Chapter Eleven: Kendo Retraining and the Mitsamora Spy

Tomishiro went back into the dojo to grab his bag that he had left there. He saw that the lights in his room were turned off. He was tempted to look in on her but decided against it. Instead he turned the lights on and took a good look around the dojo. He saw how everything goes med in the light. Tomishiro walked around the room and inspected all the weapons on display. He came to the wall where the pictures of his ancestors hung. Right below them was the Bushido. He examined it closely, saw the care that had been taken with it's cleaning. Tomishiro smiled at the thought of who had touched it with such loving hands. It made him wonder why his father hadn't finished with Jackie's skills testing, unless she had beaten and bruised him enough that he hadn't been able to continue. He chuckled at the thought that Jackie had beaten his formidable father. He wondered what his grandfather would say. He walked back and picked up his bag again, turned off the lights and exited the dojo. He stopped at Shou's room, opened the door and saw the massive wet spot in the middle of the room. He looked up into the rafters, then walked outside. He shook with suppressor laughter. "Leave it to Pop to use the biggest tarp we have" he whispered as he saw the tarp covered half the roof, length wise. He went back inside, turned off the lights and shut the door. 'Oh well. It's still too wet in there. I guess it is the living room couch for me after all' he thought as he went to the living room. On the couch, he found pillows and a couple of blankets laid out for him. It was probably one of his sister's. He lay down and was soon asleep.

The next morning, Shin woke Tomishiro up bright and early. "Get yourself ready. I have a feeling it's going to be a tough day" he said. Tomishiro got up, grabbed his bag and headed to the bathroom past the dojo. Jackie was just coming out of the bedroom. "Good morning, Jackie" he said. "Morning to you too" she mumbled, slipping past him and into the ladies' side. I had fun last night" he called out to her. She grumbled out something that sounded like, "Pompous, percy ass." He laughed. The other girls were already in there, changing. This included the one calling herself Kirrin. "God, I wish those three from America would just leave. They don't fit in around here, especially her. She's so big and stupid. Did you get a look of all those tattoos. They're probably gang related. There's no way Tomishiro will have anything to do with her after he sees my stunning beauty" the snide little bitch was saying, "And her cousins are just as pathetic as she is. They're not even pure Japanese. Why don't they go back to America where they belong?" Kaya, having heard more than she could tolerate from Kirrin said, "Enough! They are more family than you are. If anyone should leave, it should be you!" The others finished getting dressed and left quickly and quietly. Jackie had stayed under the spray of the shower the whole time Kirrin went on her tirade, until she could get her anger under control.

"I love tattoos. I have a few of them myself" Tomishiro called out. 'Crap. He had heard everything's Jackie thought. "So, how many do you have?" he asked her, his voice carrying a soft and gentle tone to it. She found herself responding without thought, "Fifteen." "I have twenty two myself. Should I tell you where they are?" he chided her with a chuckle. "No thank you" she replied. He heard the water shut off and noises coming from the dressing room. He knew she was getting dressed in a hurry. Tomishiro got out of the water and hurriedly got dressed himself, especially after he heard her mutter, "I've had enough of that bitch!" Jackie stormed past him as he stepped into the hallway, pulling on his shirt. She was putting her hair up into a ponytail. They both entered the dojo together. He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and whispered, "Go for it. She's not Kirrin but Mei Mitsamora, our family's biggest rivals." That was all Jackie needed to hear. She walked up to the girl, grabbed her arm, spinning Mei around to face her. "Mei Mitsamora, you are a file, sneaky bitch and I am not going to tolerate you in my family's presence one second longer! Get your belongings and get out of my sight!" Jackie yelled right in her face. Mei swung her fist and it connected with Jackie's jaw. Jackie's head swung sideways slightly and when she looks back at Mei, she has this savage smile on her face. "Is that all you have?" She growled at her. Mei stepped back away from that look. Tomishiro smiled at Jackie. "You scrawny, midget excuse for a female. I'm sick and tired of you and your better than everyone else airs" Jackie said, landing punches with almost every word she said to Mei.

Mei's phone fell from her pocket as Jackie pinned her to the wall with her foot. The phone rang and the caller id said, 'Poppa'. Mei's eyes widened. Jackie, without releasing Mei from her hold, picked up the phone and answered it. "Mei, can you talk?" the person said from the other end. "Yes, Poppa" Jackie replied in a perfect imitation of Mei. "You need to get out of there immediately. Tomishiro is on his way home and he knows what you look like. Your uncle sent him a picture of you last night. Jackie grinned. "Too late Poppa. You can come and collect your spy bitch at the front gates" Jackie said switching back to her normal voice. "Who is this?" the man's voice demanded. "Jackie Wolf-Takahashi" she replied. The line went dead. The whole time Jackie had been talking to Poppa, Mei had been struggling to break Jackie's hold on her but Jackie was just too strong. Jackie finally lowered her leg and tossed the phone back at Mei. "Get her out of here and help her get her things packed up" Tomishiro ordered and Uncle Shin nodded in agreement. Mina, Mikki and Komiko complied and escorted Mei to the girls' room to help her pack her belongings.

Tomishiro walked up to Jackie and bowed before her in respect. "I am honored to have you on our team, Jackie" he said. Jackie bowed back and replied, "I am honored to be here Sensei Tomishiro." He smiled at the tone of respect for him. " Now it is time for your Kendo skills test" he said and went over to the equipment closet. He pulled out two complete uniforms and practice swords. Tomishiro handed her one set . They dinner the uniforms and got into the ready position. At the go command from Kaya, they engaged in battle. Several times Tomishiro defeated Jackie easily. His father had been right in his assessment of Jackie's training and skills, she was awkward and out of balance. "You were right, Pop. Her instructor was an idiot. Take over with the rest of the girls and I'll help her. Jackie please follow me" he said. She did as he said. At first, she had felt embarrassed by her performance until he had said that it wasn't her fault but that of her then instructor. He led her outside where there was a large rubberized mat on the ground. "Which hand do you write with?" he asked her. She held up her left hand. "Good, so am I. Now stand next to me, grip the sword the way I do and follow my moves. You already know the basics. We are just going to switch them around to your dominant hand" he explained. He started off slowly so that she could follow his moves then picked up his speed and she kept up with him. After an hour, they stopped. How does it feel now?" he asked her as he handed her a bottle of water. "It felt great, I was more balanced and in control. I felt my moves flowing more smoothly. Thank you" she said smiling. He felt a jolt of longing shoot through him.

"Didn't you tell your instructor that you were left-handed?" he asked her. Jackie frowned at the memory. "Yeah, several times but he insisted that I do it his way. He then entered me into a competition. I told him that I wasn't ready, that I wasn't comfortable enough to compete yet. He didn't care and insisted, so I competed and lost miserably. He came at me afterwards, yelling and screaming that I was worthless and wasting his valuable time. Jet heard him and knocked him out. We quit and tried to find another instructor but he had spread rumors about us. No one would take us on as students after that"she explained to him. She had sat down on a bench close by and he sat next to her. "By the way, thank you for the beautiful work you did on the Bushido. It seems so much happier now" he said grinning at her. Jackie blushed and said,"Thank you. I had just finished replacing the braid yesterday morning. My Great-grandfather used to make swords and scabbards. He taught my grandmother how to braid the silk and wrap the hilts with the intricate braiding. She then taught all of us. Jet was her star pupil." He smiled at her. She was truly an amazing woman.

"Well, we will stop you lesson here for today as it looks like it's going to rain again. Whenever it isn't raining or snowing outside, we'll meet out here first thing in the morning for your lessons. If the weather is bad, we'll meet in the dojo before anyone else gets up, at around six in the morning" Jackie nodded, "Okay." He stood up and faced her. He took her hands in his and pulled her to her feet. She was close to him and had to look up to see her face. "Hmmm, perfect" he said grinning down at her. "What do you mean?" she asked, pushing him back a bit. He was just too close to her for her comfort. He continued to grin at her.

"You're perfect. You're strong, compassionate, stubborn, fun, intelligent, tall and most of all beautiful. Perfect" he said. "I'm not interested in getting involved with you or anyone else at this time. What's more is we don't know anything about each other. I don't know what type of person you are. You could be an abusive person" she said and frowned. She walked back inside. 'What did that guy do to you to hurt you so bad?' he wondered. He vowed then and there to find out what had happened and make her forget that unworthy guy. He followed her back inside. She went to the bedroom, grabbed a change of clothes then the bathroom for a quick shower. After that she hung up the uniform in the bedroom and sprayed it down with deodorant spray. She came out wearing a long sleeved tee shirt, sweat pants and running shoes.

Jackie saw the dojo was empty and went to find the others. She found them all in the living room and by their faces something was wrong. Mei was in the middle and surrounded by the others. "What's going on?" she asked. "Uncle has called the police. Mei decided to try and pack a bunch of items that didn't belong to her. For instance, your laptop, mp4 your jewelry and a gift with your name on it" Komiko explained. Saiya added, "Yeah we thought it was unusual that she only came with two suitcases and was about to leave with a big green duffle bag that you came here with." "She was also trying to sneak this out in your duffle bag as well" Mitsako said holding up the Bushido. Jackie lunged at the girl, screaming, "You lying, thieving bitch! Now I'm really going to kick your ass!" But before she could make contact with the Bear Paw Fist, she was hauled back against a hard chest. "Easy love, remember the police are on their way" Tomishiro said. He kissed the side of Jackie's neck. Mei looked stunned as Jackie turned in Tomishiro's arms and kissed him passionately. He knew she had done it as revenge for this morning's taunts but he savored it none the less. He kissed her back until some one coughed to get their attention back on the matter of Mei. He groaned as the sweet taste of her flooded his senses and she broke off the kiss.

A police siren could be heard growing closer and it broke through the stunned silence. Mei panicked. She started pleading and begging. "Please, I'm sorry. You have everything back. I'll leave quietly, please!". Uncle Shin shook his head. "You lied your way into my house, abused the hospitality of my home and family and you tried to steal from us. You think that you are so privileged that you can just get away with an apology for your actions. I have contacted your Great Uncle Sayuchi and explained everything to him. He was the one to call the police, not me" he said.

Saiya went to go open the gates and the front door for the police. She escorted them into the living room. They took everyone's statements and photographed the items that she tried to steal. They turned to Jackie and asked her to identify her jewelry. Jackie looked them over and stated, "There's one piece missing, a necklace. It is a multi-strand silver and turquoise choker with an engraved oval pendant hanging from it." The female officer searched Mei and found it around her neck under her turtle necked sweater. The police officer removed it and held it up. "Yes, that's it" Jackie replied. "She's lying, it's mine" Mei protested. "Oh really, then what's this?" Mina said pushing a button on the side. It opened to reveal an old picture of Jackie and a silver-haired woman, her grandmother. "Sorry but that proves that you are the true thief. Mei Mitsamora, you are under arrest for grand larceny. Place your hands behind your back" the other officer said. They placed her in handcuffs, put her into their patrol car and left.

"Komiko, could you put my belongings back into my bedroom for me? I need to go for a run before I explode" Jackie said through gritted teeth. Komiko nodded in understanding. Jackie headed for the front door. "I'm coming with you" Tomishiro said. Jackie shrugged her shoulders and nodded. They went outside just as it started to rain. Saiya looked aghast, "Are you crazy, it's raining out there?" Jackie turned around, spread her arms wide and smiled. "It's the best time. It washes away stress, pain, anger and regret" she replied. She jogged to the gate. Tomishiro shook his head and smiled. "Well it looks like I'll be spending a lot of time in the rain" he said and winked at Saiya before running to catch up to Jackie. Mina turned to Komiko and Uncle Shin. "Did you see what I just saw? She kissed him. What's going on?" Mina asked in confusion. Uncle scratched his chin and replied, "Mei said some pretty vile things about your cousin in the bathroom concerning Tomishiro earlier. He told me what he had over-heard so I think she did it out of some sort of revenge. I had also seen them talking earlier and it seems that they have have come to an understanding, so maybe it wasn't all revenge. Well just have to keep our eyes and ears open."