Before making her way to Simon's place after the Wright Anything Agency had closed its doors for the day, Athena stopped at her nearby studio apartment, as it had dawned on her that her office attire was probably not particularly practical for what she was about to do.

Digging through her closet, she came up with nothing but the t-shirt-and-track-pants combination she used for her morning runs, and sighed in exasperation.

Really classy, Athena…but considering that I didn't even know that I was gonna do this tonight, he can't really expect me to come up with a gi and hakama on the fly.

She changed quickly and took a look in the mirror. Oh right, the hair…

Even her mother, whose hair had most often flowed freely down her back, had never neglected to tie it into a tight bun for practice in order to keep it from accidentally tangling with either her or her opponent's blade.

Athena loosened the blue ribbon holding her hair in place and tied her long red tresses back with two hair ties as securely as she could manage.

This'll have to do.

She grabbed her bag and headed out towards the nearby bus stop.

Half an hour later, the young lawyer found herself standing in front of the rather average-looking building to which Widget's GPS had led her. The doorbell for the apartment number Simon had indicated did not have a name tag, and Athena wondered for a moment whether he had not yet gotten around to adding one, or whether he preferred to not announce his presence to the outside world.

If I'd had some of those smears in the papers written about me, I wouldn't advertise where I live, either. The thought alone made her want to take some of these reporters to task personally, but she knew that that would only make matters worse. I hope the lobby lady at the prosecutor's office got to call the cops on at least a few of them, she thought savagely. Jerks.

She pushed the button, and a few seconds later, Simon's voice rang tinnily from the speaker of the intercom.

"Yes?"

"It's me."

"Fourth floor, to your left."

When Athena made it to the fourth level of the building, the door to his apartment was open a crack.

Figuring that it was more polite to announce her presence once again, anyway, she knocked on the doorframe as she slowly pushed it open.

"Simon…?"

He had not been joking when he had said that he had enough open space for their training – the apartment was much larger than she would have expected from seeing the outside of the building, and was laid out in a mostly open floor plan, divided up by half-partitions. Aside from the bed, the foot end of which she spied peeking beyond one of those partitioning walls, the place was still sans furniture, making her hesitant steps echo. No doors, no limits…I can see why that would appeal to him after being confined for years.

Simon was seated seiza style in the middle of the room, dressed in hakama, gi and tabi. His head was bowed slightly, and a sheathed katana rested on his thighs.

He gazed up at her when she approached.

Athena froze in her tracks.

Without his abundance of hair, he suddenly looked years younger, the dark tracks underneath his eyes and the white forelock notwithstanding. Not only had he lost the ponytail, his bangs had been thinned out enough to where one could actually see his eyebrows between the slightly shorter strands.

His appearance unsettled her. In the very first instant, she could not quite put a finger on why that was, but when it came to her, she was slightly shocked at her own reaction.

He's never actually stopped being the Simon I knew back then, I know that, but…he did change. I got so used to how he looked with all that hair in court…maybe that difference made it easier to accept. Now, he suddenly reminds me so much of how he was.

Serious, but fundamentally gentle. Rarely prone to sarcasm. Unguarded.

Somehow, it hurt, as though his current appearance parodized the young man who had worked with her mother.

She mentally kicked herself. Stop being an idiot, Athena.

"Unfair" did not even begin to cover her current line of thought. He is who he is now because of you. He is generously offering his time because you asked him to.

Athena's greeting came out more than a little belated. "Um, hi… here I am."

Out of reflex, her hands twitched towards where her ponytail would be, before she remembered that it was currently not available to card through for comfort.

His answering smirk managed to ground her in reality once more. "Hmph. No platitudes about my appearance, after I went through all the trouble? I am deeply hurt."

Curiously, she could hear a rather discordant jangle in the voice of his heart, but the emotions causing it were too intertwined and complicated for her to sift through before it was gone again.

One of these days, I hope you'll be able to tell me all those things you don't say right now.

The sudden wish was startling, but nevertheless true.

Affecting an airy tone, she responded aloud, "I figured you've heard them all by now, nicht wahr?"

Simon snorted. "Indeed."

Suddenly, Widget decided to butt into their conversation. "You look so young!"

Silence fell between them as the amusement slid off his face, leaving surprise in its wake, and Athena felt herself blush. Dammit, why didn't I leave you at home, Widget?

Trying to repair the damage their exchange had sustained, she weakly offered, "Um… well, there's your platitude."

He got to his feet, all the while probing her with a gaze that somehow seemed more uncertain than any he had employed during the last nine months. Likewise, his quiet response contained a hint of hesitation.

"… I had not heard that one yet, I have to admit."

"It's true, though." The words slipped out of her mouth unbidden, and she broke eye contact immediately when they reached her own ears. What are you doing stop talking about this –

Suddenly, a shadow fell over her vision, just before warm pressure settled on top of her head. Simon's hand.

He had done this all the time when she had been a child, and even though she had squealed at him for getting her hair all mussed up, she had found it comforting all the same. Now, the old gesture caused an odd ache to flare up in her heart, a strange mixture of nostalgia and dismay.

You haven't done this in forever…but just as you aren't who you were, I'm not, either.

Then, the moment had passed. The touch ceased, and he cleared his throat as his arm dropped to his side.

"We should get started."

Athena looked on as he walked toward a small assortment of boxes placed against the wall, his steps making almost no noise on the hardwood floor. After removing a bundle of cloth and a wooden bokutō practice sword from them, he returned to where she was standing, holding out the former to her wordlessly.

Her eyes widened when she realized that it was her mother's training attire. "That's…! Where did you get this?"

Simon did not meet her eyes. "It seems Aura kept it, and it somehow got mixed up with my own clothes. I just found it the other day. It should be yours."

Suddenly, Athena's heart seized with feeling that might overflow at any moment, and she could feel herself tearing up. Her mother's training outfit. Something left by her other than the earring and Widget, a rare and precious gift, carefully preserved by the Blackquill siblings. Mom…

Her voice shook a little as she whispered, "Thank you…"

"Don't mention it." He seemed embarrassed, and a hysterical little voice inside her head commented on the unfamiliar sight, Who are you and what have you done with the 'Twisted Samurai?'

He's Simon. As simple as this answer seemed, the implications were profound: Just as she united the quiet child with the headphones, the determined student, and the dedicated attorney within herself, he was the sincere young man, the savior, the convict, the sharp-tongued prosecutor. It was not an either-or situation; it had never been.

The realization was comforting.

"Is there some place I can change…?"

A few minutes later, Athena re-emerged from his bathroom, now clad in her mother's practice attire. She was surprised how well the clothes fit her – somehow, her memory painted Metis Cykes as being far taller than her. Maybe that was only to be expected, considering that her daughter had not grown into her own height until she was sixteen. Wearing them felt like an embrace across time, and for a moment, Simon's assertion on the witness stand a month ago flashed through her mind: "She loved you."

I'm going to give it my all, Mom. I want to know why you appreciated the way of the sword so much, and I'm going to learn.

She had left Widget on top of the clothes in which she had arrived, thinking that it would probably be best to have him out of the way so she did not accidentally get him damaged.

Simon held out the bokutō towards her as she joined him in the middle of the room.

"Are you ready to begin?"

Athena nodded firmly, reaching for the practice weapon. "Tell me what to do, sensei."

The address got him to grin, lightening her own mood in turn. For a fleeting moment, the current odd cadence in their dealings with each other seemed to evaporate.

"I want you to observe me. Pay close attention to my posture, foot placement, and grip. After that, you will attempt to duplicate my movements."

Stepping away slightly while unsheathing his sword, his left foot slid backwards, his knees bent ever-so-slightly, and both of his hands firmly grasped the tsuka of his blade, right hand closest to the guard. Angling his elbows while lifting the weapon over his head, he then sliced down in front of him, the sword parting thin air in a perfect line with a vicious swishing sound.

"Your turn."

Athena was not sure whether he was making fun of her for a moment. This is how we're gonna start? What's there to learn?

Still, she did as she had been told, gripping her own weapon and sliding back one foot, slicing down.

She immediately realized that what he had shown her was not as easy as it had appeared when she wobbled as she brought the bokutō down, the faux blade's path turning into a curve.

"Hold still for a moment."

Suddenly, Simon knelt next to her, his hands on her left ankle. When he noticed her looking down at him, his eyebrows drew together. "I said 'hold still,' didn't I? Eyes front, now!"

His tone brooked no argument. Heeding his words, Athena felt him pushing at her foot and shin, turning them inward by a few degrees. "Your feet must be parallel. Placing the toes outward destabilizes your hip and leads to the blade path being corrupted."

After correcting her stance, he stood up. Feeling the rush of air caused by his movement, it was difficult for her to resist letting her gaze wander to him yet again. She twitched when his long fingers unexpectedly closed around her own.

"Hn. Strong grip… not bad. However, pay attention to parallel lines here, as well."

Shifting her hands and aligning her thumbs on top of the wooden sword's handle, he stepped back slightly.

"Try it again."

Athena lifted and swung the bokutō down once more. This time, her pretend-cut was much straighter, but it still lacked the speed and strength of his demonstration.

"This isn't quite right, either…" How is such a basic move so difficult?!

"Well spotted." His approving tone alleviated her frustration as he walked around to her back.

Athena's breath stalled for a moment when his arms reached around her from behind, his hands grasping her wrists. He was close enough to where she could catch the scent of his aftershave, feel his breath on her cheek as he tilted his head down. What…!

Simon continued his explanation with no sign of having noticed her sudden fluster.

"The sword must be an extension of your hands. Keep your wrists straight. The downward force comes from your upper arms and shoulders."

Holding on to the hilt of the bokutō, his hands on top of hers and his arms aligned with her own, he guided her movements through the set slowly a few times, taking a step back just as she had once again reached the stage where she was poised to strike. The sudden loss of contact almost caused her to lose her balance.

"Swing."

Taking a deep breath to steady her rapidly beating heart, Athena obeyed his command and sliced downwards. This time, the movement was swift and true.

"Hah! I did it!" It might only be a small step, but she was still elated at her success.

Simon's dry chuckle as he once again took up position a few feet away from her told her that it was probably too early to rejoice.

"Very good. Now we are going to do this a hundred times."

She stared at him "A hundred times?"

He barked out a laugh. "You said you wanted to practice. One successful execution hardly counts. Get to it!"

His suddenly commanding tone had Athena facing forward again in an instant, lifting the bokutō as he had shown her in preparation for her first swing of a hundred. She was surprised at how mindful she suddenly was of her body, of the way her feet connected with the ground, of every minute shift of the muscles in her arms. This is…strange, but kind of nice. Not even her self-defense training had imparted such awareness on her.

Next to her, she heard him unsheathe his own blade once more as he paralleled her movements, wooden imitation and sharp steel whistling through the air in tandem.