Chapter Sixteen: Meeting the Grandfather

The next morning Jackie woke up suddenly. She had a feeling that someone was watching her. She looked towards the door and saw an elderly man standing there. "I beg you pardon young woman but I was looking for my Grandson" he said, bowing to her. "He's sleeping on the couch in the living room, venerable Grandfather" she said as she got out of bed. Thankfully because of the chilly air, she had slept in sweat pants and sweat shirt. She returned his bow out of respect. "You must be one of the Americans that is here for the competition. I cannot wait to test your skills for myself" he said to her and bowed once again and left to find his Grandson.

Jackie dressed in her clean Kanji sweat pants and a long sleeved red shirt. She had her tank top and capris on underneath them.. as she stepped out of the bedroom and passed through the dojo, she heard a loud commotion coming from the living room. "You sleep here while there is a beautiful woman in your bed? Do I have to teach you everything?" the old man was asking a shocked Tomishiro whom was sitting on the floor in a tangle of bedding. Apparently the old man had dumped the couch over but what he just said had angered her the most. "It wasn't his fault or from a lack of trying. I told him no, you old pervert!" she ground out, " You come into my room without knocking, watch me sleep, wake me up, show respect to my face and then disrespect me behind my back!" Tomishiro heard and saw the fury building up in her and decided to diffuse the situation before it got any worse.. Grandfather, this is Jackie Wolf-Takahashi, the one I have told you about. She's the one I'm planning to marry" he said getting to his feet. Jackie was going to say something to Tomishiro but one look at him, she turned red and fled the room. "Ahh, now I see, she is still an innocent" Grandfather said, pointing at Tomishiro's lower half. He began to chuckle. Tomishiro looked down at himself. He had gone to bed wearing only his boxers and he had an erection that was straining at the thin material. "Oh Shit!" he exclaimed and grabbed his clothes. He headed to the nearest bathroom. He came out a short while later washed, dressed and under control. "Sorry Grandfather. She has been fighting me since we met. Because of certain circumstances, we have decided to take things slowly, at least until after the competition. Now I have to go make our peace or her lessons won't be able to begin this morning" Tomishiro's explained. Grandfather smiled. "Only a good woman puts up such a fight, they are the ones with spirit and passion to fire a man's blood like she has done to you. They are the ones who will stay with their man" Tomishiro's Grandfather said. Tomishiro smiled as his Grandfather accompanied him to the dojo. They found her sitting cross legged on the floor in what appeared to be a state of meditation but wasn't. She was just staring at nothing in particular. "Are you okay?" Tomishiro asked her kneeling down in front of her. She slowly looked into his eyes and her cheeks flushed with color as she remembered how he looked just a short while ago.

"I'm sorry for that. With all the brothers I have, I should be used to men running around the house in all sorts and manner of dress or undress" she said,her blush rising up to her hairline. "I am not one of your brothers, there is a big difference between them and I. I am going to be your husband one day" he said winking at her. She glared at him. "When we are married, you will be seeing me in that state and more a lot" he added as he placed his hand on her cheek. She swatted it away, continuing to glare at him. "As I have said, she is a good woman. She has a very strong spirit for the fight" Grandfather said. "More like a warrior queen during a war , Grandfather. You should see these two battle. It's fun to watch" Shou said coming into the dojo with Han, "Jackie, you're not dressed for your lessons. And please stop looking at my brother like he's a piece of rare prime beef." Jackie turned red again and focussed her attention on Shou. She growled and pushed Tomishiro over off his feet, stood up then went to her room to get ready. She came back out of the room and the four of them went out the back door. This had surprised Grandfather as he was sitting on the floor of the dojo waiting for her return. He got up and followed them outside. Her lesson began in earnest. First, Tomishiro showed her more and more complex moves then Han stepped in to battle with her. "Why is she so far behind in her lessons and why are you pushing her so hard?" Grandfather inquired and Tomishiro explained the reason. "Good for them, he was no true Sensei. How long have you been training her? Six months? Nine months?" he replied and then asked. "No, two days so far. This is the third day of her training" Tomishiro responded. "And she is this far already? Remarkable" he said in wonder. Shou took out his phone and said," She is exceptional, she took Pop off his feet the first day of testing. This is a fight between her and Tomishiro from the other day" Shou said passing his phone over to his Grandfather. Grandfather watched the video with intense interest. He laughed when they both landed in the pond together.

"Aakkk!" Han yelled. He was shaking his hands as Jackie had done the day before. Jackie was standing quietly and perfectly still in the ready position. She had surprised herself by accomplishing Han's move. "Tomishiro, she just did something that you couldn't master in all these years, she just blasted my wrists like I did to her yesterday!" Han exclaimed, still shaking his hands to get the feeling back into them. "Grandfather, there isn't much more for her to learn in Kendo. She also knows Ninjitsu and several other forms of Martial Arts including one her Grandmother has been teaching her. It's the one she used on Pop" Tomishiro said. "I plan on testing her skills for myself later but I think it is time for breakfast" he said, getting to his feet. He turned and faced Jackie then bowed to her. "Most honorable Miss Jackie, please accept my humble apology for my earlier rude comments" he said formally to her. She ßmiled and returned his bow. "I most humbly accept your apology and give you one of my own. I can understand how it seemed to you not knowing the circumstances in their entirety" she replied. "You are an honorable woman and an excellent student. I am looking forward to testing the skills of a woman that can hold her own and learn as quickly as you do" he said as they went to freshen up for breakfast.

Jackie went and grabbed clean clothes then headed into the women's side of the bathrooms. She overheard Shou telling his Grandfather about Mina's problem and that Jackie was using one of her other styles to overcome Mina's issue. " Mina was telegraphing her moves to her opponents by the way she was thinking them through before making her moves. Jackie figured that if she was in constant motion, she wouldn't think about her next move and it would just flow from her. It would become instinctual. This way her opponent wouldn't know what was coming next." Grandfather thought about it and said, "That is very sound reasoning, I think it should work but I would like to observe this form for myself." Jackie kept quiet and finished up her shower, dressed and was about to exit when she saw that her laundry basket was full. She sorted her clothes, loaded the machines and started them. She then went back into the bedroom to put on her sneakers, grabbed a jar out of her backpack. It had been a home-made ointment her Grandmother made for her trip. Jackie went to find Uncle Shin and Han. She found them in the kitchen. Uncle was making lunch and Han was running cold water over his wrists. "Uncle, Han put this ointment on your bruises, it will help heal them faster" she said, handing the jar to Uncle. He opened the jar and took a sniff. He pulled back quickly. "What is in it?" he asked her, his eyes watering. "Camphor, menthol, mint, chamomile, lavender, pine sap tar and vegetable lard. My Grandmother makes it herself. It's good for a number of things like bruises, nose and chest congestion from cold and allergies. Rub it onto the affected area three times a day and wash your hands afterwards and what ever you do, don't get it down below. It will cause a burning sensation as my brothers found out" Jackie said smiling. Han took a little of it and rubbed it onto his wrists. Instantly he felt a soothing warmth soaking in. "Amazing, thank you. Shinonome, you should use this on you bruises, it works great" Han stated. He had heard Jackie chuckle softly when he had called Uncle by his full name so he stared at her questioningly. Her eyes widened in slightly. 'I wonder if she knows' he thought. He was going to speak with her about it privately. Jackie knew by the way he was staring at her that he wasn't going to let the matter drop. "Uncle, why don't you go use the ointment on your shoulder and hip? I'll take care of lunch today" she offered. Uncle took the jar and left the kitchen. Jackie checked on the rice and went over to the freezer and pulled out the containers of stew. She emptied them out into a large pot and put it on a low flame on the stove.

"You know, don't you?" Han asked her. Jackie's cheeks flushed and she nodded. "How? Have you read it?" he then asked her. She just knew that he wasn't going to let it rest until he had the whole story. "I have two brothers and a sister that have same sex partners. I couldn't understand about gay sexuality because no one was comfortable explaining it to me. I went and talked to my tattoo guy who happens to be gay also. We talked and he sort of explained it to me. He then gave me some videos, saying they would help me too. They did help out a lot. I found them sweet, sensitive and sometimes funny. I especially liked the story between Yukimora and Shinonome and that's why we just call Uncle Shinonome, Uncle or Uncle Shin" she explained, her cheeks flushing pink again. Han stated at her and asked, "We?" She heard the surprise in his voice. Her face turned a little more pink. "Yeah, Komiko and Mina have seen it too. Yaoi stories are a big hit with women in America because of their sensitivity" she explained to him. Han thought over what she had told him. He realized that some Americans were very open and accepting for the most part on certain issues. "So you really don't have any problems with mine and Shou's relationship at all?" he asked, studying her face carefully. "You are going to love who you love and who am I to say whether it is right or wrong, just as long as you keep on loving each other" she replied. Han enveloped her in a hug as Shou walked in. "Hey, can I join this hug fest too?" he asked. Jackie smiled and replied, "Sure" then hugged him as well.