Chapter 9
Revelations
The three warlords and Anubis met at Munchkin's house, since Midget had gone over there for breakfast. They were outside talking so that neither of the girls could hear them.
"I thought the two of you were exaggerating when you said all that stuff about Munchkin," Cale cried out, throwing his hands up in the air. He leaned heavily against one wall of the house. His eyes were red rimmed and his face was pale with exhaustion. With his wild hair and disheveled appearance Cale resembled a man at his wits' end. He obviously hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. "But then I found out you weren't! Her guardian took her to the base and actually let her loose! I don't think there is a place on that base that we didn't visit! By the time they went home she was so worked up that she didn't go to sleep until early this morning! I was about to go nuts!"
Seckhmet nearly fell over laughing. He knew that his turn was coming, but seeing Cale in this state was just to hilarious not to enjoy.
Dais, Kayura, and Anubis were all laughing just as much as Seckhmet. They couldn't help it. Cale had always been the one so determined to remain unaffected by the things going on around him. To see him in this kind of state was rare, and there was no way they were going to miss out on enjoying it.
Cale glared at them all. "This isn't funny! Just you wait until you get your chance to watch her," he cried out in frustration. Then he looked slyly at Seckhmet. "And I'm volunteering Snake-boy here to watch her during the day."
That sobered Seckhmet for a moment, then he looked over at Cale again. He managed to keep from laughing for less than a minute. Then he was leaning against the wall, so over come that he had tears in his eyes.
Cale let out a frustrated groan. Then he looked at Anubis. "And how did your night go," he asked sarcastically.
"Very well, thank you," Anubis replied, still chuckling. "Midget talked for two hours on the phone, and then went to sleep. She slept peacefully all night through."
Cale let out what sounded suspiciously like a growl as Seckhmet and the others started laughing again. He raised a hand as if to hit someone and took one step toward the others when the sound of a nearby door opening grabbed his attention. Midget stood in the doorway, holding a tray of food. Munchkin hovered behind with glasses of drink.
"We brought you guys breakfast," Midget said quietly as she walked over to Cale. She handed him a plate with hash browns, toast, and pancakes. Then she offered him the butter, syrup, and jelly on the tray.
Munchkin added, "And we brought drinks. Coffee, milk, and orange juice. Which would you like, Cale?"
Cale looked at both girls, a smile taking some of the strain off of his face. "I'll take a glass of milk, please," he said to Munchkin as he took the syrup and liberally drenched his pancakes. Then, with an evil grin, he took the tray from Midget's hands and set it on the ground, calling, "Here, kitties. I've got something for you." Before anyone else could react, both cats had bolted to the food and were practically inhaling it. Then Cale calmly began devouring his own food, looking as if he were relishing every bite. He looked at the two stunned girls and said, "Breakfast is delicious. Thank you."
Both girls looked at the other, then at the other four standing there. Anubis looked amused, not really caring since he didn't eat anyways. The other three, however, looked at the now empty plates with longing, obviously hungry. Then they gave Cale murderous glares as he finished the last of his own meal.
Midget said calmly, "I think they made him mad, Munchkin."
"I think you're right, Midget. Should we be mad at him for feeding our cats human food when they aren't supposed to be eating it?" Munchkin was torn between laughing and frowning.
Midget looked around and announced, "You can get mad if you want to, but I'm not going to. The expressions on all their faces, especially the cats' faces, is just priceless."
Munchkin looks at her, then around at the others and grins as amusement wins out. "You're right," she said. Then she looked at her watch as the alarm sounds. "Time to go, Midget. We wouldn't want to be late. Oh, by the way. We're going to be practicing at the dojo today, so if you want to you can stop by and watch."
Saying goodbye, the two girls then quickly went to grab their books and go meet the guys.
Dais glares at the widely grinning Cale before turning to Seckhmet resignedly. "Come on, Seck. We need to catch up to them." Then he grins slightly as he hauls the other Warlord after the pair. "At least you're the one who has to watch Munchkin."
Seckhmet grumbled to himself as they headed out, leaving the other three behind.
Nothing out of the ordinary happened at school. Afterwards, the group all walked to the dojo. The boys were practicing with Sage's dad while the girls were practicing with Jaya's.
Midget noticed that Munchkin was a bit edgy, as if she hadn't gotten much sleep last night. This was confirmed when she asked her about it. Knowing that it wouldn't be good to let Munchkin spar with one of the other girls, Midget asked Sensei Maxwell, "May Munchkin and I practice on our own today?"
Sensei looked at Munchkin and saw the same nervous energy Midget did. He knew from experience that when the girl got this way the only one who could practice with her safely was Midget. Munchkin could get a little aggressive in this state and the others just weren't able to withstand her intensity at times like these. "Very well. What weapon would you like today?"
Munchkin looked up, startled. Then she grinned at Midget in understanding as the other girl gestured for her to choose. "Let's work with the katanas today, shall we Midget?"
Midget inclined her head in acceptance of both the choice and the unvoiced challenge she heard in Munchkin's tone. She calmly took one of the practice katanas from Sensei Maxwell and tested it's weight. Nodding to herself in approval of the blade, she waited until Munchkin had also approved her own blade. Then she motioned for her to proceed her outside.
Munchkin grinned in pleasure, anticipating the thrill of the fight. She loved to spar with Midget because the other girl was as good as she was in the ninja arts when it came to the katanas. While Munchkin could easily beat her with the saber, her particular forte, she preferred to fight in a more even match and since neither excelled above the other with the katanas the choice was perfect. This was going to be a good match and a great way to get rid of some of the tension inside her. Carefully watching my mood and helping me in her own way, just like always. She grinned as she took her position on the mat.
Everyone else went outside and chose a spot to sit and watch from. Nobody noticed Dais and Seckhmet, who were covered by an illusion from Dais. They settled down with everyone else, intently watching the pair as the duel began.
The two were well matched and neither seemed able to gain the upper hand. Munchkin had immediately taken the offensive and stayed there. Midget remained on the defensive, calmly blocking or dodging any of Munchkin's strikes. It was only when Sensei Maxwell told them they only had a few more minutes left that she began to attack. Their audience was stunned to see the girl who had thus far been mainly passive suddenly begin to fight with a fury that was just barely short of matching Munchkin's. Both were vicious fighters and they did not stop until Sensei Maxwell called a halt to the battle.
"Well, I think that was enough practice for today," he said calmly. "You both put on an excellent demonstration for the others. Now Munchkin, you pair off with Jaya and Midget you pair off with Penny. Sara, you and I will practice together today."
Obediently Munchkin and Midget handed their katanas over to another student and paired off with their new partners. Both girls were breathing deeply but did not seem to be winded. Munchkin had relaxed during the fight, having worked off some of her tension. Jaya looked relieved as they stood across from each other, bowed, and then dropped into the ready position. A few feet away a similar process was undergone by Midget and Penny. At the sensei's signal, they began.
In spite of how hard they had fought in their previous workout, both Midget and Munchkin were able to easily hold their own against their opponents. After having rotated so that everyone fought everyone, sensei called a halt to the practice and told them to hit the showers. As they left Grandfather Date and Sensei Date walked over.
"I didn't know they practice kendo," Grandfather Date said, watching the two with interest as they headed inside the building.
"Actually, I was told that it is a form of ninja," Sensei Maxwell replied.
"Really. Actually, now that you mention it I can see a little difference. "Sensei Date said. "Do you know who taught them?"
"Yes. I believe it was Capt. O'Connor. He is Munchkin's guardian," responded Sensei Maxwell.
"They are very good. Does he still teach them? Or do they practice often?" asked Grandfather Date.
"The Capt. doesn't teach them much anymore. He is usually at the base teaching Navy Seals," Sensei Maxwell explained. "And the only time that they practice is when Munchkin is agitated or upset or something. Midget is the only one that can calm her down by practicing. Midget knows when Munchkin needs to let off some steam and takes her on so the others don't have to. Munchkin can get aggressive and Midget seems to be the only one to match her in ninja."
"I see. Do you think that tomorrow we can test them in practice?" asked Sensei Date.
"You would have to ask them, but I have nothing wrong with it," Sensei Maxwell answered.
"I will ask them when they get out. Will you please send them to my office?" Grandfather Date said.
"As soon as they are out I will send them to the office." Sensei Maxwell replied.
"Thank you." Grandfather Date said. He then went to his office with his son-in-law to wait.
A few minutes later the five girls came out all dressed and clean. They were all going to go watch the guys finish their practice. When they went into the next room they saw Sage teaching the class.
"I wonder where Sensei and Grandfather Date went," Sara said.
"I will go ask my dad," Jaya stated walking over to her dad. "Dad, where is Sensei and Grandfather Date?"
Startled Sensei Maxwell turned to his daughter and asked, "When did you all get out here?"
"Just a minute ago. So where are they?" Jaya replied.
"In their office. Where are Midget and Munchkin?" He answered.
"Over in the corner right there," Jaya said pointing to where the other four girls were sitting. "Why?"
"I need to tell them something," he stated. With that they both walked over to the others. "Midget, Munchkin," he addressed them.
"Yes Sensei," they replied getting up and bowing.
"You need to go to the office. Sensei and Grandfather Date want to ask you both something," Sensei Maxwell told them.
The two girls looked at each other with confused faces then back at sensei Maxwell. He looked at them with 'you better hurry up' written on his face. They then walked quickly up the stairs to the office. Knocking on the door they were answered with, "Come on in girls."
"Yes sensei," they chorused while walking in.
"Please take a seat. We need to ask you something," Sensei Date stated motioning to two chairs.
"We would like to know if you two would mind if we tested your skills tomorrow," Grandfather Date said.
"We wouldn't mind, but we have gymnastics every Tuesday and Thursday," Midget replied.
"We could do it Friday though. If that is all right with you two," Munchkin said.
"Is there a certain reason as to why you want to test our skills?" Midget asked.
"Yes. You see, we teach Kendo and we were noticing that you two know ninja. Kendo is a form of ninja and we want to see how good you are," Sensei Date replied.
"Well, we don't mind being tested, but why exactly do you want to test us?" questioned Munchkin.
"We would like to see if you want to join the Kendo team and compete in some of the tournaments. The test is to see where to place you if you were to join," Grandfather Date explained. "But even if you don't want to join you could practice at the level of skill you have over here."
"That would be great. It has been a while since we have practiced and having a place to practice regularly instead of when ever Munchkin is upset would help," Midget said looking at Munchkin with a grin.
"Good. Then we will set it up for Friday right before regular practice starts," Grandfather Date said.
"Thank you. Good bye," the two girls said getting up and bowing. They then left the office and went down stairs to meet up with the girls. Sage was just sending everyone to the showers when they arrived.
"Darn it. We missed seeing the guys practice," Munchkin said sadly.
"I guess we will just have to watch them Friday after practice," Midget said with a sigh.
A few minutes later all the guys and girls were heading out of the dojo. They were all to go to Midget's again to practice. For some reason they were told by Kayura that they needed to practice faster.
Today everyone would be working together on strengthening their communicating abilities. Everyone sat in a circle, Kayura and the Warlords included. Midget and Munchkin started things off.
So, what is everyone's opinion of practice today, Midget asked.
I enjoyed it. I think it was a good practice, Munchkin replied.
It was cool seeing you two fight together again. I haven't seen you practice sword fighting together in a long time, Penny said enthusiastically.
That's true. It's always neat to watch you because you are so well matched, Sara said.
Definitely, Jaya put in cheerfully. Both of you are so good you make it look easy, but we all know it's not. It's just such a joy to watch.
Yeah, like a great gymnastics performance, Sara enthused.
What are you guys talking about, asked Kento, confused.
We watched Midget and Munchkin square off with the katanas as part of our practice today, Penny told him cheerfully. They don't practice as much as they use to anymore, so it's a treat to get to see it.
It sure was a treat, commented Dais. They are both very skilled.
That's right, Seckhmet concurred. They almost reminded me of Ryo over there.
Are you going to be fighting again any time soon, Cale asked curiously.
Yeah, we'll be tested by Sensei and Grandfather Date on Friday, Munchkin said.
If you want to, you can come watch, Midget told them.
All right, the Warlords chorused.
They must be looking forward to it, Kayura said with amusement. These three rarely agree on anything.
None of you seem to agree on much of anything, Sage pointed out.
You all are no better, retorted Cale.
That's for sure, Ryo said with a grin.
Hey, who's side are you on, asked Cye, laughing.
Who said I'm on anyone's side, Ryo returned playfully.
You want to fight, Wildfire, Kento demanded teasingly.
This is getting ridiculous, Rowen commented mildly. But at least we're all communicating better.
The other Ronins tried to get him but he moved faster than they did and managed to get around Midget. She watched him with amusement as he was chased by his friends. Then the other girls decided to get in on the action and tried to pull their specific guy away from the others. They all ran around chasing each other from one room to another and back again. Midget glanced at the Warlords and Kayura and found them laughing. She smiled with amusement before suddenly going still. "SILENCE." The words were delivered in her quiet voice, but the intensity she put in them caused the others to obey the order instantly. Then they heard the staff begin to chime and turned expectant eyes first to the staff and then to her.
Everyone waited as she rose smoothly and walked over to the far corner. "Ancient one, it is good to see you again," she greeted him softly.
"And it is good to see you as well. All of you," the Ancients voice said quietly. "I have come to warn you that the time is drawing nearer. You have done well to come so far in your training, but there is still much for you to learn. Your time to prepare is rapidly dwindling, however. Warriors, remember your own training. Pass on what you have learned."
With that he disappeared. Anubis appeared before anyone could say anything. "Talpa and his sister have gathered the forces of the Dynasty. It is rumored that they have already begun to send out their minions in hopes of finding the girls."
"Then the block has been successful so far," Kayura said with both pride and dread.
"So far, yes. There is no telling how long it will last, though. We will do what we can to see that you have as much time as possible," Anubis told them calmly as he faded out.
Everyone looked at each other soberly. Then as one they sat down again. For the rest of their time together they concentrated on their lessons.
To be continued....