Chapter Ten: The Challenge and The Kirrin Mystery

He knew the moment when she became aware of another's presence because she had stopped moving and stared into the shadows where he was standing. He moved into the light spilling out from the bedroom and waited for her to say something to him. She pulled her headphones from her ears and glared at the man standing in front of her. "What are you doing here?" she demanded. Her voice was a little breathy from her exertions. His smile reappeared and grew wide. He raised his thick arms and gripped the edge of the roof above his head. "I live here, as a matter of fact that is my room you came out of. So you have been sleeping in my room without me to keep you warm" he stated. "You said that your last name is Ichibana not Takahashi" she said, folding her arms over her chest and glaring at him. "That is the name I use for business. It is my mother's maiden name. My full name is Tomishiro Ichibana Takahashi, oldest son of Shinonome Takahashi and the current sword master of our clan. Now that I have been properly introduced to you, why don't you come back inside, dry off and let me warm you up" he said, extending his hand out to her in invitation.

She knocked his hand aside, threw her mp4 and headphones inside, onto the bed. "I'll fight you for the room" she snarled at him. He studied her for a moment, one eyebrow raised. "And what do I get it I win?" he asked her. His grin turned wicked. "Your room and your bed all to yourself" she replied. She tried to step around him but he blocked her with an outstretched arm. "Not enough. How about one simple kiss, freely given and you still get the room to yourself. I just have one question, why are you in my room to begin with?" he asked her. She looked down the side of the house to the flooded room and replied, "The room we were in flooded out, the roof has a bad leak in the center. There was only enough room with the other girls for my cousins. This was the only other room available until that room dries out." She looked back at him and asked, "Just one kiss and I still get your room? Where will you sleep?" He studied her before replying, "I'll sleep on the couch in the living room." He leaned closer, "And yes just one kiss or are you afraid of me?" She knew he was challenging her. She glared at him. "I'm not afraid of fighting you because I'm going to kick your ass. It's a deal" she replied. "Good, go get dried off, changed and meet me in the dojo in fifteen minutes" he said, bending low to retrieve his bag. His long hair brushed against her arm, clinging like wet silk. It sent a shiver coursing through her. He stood up and walked through the bedroom to the bathroom across the hall.

Jackie closed the door and locked it behind him, stripped off her wet clothes and grabbed a towel. She dried off as quickly as she could. She dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a 'Girls Kick Butt's tank top. Jackie sat down and put on her dragon shoes. She tied her hair back and braided it, grabbed her mp4 and a small speaker then headed into the dojo.

She turned on the light to find Tomishiro already in the dojo. Jackie stared at him because he was dressed similar to her in sweatpants,a tight fitting red tank top that showed off his well defined muscles and red MMA shoes. He was very blatantly male with no fat on his body at all. He looked dangerous in a very sexy way. What had she gotten herself into?. She plugged her mp4 into the speaker and queued up a fast paced playlist then bowed to Tomishiro. He bowed back. They started fighting slowly at first to test each other's skills then fought in ernest. This went on for quite some time until he got her in a bear hug from behind. "I have you now" he whispered in her ear. She going herself backwards, knocking them both down. He lost his hold on her and she was up and away from him before he could react. She switched styles and almost had him before he could react. He started to mirror her tactics until a loud voice called out, "Enough!"

Uncle stood there with a thunderous look upon his face. "Turn that music off at once and explain what the hell is going on!" Uncle demanded. Jackie turned off the music. She and Tomishiro turned and bowed to him. "I am terribly sorry to have disturbed you all this late Uncle Shin" she replied contritely. Tomishiro just grinned at his father. "I too am sorry for the disturbance as well. I came home and found my room occupied. I challenged her for the room" he simply said. Shin turned to the others that had come to see what the commotion was all about. Kirrin thankfully wasn't with them. He told them to go back to bed. He then turned to the couple standing in front of him in the dojo. "Follow me now" he demanded gruffly. They followed him into the kitchen and Shin put on a kettle of water for tea. He pulled down three cups and placed them on a tray with spoons and a pot of honey. He added matcha to all three cups and the hot water. "Sit!" he ordered.

He smiled slightly as the couple sat across from each other at the table. Shin brought the tray over to the table and sat down between them. "Now I want the whole story" he said as he passed them each a cup of the fragrant green tea. Tomishiro and Jackie both reached for the honey at the same time. Tomishiro smiled and waved his hand for her to go first. She glared back at him.

"I couldn't sleep, so I went outside to work off some of my excess energy. I felt like someone was watching me. I stopped and that's when I saw him stepping out of the shadows and into the light. He just stood there grinning at me" she said as she added honey to her tea. Jackie passed the honey pot back towards Tomishiro and took a sip of her tea. Tomishiro smiled at the memory of watching her out in the rain. "I had arrived home to find a light on in my room. I looked in and saw her in there. She headed out towards me and I stepped into the shadows to see what she was up to. I watched as she put herself through a series of complex moves. I was mesmerized by her graceful movements. She knew she was being watched and I chose that moment to step out into the light. I waited until she noticed me. Jackie stopped and asked me what I was doing here. I told her who I truly am. I asked her why she was in my room and she explained about the leak in the roof in Shou's room. I may have mentioned something about sharing the bed and she challenged me for the room. I made my own stipulation" he said pausing to add honey to his wn tea. He looked up at Jackie and saw her face flushing red. He smiled and added, "I said she could have the room, win or lose. My stipulation was that if she lost, she had to kiss me willingly. Jackie agreed and we were in the middle of our little competition when you came and stopped us."

"A woman needs her privacy and as the head of this house, Jackie will stay in your room and you can either deal with a wet bed in Shou's room or sleep on the couch in the living room" Shin stated, "Now good night Jackie. Sunrise is in another five hours and your tests will resume at eight am sharp.And now that my oldest son is here, your Kendo re-training can begin." Jackie's head shot up and she began to protest, "But..." Then she saw the look on Uncle's face, "Yes Uncle Shin. Good night" she said. She stood up and bowed to both men then left the room.

"Now what did you mean by re-training her in Kendo?" Tomishiro asked his father. Shin looked at his son. "Didn't you notice something about her? She's left-handed just like you and I. She told me about a poor excuse for a Kendo instructor. He forced her to train right-handed and put her into a competition that she wasn't ready for and blamed her for the loss. He embarrassed her . Her and her brother quit going to him and that instructor had them banned after her brother knocked him out. No one would train her after that. Now with the competition only four months away, she will need your help, skills and intensity. And keep up your courtship, it seems to help with her concentration" Shin said. He stood up and took the tea tray to the sink. Tomishiro followed his father over to the sink. "So you think she is the right woman for me then?" he asked his father. "Yes, I do. Jackie and her cousins have been more than helpful around here from the very first day. They ran down to the market and made dinner for us when they arrived, cleaned up the mess in Shou's room, helped me with the tarp for the roof and cleaning the dojo from the rafters to the floor and cleaned and sharpened all the weapons including the Bushido. Jackie took me off my feet during her hand to hand combat skills. I also want to talk about another one, Kirrin. She is lazy, sneaky and downright cruel to everyone around her. It's almost as if she believes she's better than everyone. She talks to her so called boyfriend but has been over-heard calling him 'Poppa'. She has been trying her utmost to make Jackie and her cousins leave with her snide comments. What more can you tell me about her and her family?" his father explained.

Tomishiro thought through all the names in his head. "Kirrin? I tracked that branch of the family to a cemetery on Okinawa. The father died of cancer and the mother despondent over her husband's death, killed her daughter and committed suicide. I don't know who you have here but it's definitely not anyone named Kirrin, unless she's a ghost. Has anyone else noticed anything unusual about the girl?" Tomishiro asked. His father thought over his son's question and about what everyone had told him this far. "As I mentioned before she calls someone she claims is her boyfriend but calls him 'Poppa'. When she talks to him, she leaves the room so that no one can hear her conversations with him. A few of the girls have followed her and overheard some of her talks with 'Poppa'. Jackie has been the brunt of her viciousness since the girls' arrival especially where you are concerned. She is under the assumption that when you take one look at her, you will fall madly in love with her. We both know that will never happen. She is shorter than your mother with no boobs or hips. She smiles but it never reached her eyes. Please watch out for her, she's a viper waiting to strike" Shin warned his son.

Tomishiro frowned, then smiled as a memory hit. "You know very well where my heart and lust lay, since that day you caught me with my hand down my pants while watching her videos. And then again when I made that declaration of my intentions to make her my wife last year" he reminded his father. Shin turned red in the face and almost dropped the cup he was washing when he was reminded of that first incident six years ago. "Yes I do remember very well and after meeting her, I can see she is the one for you" he said smiling broadly.

"Good night, Pop. Oh and before I forget, Shou and Han will be here later tomorrow morning" Tomishiro said and Shin smiled. "Good night, Son"