Simon Blackquill just lost his fifth case in a row.

"I'm a disgrace to the profession," Simon lamented. He sat forward on the lush velvet chair with his elbows on his knees. "I'm not fit to wear this badge."

"You're not in the habit of wearing your badge anyway, Prosecutor Blackquill." The Chief Prosecutor stoically appraised his subordinate. For a man who had spent seven years in prison, Simon certainly had a flair for the dramatic sometimes. "Besides, it's not uncommon for a prosecutor to go on a losing streak once in awhile." With a raised eyebrow, Miles looked at Simon from the corners of his eyes. "Justice is merely being served, is it not?"

Simon growled. "But must I repeatedly lose to Athena Cykes?"

Miles quietly raised a hand to his mouth to muffle a smile. "Ms. Cykes is a talented attorney. You could do worse than to lose to her."

"Bah." Simon frowned and turned away. "Losing to a child five times in a row is enough to drive any man mad."

Miles sighed as he absently gathered papers on his desk into a folder. "Ms. Cykes is a licensed attorney—an attorney whom, may I remind you, is responsible for your acquittal." He set the file aside and leaned back in his chair.

Simon placed his face in his hands and groaned. "My feelings of gratitude towards her do not outweigh my shame." He abruptly stood. "There is only one thing I can do now to rid myself of the intense shame I bear."

"N-no!" Miles reached a hand out towards Simon with alarm. Samurais committed seppuku to rid themselves of shame, and the last thing Miles wanted was for Simon to do something so rash. "Prosecutor Blackquill, let's talk about this—"

Simon scowled. "Talk about what? I only wish to return home and eat a gallon of green tea ice cream."

Miles' shoulders slumped and his hand fell to his side. "Oh. Well, then. All right. You're dismissed."

Simon turned towards the door. Before he could make his escape, however, the Chief Prosecutor called for him one last time.

"And Prosecutor Blackquill…." Miles removed his glasses as Simon turned to face him. "I think the Prosecutor's Office has a handle on the case load for the next couple of weeks. Barring any emergencies, feel free to take some time off." Although Miles was now fairly certain that Simon wouldn't go so far as to seek an honorable death, he had the feeling that the Twisted Samurai's ego needed a well-deserved break.

And so it came to pass that Athena and Trucy found themselves on Simon's doorstep five days later. Athena held a large sack over her shoulder as Trucy waited anxiously for Simon to open his front door. She bounced excitedly on the balls of her feet.

Simon slowly unlocked the door and cracked it open. He found the two girls beaming at him on the other side.

"What do you scamps want?" Simon growled.

"Let us in, Mr. Blackquill!" Trucy tilted her head and grinned. "We've got something for you!"

Simon snorted. "Whatever it is, I don't want it. Now go home."

Athena threw her body against the door and wedged herself into the crack before Simon could slam it shut. "Come on, Simon! You haven't answered your phone in five days. We're just worried about you." Simon's voice was wrapped in turmoil—clouded, angry, confused. She wanted to help.

Simon narrowed his eyes. "Bah. Suit yourself." He suddenly threw open the door with Athena still leaning upon it. Athena yelped as she and the heavy cloth sack she had been carrying fell to the ground.

"Ooh—!" Athena quickly picked herself up. "Simon, that's no way to treat a couple of concerned friends!"

The tall man glowered at the girls. He was barefoot and dressed in a faded gray t-shirt. A pair of Steel Samurai pajama bottoms completed the ensemble. "My friends know better than to intrude upon my private time—which, up until now, I had been enjoying."

Athena caught a glimpse of the J-drama playing on Simon's television. "Yeah. Real quality entertainment."

"You are guests in my home." Simon grunted and padded back towards the couch. "I'd think twice before judging my taste in entertainment."

With a sigh, Athena trotted after him. "Come on, Simon. You've been cooped up in your house all week. It's time to get on your feet."

Simon angrily pursed his lips as the two girls plopped down on the couch on either side of him. Trucy picked up an open photo album that had been lying on a cushion. A picture of a woman peeked up at her from the pages of the book.

"Who's she, Mr. Blackquill?" Trucy turned her puzzled eyes towards Simon, who suddenly snatched the album out of her hands.

"It's none of your business, you little imp," Simon barked. Athena's eyes caught a glimpse of the album before he slammed it shut.

Athena frowned. "Simon…. Were those pictures of my mother?" Athena pulled the album out of Simon's hands. He didn't resist.

Athena opened the album. It was full of pictures of her mother, Aura, and Simon before his incarceration. They were younger in those photos—happier. Several of the photos were even of Simon carrying an 11-year-old Athena on his shoulders.

Athena held her breath as she slowly closed the album. "Why are you looking at these pictures?"

Simon frowned as he blankly stared at the television to avoid Athena's gaze. "I was just trying to figure out where I had gone wrong." Simon's voice was uncharacteristically quiet. "Your mother did so much for me. I can't even put her lessons to good use in court. I'm a failure as her student."

"Is that why you've locked yourself in your house all week?" Athena grabbed his arm as Simon looked up in shock. "So you lost a few court cases. That doesn't make you a failure. Come on, Simon! You just need a little exercise to get your spirits up!"

Athena yanked Simon off the couch as Trucy grabbed the cloth sack. Simon sighed as the young attorney insistently dragged him through the kitchen and into the garage. Recently, Simon had refurbished the large garage by laying wooden panels upon the concrete floor and hanging his collection of weapons from the white walls. The garage had been transformed into a veritable dojo.

Simon scratched his hip through his pajama bottoms. "What are we doing here, little duckling?"

Athena suddenly tossed one of the katanas at Simon, who caught it by its scabbard with a muffled grunt of surprise. "You need to get your blood flowing!" She punched a fist into her gloved hand. "Nothing gets the blood flowing more than a little sword practice."

Simon sighed as he slowly unsheathed his sword. The blade that he had recently honed so intently now gleamed brightly back at him. He felt a thrill of excitement run through his body. Maybe the little duckling had a point.

"I don't have anything to practice upon," Simon said. He turned a smirk towards the two girls, who shuddered under his stare. "Perhaps you mean to offer yourselves as target practice?"

"N-no way, Mr. Blackquill!" Trucy cried. She dropped the heavy bag she had been carrying and opened it with flourish. "We came prepared!"

Trucy pulled an apple out of the bag and threw it to Athena, who expertly plucked it out of the air. "We brought a bag of apples for you so you could practice your iaido," Athena said with a grin.

Simon turned his gaze to the heavy cloth bag. "Just how many apples did you hooligans bring with you?"

Trucy shrugged. "We bought all the apples at the supermarket." Trucy bounced on the balls of her feet and grinned. "Daddy left his wallet on his desk. I'm sure he won't mind me using his credit card for a good cause!"

Simon barked out a laugh as he appraised his sword. "I'm sure Wright-dono won't mind at all."

Simon twirled the katana in his hand to get a feel for the weight and the balance. He had gone without practice for two weeks—since before his series of trials against Athena. As an astute practitioner of iaido since his youth, he knew how detrimental a lapse of two weeks' worth of training was. To hone one's prowess with the blade, the sword must be an extension of one's body; thus, frequent training was mandatory. It seemed that Simon had recently failed in that regard as well.

That would change today. Simon's feet smoothly slipped apart along the wooden floors as he got into a balanced stance. He held the scabbard loosely against his left hip while he grasped the hilt with his right hand.

"Ready, Trucy?" Athena said with a grin.

"Magical Girl Trucy Wright is ready to go!" Trucy cried with a tip of her hat. She lobbed an apple into the air towards Simon.

Simon's eyes were expertly trained on the red apple as it floated through the air. One smooth movement would be all that was needed to remove the blade cleanly from its scabbard and slice the apple neatly in two. He felt his toes grasp the smooth wood as he readied himself to apply the sudden burst of energy that would make it all happen.

As the apple approached the perfect spot, he launched his blade. The katana whooshed through the air towards the piece of fruit.

He missed.

The apple fell with a thunk and feebly rolled to Athena's feet. She frowned and turned her eyes towards Simon. He was standing in a perfect stance with his arm still fully extended, the blade gleaming seemingly in jest. The scabbard wobbled against Simon's hip as his hands tensed in anger.

Across the room, Trucy grimaced. "Er…. Let's try that again, Mr. Blackquill. You just need to get back into practice. That's all."

Simon stood upright and sheathed his sword. "That's it. I'm done for today."

"No!" Athena ran to the door and blocked it with her arms spread wide. "You're not going back in the house until you get back into the swing of things."

Simon snorted. "Swing of things? This is iaido, not baseball, you squawking squab." Simon threateningly placed his hand back on the hilt of his blade. "Now let me pass."

Athena's eyes grew wide with fear, but she refused to move aside. "Not until you get back into practice."

Simon glared at her. When she refused to move, he released his hand from the hilt with a sigh. Even Athena was becoming immune to his glare. He really was losing his touch.

"That's the spirit, Mr. Blackquill!" Trucy said cheerfully. "Now come on. I know you can do it!" Simon bit back a string of expletives as he took his place in the center of the garage. The last thing he wanted to hear was Trucy's happy voice cheering him on.

Athena walked over to the sack of apples and held one loosely in her hand. "Ready, Simon?"

Simon gritted his teeth as he gripped the hilt. "Ready."

"All right!" Athena lobbed the apple into the air. Simon followed its trajectory and, at just the right moment, he drew his sword.

He missed. The apple clunked against the garage door. With a grunt, Simon threw down his sword.

Athena sighed. "Simon, don't get so stressed out."

"Stressed out?!" Simon barked. "I've been training in iaido my entire life. You're throwing that apple nowhere near as fast as I'm used to, and I still can't manage to slice it! How can I not be stressed?"

Athena pouted. "Just one more time, Simon. I have faith in you. You can do it!"

With a loud sigh, Simon picked up his katana and sheathed it. The faster he could slice one of these apples, the faster he could get back to watching his J-drama.

"Ready, Simon?" Athena called from across the room.

Simon steeled himself and nodded. "Ready."

Athena lobbed another apple into the air. Simon felt the familiar feeling of time slowing as the apple approached; he could see the apple slowly twisting towards him as if he were in a dream. He drew his blade as the apple came near.

Again, in slow motion, he watched as the blade barely missed the fruit. Just as Simon was about to let out a yell of frustration, a familiar gleam shot past him—the gleam of a blade. Simon looked at the wall across from him and found the apple pinned there with a knife.

"What the bloody—" With his mouth agape, Simon turned to the two girls. Trucy was bouncing happily on the tips of her toes. Athena was covering her grimace with a hand.

Simon pointed his blade at Trucy. "You. Did you do that, you little imp?"

Trucy shrugged. "Do what, Mr. Blackquill?"

"THAT!" Simon pointed his blade towards the apple stuck in the wall. "Did you just pin that apple against the wall with one of your blasted throwing knives?"

Trucy sheepishly grinned and tipped her top hat. "I just thought I'd show you how it's done, Mr. Blackquill!"

Athena's eyes watered in fear as Simon slowly approached them, blade lowered and at the ready. "…What did you say?!"

"H-hey!" Athena laughed nervously and patted Trucy on the back. "That was really great, Trucy! I'm sure Simon's got the gist now. Don't you, Simon?"

Simon halted his approach and narrowed his eyes at Athena. "I've spent over twenty years of my life honing my skills as a swordsman. I've studied iaido longer than you've been alive. By the gods, if you care for the little imp, you'll make sure she doesn't do that again."

Athena grinned and gave him a victory sign. "You've got it, Simon!"

Eyeing them maliciously, Simon slowly took up his place at the center of the garage once more. Athena held an apple in her hand.

"Maybe if I throw it faster, your reflexes will take over and you won't have to think about it so much," Athena mused. "What do you think?"

Simon frowned in thought. The fledgling had a point. Maybe he was overthinking things a little bit. "Fine. "

Athena readied herself like a pitcher winding up at the mound. "Here you go!"

She threw the apple. Simon had little time to react as the fruit barreled towards him like a bullet. He let his reflexes take over, but it was too late; the sword was only halfway out of its scabbard before the gleam of a blade—

The gleam of a blade?

Simon frothed with rage as he heard a familiar thunk. Another apple was pinned against the wall, except this time the hilts of three knives were sticking out towards him.

"Why you little—" Simon turned his murderous glare towards Trucy, who was bouncing proudly on the balls of her feet.

"You didn't seem like you were going to slice that apple, so I wanted to help you out!" Trucy tipped her hat and flashed him her famous Gramarye entertainer's smile. "How did I do, Mr. Blackquill?"

Instead of slicing her in two, Simon sheathed his katana as he quickly walked in long strides towards the rack of swords. He lifted a straight sword by the scabbard from the rack and tossed it to Trucy. She caught it with a fumble.

"If you insist on showing me up, you cheeky urchin, use that instead." Simon's hand clamped down on the scabbard in frustration. "Throwing knives are for cowards and amateurs. A true practitioner of the blade will have mastered the use of a sword."

"No problem, Mr. Blackquill!" Trucy grinned as she unsheathed the straight sword. "I use a sword just like this in my magic acts."

"This is no magic show, Trucy-dono," Simon growled. "That's a real blade."

"Most of the swords Trucy uses in her magic shows are real," Athena said with a grimace. "Trust me. I know."

Simon laid his katana across his lap and sat cross-legged next to Athena as Trucy took her place in the middle of the makeshift dojo. She might be adept with knives, but there's no way this little imp will be able to slice an apple in two, Simon thought to himself.

"Ready, Trucy?" Athena asked.

Unlike Simon and his well-balanced, perfect stances, Trucy stood completely unbalanced with one hand on her hip and the other holding the sword loosely at her side. "Magical Girl Trucy Wright is ready to go!"

Athena launched the apple at Trucy. As the apple barreled towards her, she raised the sword to the sky as if calling upon some ancient power.

"Abracadabra, alakazam!" Trucy swung the sword out to her side and spun in a circle. Her sword connected with the apple for the briefest of moments before the fruit tumbled, intact, to the ground.

"Not good enough," Simon growled as he stood and walked over to the apple. "You may have touched the apple with your sword, but you didn't slice it…in…half…."

Simon frowned as he leaned over the apple on the ground. When Trucy's sword connected with the apple during her little twirl, she hadn't managed to cut it in half. She had managed to peel it. The peel sat in a perfect, intact spiral on the ground next to the naked apple.

Trucy grinned with delight as Simon slowly clenched his fists. "Did I do well, Mr. Blackqui—"

"Silence!" Simon bellowed. "Do you take me for a fool? This was one of your magic tricks—nothing more than mere slight-of-hand. You had no stance. No form. You haven't the first clue how to hold a sword." Simon's gray eyes bore into Trucy. "You must have switched the apple somehow."

"But I didn't!" Trucy pouted as she held the sword limply by her side. "I worked hard to learn how to do that."

He frowned. "And how long did it take you to learn how to peel an apple in mid-air with a sword?"

Trucy pursed her lips in thought. "…Two weeks?"

"Two…weeks?" Simon slowly stood and drew himself up to his full height. Trucy looked up at him and winced as a menacing growl crawled out from the depths of his wounded soul. Behind them, Widget glowed bright yellow with fear around Athena's neck. "TWO WEEKS?"

Trucy nodded and tipped her hat. "Two weeks! Daddy says I'm a natural!"

Simon held his glare for a moment longer before the tension left his shoulders. The katana fell from his fingers and clattered on the ground. Athena watched with concern as the color faded from his now expressionless face.

"S-Simon?" Athena slowly approached him as his gaze shifted from the young magician to her. She didn't need to hear his voice to know his heart was in pain.

Without a word, Simon walked to the door. Athena didn't try to stop him this time. He walked past the kitchen and dropped down into the couch in the living room. The J-drama continued to play on the television as Simon watched on with indifference. He had missed half the show. It didn't matter. He wasn't paying attention anyway.

Simon didn't think it was possible to feel worse about himself than he did already, but he was wrong. It was definitely possible. He crossed that threshold when a mere girl proved she was more adept with blades than he was. Pile that on top of the fact that a girl ten years his junior had bested him five times in a row in court, and it was easy to see why Simon felt the way that he did.

Being a good lawyer and a good swordsman were the two most important things in his life. They were a core part of his identity, things in which he took great pride. The darker days of prison life were salvaged by those hours spent training his mind and his body. To think that two neophytes have proven to be better at the very skills he held so dear tore at his heart and soul.

How could this happen to me? What am I doing wrong? Simon absently grabbed a cushion off the couch and hugged it to his chest. He didn't realize that the album he was looking at earlier had been resting on the cushion. It fell to the ground in a fluttering frenzy of pages and loose pictures. Cursing softly, he leaned over and picked it up. A picture fell out from one of the pages.

Simon picked up the picture and studied it. It was an old picture, one of the very first pictures Aura had taken of Metis, Athena, and him. On that day long ago, they had visited a Zen Buddhist temple. The three of them were seated on flat cushions in full lotus position. Simon's long legs were adeptly intertwined—a surprising feat for a man of his height. His eyes were slightly open as was customary during zazen, and his face was the very epitome of serenity. Athena sat between Metis and Simon with her little legs precariously positioned. Her face wore a horrendous grimace as she squeezed her eyes shut. On the far right was Metis, graceful and tranquil as always, legs deftly intertwined in full lotus position with her hands in a mudra.

Her eyes, however…. Simon squinted at the photo as he raised it to his face. Metis' eyes were slightly open. She was looking at Simon and Athena out of the corner of her eyes. Her lips held the slightest of smiles.

This is it. This is what I've been missing.

Simon quickly rose from the couch and strode back into the garage. Athena and Trucy were sitting against the wall with sullen faces. They had come to Simon's house to cheer him up, yet their prodding had only made him feel worse. Simon felt a pang of remorse at his earlier behavior.

"Stand up, you scamps." Simon picked up his katana and took his place in the center of the room. "I thought we were here to train."

The two girls gave each other a wary glance before hesitantly rising to their feet. "Mr. Blackquill…. Are you sure?" Trucy asked.

"Did I stutter?" Simon asked in a low voice. He clutched the scabbard to his hip as the girls quickly walked to the bag full of apples.

Athena picked an apple out of the bunch and raised an eyebrow as she looked at Simon. "Are you ready?"

Simon grunted. "Throw it as fast as you can."

Athena's shoulders slumped as her lips turned down into a pout. "But—"

"Just…do as I say."

Athena swallowed nervously and wound up before launching the apple towards Simon as fast as she could throw it. Just as before, Simon felt time slow down. Energy pulsed through his body as the apple spun towards him. He lowered his eyes.

—Have you done this before, Simon?

—Yes, Dr. Cykes. I'm in the habit of meditating.

—Then you know what to do. The zen master sees all, yet sees nothing. He hears everything, yet hears nothing. He knows all and nothing.

She reaches up and places a hand on Simon's head. Simon closes his eyes.

—So must we approach everything in life this way. Open to everything and nothing, accepting everything and nothing. Your mind must be clear. Your heart must be clear.

She smiles.

—Acceptance. This is the way to the truth.

Simon drew his blade as he felt himself drop instinctively into a forward stance. The blade flew cleanly from its scabbard. He extended his sword once; he felt it come into contact with something hard. With a flick of his wrist and a jerk of his shoulder, he quickly brought the blade down. Again, his blade struck true.

Thunk. Thunkthunkthunk.

Simon opened his eyes. Time flowed normally once more. On the ground by his feet lay the apple, neatly quartered. He smiled despite himself.

"Uwaaaaaah!" Trucy let out a cry of excitement and disbelief. "Mr. Blackquill! I can't believe what I just saw! You sliced the apple twice!"

Simon sheathed the katana. "A proficient master of the blade can strike an object several times in mid-air. Twice is nothing to brag about."

Athena clasped her hands in joy. "How did you do it, Simon?"

Simon folded his arms. "I just remembered something your mother told me a long time ago."

Athena studied Simon's eyes. He was giving her a curious look, one she'd never seen before. His voice had been clear and calm, however. The turmoil that had blanketed his heart was gone. Still, she had no idea what this new look could mean.

"What did she say?" Athena asked as the Twisted Samurai drew near. He placed a hand on top of her head. After a long moment, he finally spoke.

"Thank you."

Athena's mouth opened in confusion as Simon turned to Trucy. "All right, you little scoundrels. The day is young and we have a lot of apples to go through."

"What are we going to do with all these apples when you're done practicing?" Trucy asked.

Simon drew his sword once more. The gleam of the blade was just as electrifying to him now as it had been in his youth. "I hope Wright-dono likes apple pie."