can go over it later, after dinner,” he said.

	I nodded.  Best not to get food stains all over it.  Mai-
chan just about killed me when I did that to one of her 
reports, a long time ago.  I know better now.

************

	“So this isn’t his first challenge to another dojo,” I 
said as I read over the report as we sat in the living room 
after dinner.  Natsuki, Mai, and Tate were half watching 
TV and half talking on the couch, while Mr. Roger Smith 
and I sat over to one side in two padded chairs.  

	“Eight other challenges, he won six.  Two challenges 
were revenge for old grudges, four came from incidents 
between his students and other dojos and two, I could only 
get contradictory reports on.”  Steepling his hands, he said, 
“He seems to train his students very hard; I think you will 
have a hard fight.”

	“Well, I can’t afford to lose,” I tell him.

	We went over it all, which took quite a while; I won’t 
bore you with all the details.  “So you think I can take 
him?” I ask.  I was pretty sure the answer was yes.

	“Well, reports do show odd variance in your 
capacities, but yes, I think you will,” Roger says, giving me 
an odd look.  I expect he’s found the difference between 
my matches in places our HIME abilities work and those 
where they don’t.  But of course, he wouldn’t know that.  

	“Well, you can come watch me tomorrow if you want 
to see how well I’ll do.  Tate-kun’s going to come help me 
train my students.”

	“If I am free,” Roger says.  “One of my clients is 
waffling over whether we need to meet.  I may send 
Dorothy.”

	“Okay,” I tell him.  

	“Good luck,” he says.  “Do you think your students 
are ready?”

	“They’d better be ready.  I’ve got some incentives 
ready to announce tomorrow, which hopefully should help 
them fight harder.  Though I fear we may have to get 
defeated and do the comeback from behind thing to get 
some of them going.”  I grimace.  “A lot of them have 
skills, but they don’t have fire.”

	He studies me for a moment, then says quietly, “Fire 
can be dangerous.  It’s when people are most motivated to 
fight that they’re most likely to hurt each other.”

	“Yes, but I nee...”  I’m cut off by the pain I can see in 
his eyes.  I stare, hypnotized, unable to speak, wondering 
what he went through to cause him all that.  

	And then it’s gone as he hides it.  But I can’t stop 
staring.  Finally, I realize that the others are staring at us.  
“Natsuki-chan, come hug your boyfriend.”

	“What?” she asks in confusion.  

	“Come.  Hug.  Your.  Boyfriend.”

	“I’m fine,” he says hastily, but now Natsuki, though 
she’s turned red, has come over and embraced him from 
over the back of the chair.  He looks stiff, but I see him 
relax a little.

	“I didn’t mean to poke a nerve,” I mumble.  “But if 
they don’t have fire, they’re going to lose.”

	“What?” Natsuki asks.

	“Fire?  What about a fire?” Mai asks from her chair; 
clearly she can only half-hear what I said and is starting to 
fret, which she is good at.

	“Don’t worry about it,” Roger said smoothly, now 
taking of Natsuki’s hands with his.  “We had a little 
disagreement on the role of ‘fighting spirit’ in combat.  
Nothing worth worrying yourself about.”

	“We won’t mind if you kiss Natsuki in front of us,” I 
tell him.  They definitely should kiss.  I can see Natsuki 
wants to but is embarrassed by the idea of us seeing her do 
it.  “I can go kiss Mai and Tate and distract them if you 
need me to.”

	Roger smiles, while Natsuki’s eyes cross.  “Yes.”

	I pounce on first Mai, who looks confused, then on 
Tate, who is laughing, while they kiss quickly.  

	“You shouldn’t embarrass them like that,” Tate says, 
though he’s laughing in a way which clearly says he 
doesn’t MEAN it, he’s just pre-empting Mai.

	Natsuki mumbles incoherently.

	“Sorry, Natsuki-chan,” Mai says.

	“It’s okay,” Natsuki says.  “I really shouldn’t get 
embarrassed about that.  You okay, dear?” she asks weakly.

	“I’m fine,” he says, apparently back to normal.  

	“We should play a game or something,” I announce.  
“Before we all have to go to bed.”

	Mai tenses up a little; I’m not sure why, so I jump 
over and kiss her again.  “You okay?”

	She relaxes.  “I’m fine.”

	“I could go for some poker,” Natsuki says.

	“I enjoy poker,” Roger says.  

	“I’m terrible,” I confess.  “My cards reflect in my eyes 
or something and I always lose.”  

	“How about Mille Bourne?” Mai suggests.

	“Mille Bourne?” Roger asks.

	“It’s a card game simulating a race of 1000 miles,” 
Mai says.

	“Interesting,” he says.  “Sure.”

	Tate wins.  Tate ALWAYS wins Mille Bourne, except 
if Kazuya is playing and then he wins.  But it’s a fun game, 
even if I did end up out of gas half the game AGAIN.

	We play until we were all tired, and Natsuki actually 
did win one.  Eventually, it is time for them to go.  Mai 
seems a little tense the whole time we are all working 
ourselves up to cut the evening off, and I couldn’t quite 
figure out why.  

	Finally, once they leave, I hug her and ask, “Why so 
jumpy?”

	“Nothing, honey,” she says, kissing my forehead.  
“Just nervous about the presentation.”

	“She was worried you’d ask them to stay with us and 
get naked,” Tate says, then laughs.

	Mai winces, then mumbles.  

	“Oh, I think they need some privacy tonight,” I tell  
them.  Mai looks a bit guilty now, which confuses me.  
“Anyway, we all need our rest and don’t have time to get 
naked, anyway.  You have your presentation, Mai-chan, 
and Tate-kun and I have to go exhaust my students 
tomorrow.”     

	I soon herd them off to bed and get some sleep.

*******************

	The front door opens and another of my students, 
Hayao, comes in, right as I duck under one of Tate’s 
attacks.  We’re sparring while we wait for all my students 
to arrive.  Hayao blinks at us, then goes to change into his 
gi.  I wave, but this leaves me vulnerable to a shoulder 
thrust that knocks me on my ass, though when Tate tries to 
follow up, I roll to one side and spring up and over him.

	He turns in time, blocking my blow, then goes for a 
gut-level stab, but I jump over it and run up the blade to 
kick his head, knocking him back, though he grabs one of 
my feet and I go down too, wham.

	Wiggling free, I manage to smack his butt and then 
press my advantage until finally, I have him pinned down 
on the ground.  “Hah!  I win!”

	However, Natsume now distracts me by saying, “Is 
this him?” softly.

	I turn and say, “Yes,” only to have him bring up his 
legs, grab me, and throw me over to one side.

	But that’s okay, because I like fighting and I want my 
students to see how good the man I love is.  Even if he isn’t 
quite as good as me.

	Everyone has shown up now and is ringing around us 
as I launch a charge at him, aiming high and forcing him to 
elevate his sword so I can come under it and headbutt him, 
then whack him in the side as he staggers back.

	I would have completely had him, except then he trips 
me and I end up ramming his stomach with my head.  We 
topple and roll and I end up on top with him pinned.  This 
time, he won’t escape.  Unless he starts wrestling, which 
could lead to nakedness and I’m not crazy enough to do 
that in front of the students.

	But neither is he, so he yields.  “You win.”

	I help him up and say, “This is Yuichi Tate.  He’s 
come to help everyone practice.  He’s a strong Kendo 
champion, so please respect him as you do me.”

	Meiko says, confidently, “I can take him.”  I think 
she’s wrong, but at least she’s got spirit.

	I then notice lots of my female students looking at him 
with hearts in the eyes, so I rub my forehead.  This may get 
messy.  But maybe it will inspire them to do better.

	As I work with my male students, I can see some of 
them are looking kind of jealous of the attention Tate is 
getting; I’m a little surprised myself.  Then again, I don’t 
see him around teenagers he isn’t related to much, either.  

	Arthur pokes me in the shoulder with the point of his 
wooden blade.  “Better pay attention, Sensei.”  Is he 
gloating?  I think he’s gloating just a bit.  So I drive him 
back with an onslaught that nails first his left shoulder, then 
his right, then his gut, then each knee.  

	“I am paying attention,” I tell him, though he’s right, I 
was being sloppy.  Just because Meiko and Akiko 
and...well, at least Natsume isn’t hitting on him.  But she 
has...well, she hopes to have a boyfriend.  Which I ought to 
do something to help her with.

	He looks dubious, but dubiousness won’t save him 
from me.  

	After a while of this, it’s time to deploy the first of my 
incentives.  “Okay.  We’re going to have some matches so I 
can identify who is best.  The top six will each get a secret 
taught to them by Tate and I,” I tell them.  Hopefully some 
competition between them will help heat up their fighting 
without any major bad blood.  And I want to make sure I 
know who is best for tomorrow’s matches.  

	A lot of fights ensue; I won’t make you sit here for 
hours while I relate them all, though I do want to relate a 
few highlights.

	I deliberately pitted all my women against men to start 
with; all of our foes are going to be male, so I need to know 
who can handle fighting men.  Meiko pleased me by taking 
out Yataro very quickly; I was more surprised to see 
Natsume doing well as she eliminated Yukichi with a kind 
of grim determination.  Arthur took out the unfortunate 
Shiiko, though, who went off to pout.  

	I went over to talk to her; best to make sure she didn’t 
brood too much.  “Hey,” I said, sitting down next to her.

	“He got that last point while I was distracted,” she 
mumbled, staring at the floor, tugging on her long red hair.

	“It’s okay,” I tell her.  “I’m not going to throw anyone 
out.  But this is going to be a stiff fight against the other 
dojo.”

	“I’m not really ugly, am I?” she mumbled.

	Oh boy, I never know what to say when my students 
have this issue.  A lot of women worry about their looks, 
but I never have.  Mai and Tate love me even when my face 
is covered with jam and I’m shedding bits of spinach 
everywhere.

	Don’t ask.

	Please.

	Anyway, I reach over and pat her shoulder.  “Do you 
think I’m pretty?”

	She blinks, then looks rather uncomfortable.  
“I...sensei...”

	“Be honest,” I tell her firmly.

	“No,” she mumbles, staring at the floor.  “You could 
be a lot prettier, but you don’t even try.”

	“But I have an awesome lover anyway,” I tell her, 
patting her shoulder.  “We all get ugly when we get old, 
anyway.”  Then I poke her chest.  “But the real beauty’s 
inside.”

	She mumbles something about cliches, so I continue.  
“Anyway, I don’t think you’re ugly,” I tell her.  “But if you 
just roll over and die when people say things to you, you’re 
going to spend your life losing to people with thicker skins.  
Is that what you want?”

	“No, but I...” she begins.

	I cut her off, then pull her to her feet.  “Looks are 
subject to change, but you can’t fake skill.  If you can kick 
ass, men will be throwing themselves at you like crazy.” I 
tell her.  They should, anyway.  Not that I was looking for 
anyone else but who I have in all my years of kicking ass.  I 
got luckier than most people, though.

	“You really think so?” she asks hesitantly.

	A firm, though high-pitched voice now cuts in.  “I’m a 
mountain of strength, which is why I have MY pick of 
boyfriends,” the woman says.  “But Aunt Mikoto here’s 
had the same lovers since high school, so she doesn’t have 
the depth of knowledge Mom and I have.”

	“NATASHA!” I announce, turning and hugging her 
tightly.  Maybe too tightly as she falls silent and makes the 
noises I have come to learn means someone can’t breathe.  
I must have caught her off guard.

	Natasha is only one inch taller than me, though she 
will NEVER let me forget this, but she looks bigger 
because she’s so imposing and strong-willed.  Also, her 
HAIR is a lot taller than me.  She has a huge amount of red 
hair that is usually elaborately styled to try to make her 
look much taller than she is.  I haven’t seen...well, none of 
us have seen her father in a long time, but he was only just 
a touch taller than Shiho, Natasha’s mother.

	“I heard you were going to get your ass kicked by 
some dojo, so I came to save you,” Natasha says, once I 
allow her to breathe.

	Natasha’s much better than her mother with a sword, 
probably better than Crystal.  She’s had a lot more fencing 
style training than Kendo, though.  But she’s good.  

	She’s supposed to be at school, though, unless 
Rosewood declared a holiday and no one told me.

	“Aren’t you supposed to be at school?” I ask her.

	“Family is more important,” she says a little primly.  
Then she holds out a hand to Shiiko.  “Since Auntie forgot 
to introduce me, I am the elegant and beautiful fencer, 
Munakata Natasha!”  She then shakes Shiiko’s hand to the 
point where Shiiko physically vibrates.  “Also, you 
shouldn’t give up yet, Tarakata Shiiko, you still have a 
match in the loser’s bracket!  Just imagine you’re fighting 
the bastard who called you ugly.”

	Shiiko and I both freeze a moment.  Did she listen to 
the whole conversation?  I knew she was stealthy...I 
thought I got rid of all of her and her mother’s voodoo dolls 
of me...

	“I...” Shiiko begins.  

	“True Beauty comes from inner strength, not outward 
appearance,” Natasha says hotly.  I can believe it better 
coming from her, as she’s so pretty herself.  “Even my 
amazing good looks wouldn’t do me any good if I lurked 
by the wall, waiting for boys to throw themselves at my 
feet.  Instead, I throw them at my feet myself!  Watch and 
learn!”

	“Natasha-chan, do you...” I start.

	Too late.

	She strides over to the wall, gets a chair, hauls it to the 
center and stands on it.  “As the most beautiful woman 
present, I am making an announcement!  I will give the 
winner of this tournament a kiss if you are a boy and a 
makeover if you are a girl!”

	Everyone stops and stares at her, while Tate runs over 
to me.  

	“What if we can defeat you in combat?”, one of the 
guys shouts.

	“FAT CHANCE!” she said.  “But I’ll let the top four 
take a crack at me!  If you win, you’ll get a prize!”  Then 
she winks at them.

	“What the hell is Natasha-chan doing here?” Tate asks 
me.

	“Taking over,” I mumble.

	“If you don’t do something, this is going to turn into a 
farce, like everything she gets involved in,” he says to me 
urgently.

	The students are cheering and look very eager.  
Maybe, just this once, everything Natasha touches won’t 
turn to disaster.  I mean, no one can make things go wrong 
EVERY time, right?  No one got injured that time she 
helped me move boards in the garage.  So at least once...

	I’m not being fair.  Most of the time, things go okay, 
but she does have her mother’s bad luck.  And she IS a 
good swordswoman.  Is it really okay if she kisses that 
many guys, though?  Seems like a recipe for trouble.  Of 
which she already has too many.

	“It could be worse,” I tell Tate.  “She could have 
brought her mother.”

	His eyes cross and I giggle.  Though really, she’s not 
as bad as she used to be, except when she gets angry, and 
then the flames come out of her eyes.  And Tate hides 
under the furniture.

	“Also, it means I don’t have to pimp you out,” I tell 
him.

	He laughs and strikes a pose, watching the students 
fight.  “Do you think they’re ready?”

	“Well, getting them to fight with spirit will be the hard 
part, but I think they’ll rise to the challenge,” I tell him, 
holding his right hand with my left.  “Especially with 
Natasha helping.”

	Shiiko suddenly speaks, reminding me SHE IS STILL 
HERE RIGHT NEXT TO ME.  Now I feel kind of stupid.  
“She’s your neice?”  Shiiko asked, staring at Natasha with 
a kind of awe.

	“Her mother is my younger sister, sort of,” Tate says.  
Trying to explain the family to outsiders is always tricky.

	“And you two...since high school?” Shiiko asks 
hesitantly.

	“Unf,” I affirm.  

	“Yeah,” he says, then kisses my forehead.  I smile a 
goofy smile in response.

	“You’re lucky,” Shiiko says enviously.

	“I know.  M...I’m the luckiest girl in the world,” I tell 
her.  This would be much easier if I never had to hide 
anything.  Though I’ve blabbed too much here lately 
anyway.

	“Anyway, she’s right.  You’ve got another match 
coming up soon before you’re totally eliminated, so I 
suggest you get ready for it.  You can spar with Tate or I, if 
you want to,” I tell her.

	She stares at Natasha a little longer, then says, 
“Alright.  Thank you, sensei.”

	“You’re welcome.”  And soon I’m kicking her ass.  
Gently, of course.  In an instructional manner.

****************
	
	It surprises me to see Natsume score as number two in 
the contest; I guess some people really like makeovers, and 
while she didn’t get the number one (that was Meiko), I 
was pleased to see her do so well.  Arthur scored third and 
Seito took fourth.  Which meant they all had another match 
with Natasha for a prize.  And they were all getting special 
manuevers from me, along with number five (Akiko) and 
number six (Martin).  

	Natasha completely takes Seito apart, to my surprise.  
I hoped not many if any of our foes would be as good as 
Natasha, or we were in trouble.

	Arthur opens with a strong attack, both physical and 
verbal.  “You only beat Seito because he’s not very tall; I 
can hold you at arm’s length all day,” he starts with.  He 
has a tendency to talk smack when he’s fighting.  Which 
sometimes works and sometimes not.  “I haven’t lost to a 
woman yet,” he says confidently.

	Natasha ducks under the thrust at her chest and nails 
him in the gut, knocking him back, then brings her sword 
up, parries aside his sword, and nails him in the gut.  He 
manages to get back into a defensive stance before she 
could nail him a third time, though.  “There’s a first time 
for everything,” she says cheerfully.  “So Aunt Mikoto’s 
never whipped your ass?”

	“She’s a teacher,” he says.  “I wouldn’t be the student 
if I could whip her ass,” he continues, being forced to give 
ground.  He does have more reach, but he’s relying too 
much on power.  Whereas, his speed is not good enough to 
connect with her and Natasha is very nimble.  If not as 
nimble as me.

	For a time, they’re silent as they fight back and forth; I 
get the sense they’re both trying to figure out what line of 
smack would be most effective.  

	“Finish him!,” Shiiko shouts and I laugh.  Someone 
wants revenge...

	“Is she just toying with him?” Tate asks me.  

	“No, he’s fighting a pretty strong defense, or she 
would have tagged him by now,” I tell Tate.  “Even if she 
errs, though, I think she’ll pull out a win; she only needs 
one more tag and he doesn’t have any on her.”

	So of course, he manages to bat her sword aside and 
this time his riposte tags her.  Good thing my students 
weren’t listening.

	A few snicker.

	Okay, most weren’t listening.

	Natasha falls back in a panic and he charges her and I 
see he’s made the most fatal of fatal mistakes—NEVER 
EVER CHARGE SOMEONE WITH YOUR SWORD 
HIGH OVER YOUR HEAD.  You’re basically asking to 
be impaled.  

	“I have you now!” he shouts.  “Not so tough when...”

	She slides to the side, nails him in the gut for her final 
point, then glides out of the way of his clumsy attempt at a 
blow as he goes down.  “Better learn to tell when someone 
is faking panic,” she tells him.  “Okay, Natsume-san, 
you’re next.”

	Natsume looks rather nervous; Meiko had eliminated 
Arthur and herself, but had a harder time of it than that.  

	“No fear,” Natasha says to Natsume.  “If you go into 
this fight having already lost it in your mind, the fight’s 
already over.  If you learn anything today, learn that.”

	I wish I’d said that.  I mean, I have said things like 
that to them, but it somehow comes out cooler when 
Natasha says it.  

	Natsume closes her eyes, then opens them looking 
determined and charges, yelling something about 
makeovers.  Natasha looks surprised and Natsume gets a 
blow in to her shoulder.  Then Natasha recovers, batting 
Natsume’s blade aside and poking Natsume’s shoulder.  
They begin to circle, taking cautious blows at each other.  I 
study the fight, trying to figure out if Natasha is starting to 
get tired or if she’s going easy on Natsume for some 
reason.

	I glance over at Tate, who is frowning a bit.  “You 
think she’s going easy on Natsume too?”

	“Maybe,” he says.  “She never goes easy on Crystal, 
but sometimes, it’s easier to be kind to someone you don’t 
know.”

	Natsume does have more power in her attacks than 
usual; I can see she’s very determined.  The two of the 
circle and circle more, trading blows cautiously.

	Natasha finally mounts an offensive and pushes 
Natsume back to the edge of the mat, finally scoring a 
second blow, this time to Natsume’s head, before Natsume 
crashes into her when a dodge goes awry and they both fall 
down, with Natsume tagging Natasha’s shoulder in the 
process.

	I separate them, then they start again, with Natasha 
again on the offensive.  Natsume’s parries are very good  
but you can’t win just by parrying.  

	Everyone is shouting loudly, yelling about makeovers 
and kisses.  Arthur finally shouts, “Crush the shrimp, 
Natsume-san!  AVENGE ME!”

	Tate and I both laugh, as do many of the students.

	“I am NOT A SHRIMP!” Natasha shouts at Arthur.

	Which leaves her open just long enough for Natsume 
to tag her in the gut.

	“DAMMIT!  That punk interfered!” Natasha shouts.

	“You have to learn to ignore everything outside the 
ring,” I tell her.  “It’s a fair win, sorry Natasha.”

	Natasha fumes, but nods.  “We’ll talk once I take out 
the champion,” she says to Natsume.

	“If you really think...” Natsume began.

	Natasha shook her head firmly.  “Never let others 
weasel you out of a win.  You stayed focused and I didn’t.”  
She grimaces angrily.  “It’s not your fault Arthur has 
diarhea of the mouth.”

	“Be nice,” I tell Natasha firmly.  

	Arthur is too busy laughing at her to take offense, 
thankfully.  

	“Nice gets you walked on,” Natasha says.  She turns to 
Meiko.  “I understand this whole match with the other dojo 
is because you kicked several guys’ asses while drunk.”

	“Yeah,” Meiko says confidently.  “And I’m SOBER 
now, so you’re going DOWN.”

	I make a happy fist.  “Good fighting spirit!” I tell her.  
“But Natasha isn’t drunk either, so don’t get 
overconfident.”

	Natasha grins, then they bow to each other and charge.  
Meiko is on the assault from the start, forcing Natasha onto 
the defensive.  This plays to Natasha’s advantage however.  
While Meiko scores the first point with a blow to the 
shoulder, her attacks have a little more spirit than skill and 
she leaves herself open to first a shoulder blow and then a 
gut blow that knocks her down.

	However, she rolls back and avoids Natasha’s attempt 
at a finishing blow and then nails Natasha in the head while 
she’s bent over.  

	Now they both circle each other warily, sometimes 
clashing frenetically, then falling back.  I’m very pleased 
with Meiko.  Indeed, everyone’s been trying hard, which is 
good.  Competition really does bring out people’s fighting 
spirit.  

	“I think Natasha’s going to win.  Meiko keeps getting 
sloppy,” Tate observes. 

	“I fear so,” I say.  Suddenly I think about her earlier 
victory and wonder, just for a moment, if she’s trained in 
drunk fu.  But probably not.  I’ve never met anyone who 
could do that for real and I’ve met a lot of people.  

	I should have given the secret techniques before this 
match, I realize.  So they could practice.  She might be able 
to take Natasha with one of my special techniques.  Too 
late now, though.

	Natasha begins laughing that unnerving confident 
laugh of hers.  That’s how she beat Ryu so fast, I think.  
Lots of people just unravel in the face of it.  

	Meiko, however, tries to imitate it and Tate and I both 
laugh, while Natasha looks rather non-plussed.  Which 
causes her sword to slip just for a moment, long enough for 
Meiko to tag her in the shoulder.

	Natasha stares in shock and Meiko holds her sword in 
the air.  “I am the WINNER!”

	“You can’t just LAUGH at me to win!” Natasha 
protests hotly.

	“You tried to do it to me!” Meiko protests.

	“It’s MY trick!”

	“MY TRICK NOW!  I don’t see your name on it!  
HOHOHOHOHOHO!!!!!”

	Once the hairpulling started, Tate and I run over and 
quickly drag them apart.

	“It’s not fair, Auntie!” Natasha protests as I grappled 
her.

	“Like you said before, don’t let yourself get 
distracted,” I tell her.  “You owe her a makeover now.”

	Natasha grumbled something about petards.

	Whatever a petard is.

	I began taking my students away for their secret 
techniques, one by one, while Tate gave everyone an 
inspiring speech I wasn’t supposed to know Mai wrote for 
him.  He’s a good speaker, but Mai’s a better writer.  But as 
I said, I’m not supposed to realize it, so I won’t let him 
know.  

	Once I taught them their secrets, I told them to go 
home and get to bed early.  It’s going to be a big day 
tomorrow.

****************

	I laid in bed, tossing and turning, so wired and excited 
and nervous that I couldn’t sleep.  

	“Are you okay, honey?” Mai asks me softly.

	“Can’t sleep,” I mumble.

	“This isn’t another nightmare about you being the size 
of a cat with Dhuran chasing you, is it?” Tate mumbles, 
sounding worried and groggy at once.

	“I just want it all to go well,” I tell them.  “But I’m 
worried something will go wrong.”

	There is a distant thrashing sound, the sound of 
Natasha in bed.  Even when she sleeps well, she sounds 
like her bed is out to kill her or something.

	It’s kind of soothing to know I’m not alone in this.  
Tate must feel really confident; he looks totally relaxed to 
the point of near incoherency.  But this is my dojo.  I want 
it all to go well.

	“I hope Shiho-chan won’t be too angry that Natasha-
chan stayed over,” Mai says.

	“Does she even know Shiho skipped out of school?” 
Tate asks.

	“Wouldn’t they call her?” Mai asks.

	“If they noticed she was gone for a while, maybe,” 
Tate says.  “I’m not sure.  Given how Natasha is, this 
probably happens all the time.”

	For a moment I worry about Shiho suddenly storming 
the house in the middle of the night in one of her frenzies.  
But surely that wouldn’t happen.  
	
	“Anyway, you two sleep.  I’ll just lie here and fret,” I 
tell them.

	They both kiss my cheeks and put arms around me.  
“We can’t sleep if you can’t sleep, dear,” Tate says.

	Mai pulls me over and puts my head on her breasts.  
That usually helps me sleep.  “Here you go, honey.”

	I smile a little and fake sleep until I’m not faking any 
more.

****************

	I awake the next morning early to go get a bath and 
get cleaned up to go down and prepare for the contest 
which would start in mid-morning.  However, I could hear 
the clash of metal in the backyard.

	I peer out the window, worrying that ninjas were about 
to ruin everything.  But I just see Akira and Natasha 
sparring determinedly.  I could tell Natasha wanted to avoid 
making the same mistakes she'd made at the last practice 
session.  Good for her.  If my students all had her fire and 
determination, I would be sure of our coming victory.

	I get some breakfast and then I leave them a note and 
head out to my dojo.

	To my surprise, Meiko is waiting outside, practicing 
sword forms and looking a little chilly.  She looked 
uusually pretty today; probably from the makeover she won 
from Natasha the previous night.  "Come in, come in," I tell 
her.  "You didn't have to come early."

	She sighs.  "This is all my fault," she says.

	I go to start making some coffee.

	"It's okay.  I wanted something to rev everyone up, 
anyway," I tell her.  "I'll make us some coffee, you sweep 
everything."

	She sweeps methodically while I brew some coffee in 
my office, then bring her a cup, which she drinks very 
swiftly, then goes back to cleaning.  "We're going to win, 
right?" she finally says.

	"We have to win," I tell her.  "I don't want to lose the 
sign and I would rather not kick you out."

	Meiko winces at that, then goes back to work.

	More people gradually drift in and I put them to work 
drilling.  And helping Mai set up the snacks she suprises 
me by showing up with.  I remind myself several times not 
to stuff my face in front of my students and mostly succeed.

	Natsume shows up and I go to see her.  "Is the guy 
you like coming?"

	"He's supposed to," she says, looking around 
nervously.  

	I pat her shoulder.  "You're going to do just fine," I tell 
her.  

	"I will do my best," she says, then shivers slightly.  
"Are you really..."

	"If we lose, I will do as I agreed," I tell her.  "But I 
don't intend to lose.  And neither should you."

	Finally, everyone arrives and is ready to go.  We 
hustled all the observors (including the guy Natsume likes, 
who I thought was kind of cute but I guess I'm just too old 
to be impressed by a teenage guy anymore) over to one 
side.  

	Just as the first wave of matches are about to get 
underway, judged by several other local masters we'd roped 
into helping, Natasha comes over to me.  "Why am I not on 
the list, Auntie?"

	"I had to make it before I knew you were here," I tell 
her.  "Otherwise, I'd have put you on it.  But I don't want 
him to accuse me of putting in a ringer."

	"But..."

	"I'm sorry."  I pat her shoulder.  "I would if I could."

	She grumbles and goes off.

	Wave one of the matches is each of his 25 against one 
of mine.  We'd each ranked ours from best to worst to try to 
make it fair.  I had more than 25, but we wanted to make it 
eaven.  This gave me a good excuse to cut the weakest 
without offending anyone too much.  

	I hoped.

	We'd be here until after midnight if I tried to relay all 
the matches.  I can sum up round one by saying ten of mine 
survived and fifteen of his.  This was not a good initial 
omen.

	I watch Kaoru Frederick through Natsume's first 
match, trying to tell what he thinks.  Unfortunately, he's 
rather quiet, so just watching him didn't do much good, so I 
go over to him.  "So, what do you think?"

	He studied me carefully, then said very neutrally, 
"Some of your students are very good?"

	"Any of them impress you especially?" I ask him.  I'm 
trying to be subtle and not just yelling 'DO YOU LIKE 
NATSUME-CHAN' like I would have a few years ago.

	"The scruffy blond is good."  I think he means Arthur.  
"That one girl took her foe out in the first ten seconds," he 
says, pointing to Shiiko.  I am pretty surprised myself, but 
she was lower down in the brackets, so her foe wasn't all 
that great, really.  Also, it took about thirty seconds.  

	"Why isn't Natasha-san competing?" he asks me.

	"You know her?" I ask in surprise.

	He laughs nervously.  "It's a long story."

	I smell trouble.  "How about him?" I say, pointing to 
Seito.

	"He's going to lose his next match to that tall fellow 
with the longer arms unless he somehow speeds up," 
Frederick says.

	I suspect he is right; now I move to my next target.  
"And her?" I point to Natsume.  Subtly, you see.  So he 
won't know she's the one I really wanted his opinion of.

	"She looks unusually pretty today," he says, smiling a 
little.  SCORE, I thought.  Rack one victory for Natasha 
makeovers.  "Normally, she just lurks around quietly, but 
she really is going all out."

	That's good, right?  Right?  "Meiko is usually the loud 
one, true," I tell him.

	"Yeah, Meiko-san is very strong and pretty and bold," 
he says with a shaky voice.

	Dammit, I think.  He's totally got a thing for Meiko 
and seeing her kicking Ryuugenzawa ass is ONLY GOING 
TO MAKE IT WORSE.  And she got a makeover too, so 
she's even prettier than usual!

	And, of course, it was my idea to tell her to invite him!  
I hate being racked by guilt.  

	Tate saves me by dragging me over to the snack bar, 
where Natasha is stuffing donuts into her mouth and 
spewing sugar everywhere.  "You tell her to stop," he says.

	I quickly explain the Meiko/Frederick/Natsume 
situation.  "You must save Natsume's love," I tell him.

	"..."  He stares at me like I just asked him to 
swordfight an oncoming train.

	I suppose I sort of did.

	He wanders off to Mai and Akira while I turn to 
Natasha.  "Natasha-chan, if you eat too many donuts, you 
will get fat."

	"I need energy," she says sullenly.  "And I'll burn it off 
anyway."

	"Natasha, you're not the only person here who likes 
donuts," I tell her.

	"Says the person who eats a quart of ice cream a 
day!," Natasha says.  "Let me eat my sorrows in peace, 
auntie."

	I really need to get back to set up for the next set of 
matches.  I tap Akira.  "Tag."

	As I head over to consult, I see Akira holding Natasha 
upside down.  Donuts are falling all over.  I hadn't thought 
of that, interesting.

	My six best from last night (Meiko, Natsumi, Seito, 
Arthur, Akiko, and Martin) had all made it to this round, 
along with Shiiko, Naru, Jiito, and Robert.  I was going to 
be very surprised if any of the last four made it past this 
round.  Indeed, having to fight multiple foes might well 
wear down my best people.  Thankfully, several of Ryu's 
best had gone down too.

	I frown at his match list.  Some of his better people 
had been moved down to take on my worse folk, though 
not all of them.  Probably intended to keep them fresher 
while cleaning out more of my folk.  

	Clearly I am a prophet.  Naru, Jiito, and Robert all got 
blown out quickly, though to my surprise, a very 
determined Shiiko takes out her first foe, and my top six all 
take out their next foe as well, except for Akiko, who got 
eliminated.  

	This left us partway through round 2 with six of mine 
left and nine of his who hadn't had a match yet in this 
round.  Meiko, Natsume, Arthur, Seito, Martin, and Shiiko 
take a very short break while I go over to congratulate 
Shiiko for getting that far.

	"Good job!," I say, punching her arm very gently in 
the universal code of martial success.  

	She is breathing very hard.  "I don't know if I can win 
another one," she said.  "But I'm trying my hardest."

	"I'm very proud of you for doing this well so far," I 
tell her, smiling.  

	"I'll do my best, sensei!"

	I go round and congratulate the others, then I consult 
with Tate.  "Any idea what to do with the whole, umm, 
thing with Natsume and Frederick and Meiko?"

	"I have no clue," he says.  "Though Meiko seems 
oblivious to any feelings Frederick may have for her.  
Maybe you should see if she has a boyfriend or a crush on 
some guy or something."

	I cling to that hope like a life preserver.  Especially as 
I can see the way Frederick is watching Meiko.

	At least Natsume is just pouting now.

	Meiko crushes her foe and Natsume scores a win.  
Arthur's foe is one of the men Meiko had beaten in the bar 
and he taunts the man into frothing incoherency, then 
quickly takes him down.  Seito barely scrapes through and 
Martin and Shiiko both go down.

	This left four of mine, two of his and three who hadn't 
yet had a match in round two.  After consulting the judges, 
Ryu and I both agree to just roll over to round 3 with the 
survivors of both sides.

	I could hear him berating his men who had lost and 
praising the last five survivors, especially the ones who had 
taken out Shiiko and Martin.  I rally my four survivors.  
"You've all done extremely well.  I'm very proud of you all.  
I hope you've been hoarding your secret techniques, as I 
think it's about time to use them."

	"We will win!," Meiko says proudly.

	"Maybe we'd better get her and them drunk just to be 
sure," Arthur says, but I could see he was confident.

	Natsume looks over at Frederick, smiles nervously, 
and says, "We'll win."

	Seito says, "I will do my best."  But I could tell he 
wasn't as confident as Meiko or Arthur.  

	I breathe in, then out. 

	"Then let's go!"  I put my hand out and they all pile 
theirs on mine.  "Gambatte!"

	I lick my lips nervously, and then everyone gets ready 
and the final matches begin.

	Meiko steps out into the field, up against a huge 
gorilla of a man.  Everyone is cheering for her.  Mostly I'm 
glad about that, but it's blatantly obvious...to me, 
anyway...as to how hard Frederick is cheering for Meiko.

	A glance over at Natsume shows she has noticed this; 
she looks extremely unhappy about it, too.  Dammit.  

	Meiko unleashes one of Akira's tricks, luring her foe 
into overextending himself and popping him one while his 
sword is still held low to the ground.  Unfortunately, on his 
upswing, he knocks her back on her ass, then scores a point 
on her as well.  It quickly becomes apparent that he has 
way more power, not that I had any doubt of that.  Most of 
her blows get parried or don't hit a scoring point.

	She's also getting worn down from the number of 
matches she's fought.  I cling to Mai's arm tightly as I 
watch; Meiko's definitely running out of juice, 
unfortunately.  She scores a second point, but his counter-
blow scores on her and now he begins to press her round 
and round, until finally, he basically pressed her sword 
back into her face mask, knocking her down and scoring on 
her shoulder.

	The Ryuugenzawa boys go crazy with shouts of 
revenge and justice and cheering the winner, Taiki, as if he 
was the second coming of Buddha.  I can't blame them, but 
it's certainly demoralizing for our boys and girls.

	Frederick rushes over to Meiko and helps her off the 
field; I look over and see Natsume looks ready to kill all 
life on earth.  

	I quickly move to position myself to stop her just in 
case she goes after Meiko.  Fortunately, she instead strides 
onto the match ground.  "What's your name?" she demands 
of her opponent.

	He's a tall but not hugely muscular boy with bright red 
hair.  "Ryouga," he says.  "Hinawara Carlton Ryouga."

	Carlton?  What the hell kind of name is Carlton?  
Sounds like an American cigarrette name to me.  Ugh, 
they're nasty.  Not that I smoke, but...

	"My name is Keikawa Natsume, and you are going to 
die!"

	And then she goes crazy on him.  He was still just 
starting to move when she scores her first point on him.  
The second point knocks him on his ass.  He gets up, 
narrowly dodges a blow, scores one point on her, then she 
thrusts into his gut so hard he flies out of the ring; he would 
have landed on Master Ryuugenzawa if the man hadn't 
jumped to one side.  A ring out victory!  Not too common 
in swordfighting.  

	Seito now goes out and loses his match; unfortunately, 
his foe is taller with longer arms and once again he loses 
due to inability to close.

	While he is losing, I am busy keeping Natsume from 
going over to kill Meiko for losing.  "It happens to 
everyone," I tell her.

	"This whole thing is her fault!  And look at him 
fawning over her!"  Natsume grinds her teeth.

	I wince, feeling guilty; this had been my idea.  "We 
can settle it later.  It's not like she knew."

	Meiko tries to lunge past me, but Natasha grabs her 
shoulder.  "Come with me, Natsume," she says and leads 
Natsume off as I feel my stomach try to find a new knot to 
tie in itself.  This couldn't bode well.

	Arthur, meanwhile, is also chewing Meiko out, but I 
stay back out of that, moving instead to stop this turning 
into 'everyone stabs Meiko' night.  

	While I ride herd, Arthur now has to move out to face 
his first foe of the round.  It is one of the guys Meiko beat 
up in the bar.  The last of them still in the game.  "Hi, 
pussy!," Arthur says.  "Ready for your asswhipping?  Of 
course, you can't even beat a girl..."

	"This time, I'm sober!," the man shouts.  Even some of 
his teammates laugh, until Master Ryuugenzawa slaps them 
around.  

	He rushes stupidly at Arthur, who scores the first point 
on his shoulder, then a second in short succession.  After 
that, he fights smarter.  But even though he does score one 
on Arthur, Arthur finally nails him in the chest for a third 
point.

	"Not bad for a pussy," Arthur says.  "Come back any 
time you want a beating."

	"I'll show you a beating!" the boy says, then leaps at 
Arthur.

	Master Ryuugenzawa and I had to both rush in and 
pull them away from each other, though not before Arthur 
had taken some beating.  

	"Don't disgrace us like that!," Master Ryuugenzawa 
berates the boy, dragging him away.

	I drag Arthur out.  "Women can be as tough as men, 
and so can cats," I tell him.  "As you ought to know.  Don't 
taunt a downed foe."

	"Hey, it let me win the match," he grumbles.

	"It got you beaten up some and now you may lose 
your next match," I tell him.

	"I'll be fine."

	He is wrong.  Natsume turns her next foe into paste as 
she's still running on a tide of anger.  Arthur, however, is 
slowed down and hurt by his beating and loses 3-2 on 
points.

	I now notice Shiiko is talking to the last boy she beat, 
who seems to be trying to figure out how she did it; she 
looks shy and excited at once and I make a quick good wish 
for her.

	Natsume takes apart her third foe as well; I am a little 
worried, all that anger can't be good for you.

	This ends the round and she gets a rest before she has 
to deal with the last two.

	"You're doing GREAT," I tell her.  I try to decide if I 
want to ask her what Natasha said to her.

	Glancing over, I can see Meiko sitting with Frederick.  
I make gestures at Mai and Akira and Tate to block all view 
of them, but they don't seem to understand my frantic hand 
signs.  Aaargh.

	"I'm going to kill them all, then Meiko dies," she says 
flatly.  "She is too stupid to be allowed to live."

	I grimace.  "I can't let you kill her.  But you could 
challenge her to a match later."

	Natasha says to Natsume, "Remember what I told 
you."

	Stop teasing me!  I want to know, I think.  But I don't 
think they will tell me.

	"Right now, I need my anger," Natsume says.  

	"I know," Natasha says softly.  "Good luck, Natsume-
san."

	"Thank you."

	The outer doors open and to my surprise, Haruka 
enters with Yukino, both of them wearing expensive suit-
dresses as usual.  Though shouldn't they be off work today 
like everyone else?  Even Mai-chan didn't dress up that 
fancy today.

	I bounce over to them as Natsume gets ready; I can 
see Natasha approaching them and suddenly wonder if 
she's up to something.  Haruka is saying something about 
the Riviera and someone named Pierre as I approach, while 
Yukino lurks nearby.  So I hug Yukino first so as to not 
interrupt the pontificating.

	"Anyway, it would be just fine," Haruka says.  "I 
won't be using the place then, unless plans change."

	She looks over at Yukino, who is busy having trouble 
breathing.  So I ease back the hug and Yukino says, "I will 
schedule it immediately.  We can always use the Swiss 
chalet if we need a vacation spot.  Or the place in 
Bombay."

	"I'm sure Pierre can round up some of his younger 
relatives for you," Haruka says to Natasha.  

	I try to remember if Pierre is one of her business 
flunkies or one of Haruka's boyfriends we always hear 
about but never see.  Except for George, which is probably 
why we haven't ever seen any of the others.

	Poor George.  I'm sure he doesn't still smell like 
skunk, though.

	Natsume, meanwhile, is beating her next to last foe 3 
to 2.  

	Everyone turns to watch the match now; her foe is not 
as good as she is, in my opinion, but he's not had as many 
fights as she has.  Goro is middling in height with short 
brown hair and scruff on his lips which pretends to be a 
moustache.  I'm surprised they didn't make him shave it at 
school.  He bows to her and she bows back.

	He goes purely defensive as she unleashes blow after 
blow; I can see his strategy—clearly, he is hoping she'll 
wear out enough for him to counterattack with her too weak 
to stop him.  Pretty wise under the circumstances.  You 
can't burn your candle at full strength like she is without 
wearing out faster.

	I notice Natasha now positioning herself so that Goro 
can see her.  My gut tells me she's going to do something.  
Probably something that isn't quite cheating but will 
nevertheless be intended to turn the tide.  I appreciate it, but 
I can't let her do it.

	I head over to her, noticing Haruka going to see Mai 
and Tate and Akira.  Yukino is watching the match, one 
hand up on her glasses, subtly adjusting them; I wonder if 
she's got some built in camera she's using.

	I reach Natasha, just as she's gripping the bottom of 
her shirt.  "Natasha-chan, were you about to flash Goro?"

	"No, of course not with everyone here!," she says in 
the tone which tells me I am 100% correct.

	"Because that might be taken as cheating and I want to 
win honestly.  So does Natsume."

	Natasha grimaces.  "She just wants to kill Meiko at 
this point."

	"I trust her," I tell Natasha.  "But thank you for trying 
to help her."

	Natasha grumbles and I wonder if she was planning to 
do it with Haruka's shirt too.  That would certainly distract 
a lot of guys.

	Natasha simply shouts, "Riviera is GO!"

	Natsume grins like a ferret about to rip out a throat 
and suddenly stops moving, causing her foe to be parrying 
invisible, non-extant blows, then quickly nails his shoulder, 
having lured him into a pattern of defenses.  "One!"

	In a sudden moment of worry, I look for bananna 
peels, but it looks like Natasha has gotten too old to rely on 
those any more.

	He falls for it a second time, but then he goes on the 
offensive, catching HER by surprise and scores a point.  

	The match seems to go on and on; I can see she's 
getting tired, but so is he.  My nerves wind themselves 
more and more into knots.  He scores a second point, and 
now I'm really wired.  Drinking three cups of coffee in a 
frenzy during one match doesn't help, mind you.

	Maybe...no, stopping Natasha was the right thing.  
Better to lose with honor than win with dishonor.  Plus, 
someone would have likely taken a picture.  By evening it 
would be online and by midnight, Shiho would be trying to 
kill me in my sleep.

	I glance across and see Master Ryuugenzawa, 
watching with arms folded across his chest.  His look is so 
utterly impassive I know it's an act, especially as his left 
foot keeps tapping frantically.  

	I glance at Akira and see she's engaged in some sort of 
odd miming.  I'm not sure who she could be signalling, 
given that everyone's watching the match.  Other than some 
member of the other team, but why would she do that?

	Haruka is shouting "FINISH HIM!" over and over at 
the top of her lungs.  Pretty soon, everyone's shouting 
either "FINISH HER" or "FINISH HIM."

	And then it hits me, what I need to do.  Assuming he's 
willing to do it.  But surely he will. I hope.  

	"Frederick," I say to him.  "I need your help."

	He's in the back of the mob with Meiko, both of them 
looking rather guilty.  "Yes?"

	"I need you to come up front and cheer extra hard for 
Natsume-chan.  You too, Meiko."

	"I think she wants to kill me," Meiko mumbles, staring 
at the ground.

	"Ditto," he mumbles.

	"Doesn't matter.  And look, if she loses, I have to kick 
you out, Meiko."

	Meiko winces at that.

	"And this is all happening because of you."  I try to 
add a little Angry Akira or Angry Shiho to my voice.

	Meiko now looks like I just poured an entire jar of 
tobasco sauce down her throat.  Which I advise you never 
to do even if you like it, like me.  

	Frederick takes Meiko by the hand and shoves to the 
front, then begins yelling, "Go, Natsume, Go!"

	Natsume notices this and looks stunned and then Goro 
makes a go for another point and I chew my nails.  Well, I 
try to chew my nails, but they're short it doesn't work and I 
bite my fingers and it HURTS.

	Natsume executes a quarter turn, however, and the 
sword slides right past her.  Her counter-stroke fails to 
score a point, but it knocks him down on his ass as she 
throws all her strength into it.  As he gets up, she uses one 
of Akira's moves and the 'point' of her wooden blade gets in 
among his fingers, weakening his grip.  Then she snaps 
around and his sword goes flying and her sword flicks up to 
tap above his heart.  "Point!" she shouts.  

	I collapse in a tension heap.  WHEW.

	Meiko runs out and hugs Natsume.  "You saved me!"

	For a moment, it looks to me like Natsume is going to 
sucker punch Meiko in the gut, instead she says, "I saved 
you so I can KICK YOUR ASS MYSELF."

	Frederick, who was starting to approach them, now 
backs up.

	Natasha sidles over to me.  "Can I help you play dress-
up with them?"

	"Of course," I say benevolently.  "I bet Haruka-chan 
will want to help too."

	Natasha smiles an evil smile.

	Master Ryuugenzawa strides over.  "Damnation, most 
of your students sucked, but the best were pretty damn 
good."

	"I know," I tell him.  "Ready for your makeovers?"

	I glance at Natasha and then wonder where she was 
hiding the bandolier of lipsticks she is now wearing as she 
goes over to Haruka.

	"Yes," he said.  "I will get even for this later."

	"Good, I can use something to help push my students 
to work harder."  I smile at him and he looks somewhat 
confused, which makes me smile more.  A good rivalry 
makes everyone stronger, as long as it stays reasonably 
honorable.  This is just what we need, I think.

	The dressup session is quite enjoyable.  FOR US.  
Though I notice  Shiiko ends up getting the boy she'd been 
talking to earlier to help her braid her hair.  Good for her, I 
thought.  A Romeo and Juliet scenario will add to the spice 
of the school rivalry!  And she seems so happy.

	Natsume and Natasha work together; it is a little 
disturbing to see the way they smile in unison.  Haruka and 
Yukino pitch in to help; I can tell Haruka is vastly enjoying 
herself.

	"I'm sorry, Sensei," Meiko says to me.  "I made a mess 
of things and Natsume-san had to save us and now I think 
she wants to bury me at sea."

	"Well, you should apologize once she calms down.  Or 
you can settle things with a duel.  But really, you fought 
well."

	She glances over at Frederick, who is now talking to 
Arthur and Tate.

	"And you got a new boyfriend even if you stole him," 
I tell her, half aggravated but half-knowing he hadn't really 
been anyone's boyfriend for her to 'steal' him.

	"I didn't!  I..."  She sighs.  "Sorry, sensei."

	"It's okay.  Just remember, you owe not getting kicked 
out to Natsume-san in the end.  So treat her well."

	"Yes, sensei," she mumbles.  

	"All's well that ends well," I tell her.  Things didn't go 
as well as I planned...okay, squeaked out of that one by the 
skin of my teeth, but this is what I wanted, a good rivalry.  
They will be back, but we'll be ready for them.  
	
	The doors fly open and Shiho strides in, accompanied 
by her latest boyfriend, a huge American guy, six foot three 
with muscles on his muscles.  "Alright, who helped my 
daughter skip out of class?"

	Her eyes sweep across the room, while Natasha hides 
behind Natsume.

	"You!"  She points at Mai.  "Your wicked daughter is 
a bad influence on my sweet Natasha!"

	"Hey, Crystal DIDN'T SKIP OUT OF SCHOOL," 
Mai says angrily.

	"Honey dearest loveums, can you go grab Natasha for 
me, dear?" Shiho coos to her boytoy.  I'm not sure how she 
survives getting naked with men who typically weigh 3-4 
times as much as her, but she always seems to have these 
giant boyfriends.

	Natasha takes off running, even as I move to intercept 
Shiho.  "It's okay, Shiho-san.  She was training me with me 
and helping me with this tournament, I really couldn't have 
done it without her help."

	With that, Shiho suddenly deflates.  "Well, of course.  
She's an invaluable resource."

	Mai sputters behind me, but I make the 'let me handle 
this' sign.

	"So please be gentle with her.  She told me she 
shouldn't, but I talked her into it," I say.  She really has 
been a big help.

	"Okay," Shiho says.  "I..."

	Haruka comes in.  "Does she really have next 
weekend off?  She wanted to borrow my beach house on 
the Riviera to take a friend of hers to, in order to cheer her 
up."

	"Actually, I think she meant her next break, the 
summer one," Yukino says.  "Haruka-chan."

	"Oooh, I've been wanting to see the Riviera again," 
Shiho says.  "I haven't been since poor Tobias died in the 
baccarat incident."

	Tobias actually faked his own death with my help to 
get away from her, but that's another story.

	"I..."

	"We could make it a big family vacation with some 
friends," Yukino said.  "I'm sure everyone wants to meet 
your boyfriend, anyway."

	Haruka suddenly looks very nervous.  

	Mai says, "I really would like to."

	Tate nods.

	I can't blame her for hiding her boyfriends from us, 
especially after George.  I hope he still doesn't hate all of 
us.  Though I couldn't blame him if he did.

	"I'm sure Natsuki will bring her boyfriend and... 
Yukino-chan, are you between boyfriends?"

	"Yes," she says, adjusting her glasses.

	Hmm, a few of my students might be good...but they 
are kind of young...  "Well, I have some..."  for once I catch 
my mouth in time.  "I know Haruka-chan likes her men 
muscular and dumb, but how about you?"

	Haruka stares at me, jaws open, while everyone else 
tries to force themselves not to laugh.  Shiho begins to 
laugh and laugh and laugh, until Haruka whacks her in the 
head and they start having a totally undignified fight until 
Yukino and Tate pull them away from each other.  A pretty 
poor quality fight.  They both need more combat training, 
really.  I could do much better than that, drunk.

	"I...umm...kind of like redheads who are outgoing and 
friendly and knowledgeable about science and the 
humanities," Yukino babbles.  "And strong."

	Hmm, time to put Mai and Tate to work finding her 
someone; most of the people I know our age are experts at 
hitting people or part of the family.  

	But there's plenty of time to plan for that.

	"Let's go out for dinner," I tell them.  "Hmm, even 
better, I'll order pizza for everyone; my students deserve a 
nice dinner too.  Mai-chan, I put you in charge of 
organizing and negotating the order."

	Mai smiles and begins circulating through the mob of 
makeovers, while I go make sure I can afford to pay for it 
all.  Luckily, I can, so soon we're stuffing our faces.

	And I'll stop here, because where better to stop a story 
than delicious food?  No better place at all, in my opinion.  
See you!