Once again, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or its characters.

The next week passed by quickly. Itsuki and I picked up a new structure deck for him to improve his deck with the next day. I wasn't surprised that he'd stuck with dragons, but we couldn't find any more dragunity cards. We'd been dueling non-stop until I had to go pick up Anna, and then she and I walked around for a while until we got interrupted by a few of her old girlfriends from the factory. I excused myself before I had a chance to mess up, though. Tuesday came too quickly, and Anna only allowed me to walk her home before sending me away. I could hear the laughter of young women as I was walking away, almost as though they pounced on Anna the moment that she sent me away.

At some point I asked her if she was left-handed, and she said yes to that, though I couldn't remember when exactly I asked. I went looking for a friend of mine, a contact who was really good at acquiring hard-to-find dueling equipment. Left handed disks are a rarity and often custom work.

All free time I had I dedicated to working on the disk for Anna. Custom decals and paint job, rewiring and updates to the software so as to protect it from the securities virus. It was an older model, an original KC mass production unit but made for a left-handed person. I completely reworked the standard paint job so as to reflect what I guessed were her favorite colors, white and blue. The main body of the disk, in addition to the panels where the cards would be placed I painted white. The graveyard piece, the blade, and the lights in the main body I changed to be blue. The previous paint job was chipped and cracked in a few places, and there were times when I had to go looking for some new wiring or material to replace pieces that had been broken or torn through. All of the lights had been broken or were missing. The amount of effort and personal savings that I was throwing into this disk were almost too high for me to complete the work within a week, but I was able to do it.

In between paint applications and often just to give my mind a break I would join the rest of the Enforcers in a service project around Satellite: helping a random old lady carry her groceries, fixing up a few of the still more derelict spaces and making them suitable for people to set up living spaces in. We would hit up an orphanage or two to see what we could do to help out, if at all. Even Kalin grew warm to the idea of people seeing us on the street as heroes rather than brutes. Eventually, the day came when the disk was ready to be given to her.

"Good afternoon, Wilhelm. Are you here to see our favorite mechanic again?" asked the respectable one as I walked through the door.

"Its just a few minutes from quittin' time, right?" I smiled.

"So it is. We got a real mess of a repair job today, so I'll go get Anna, let her know that I can take care of the rest."

"Thanks a bunch, Lagoon. I owe you." I said

"Not a problem. Globe is sick today, and I'm a bit more germophobic than most people. Any excuse to stay away from him for now I'll take." he laughed.

"Then I am more than happy to help provide you with such an opportunity." I said.

"I know that you and Globe don't get along terribly well, but I just don't see him being with Anna as a possibility." he said. "I'm far more in favor of you being with her, if I get any say in it at all."

"And you don't, and neither does Globe." Anna walked in.

I grinned, "Hey, I've got something to show you!"

"Then show me, o master of surprise." she said.

"Well, I can tell you about it, but I can't show it to you right now. I don't have it with me, its still drying." I said excitedly.

"Well it better not be a positive pregnancy test, we've never had sex and guys don't get pregnant." she said. I could hear Globe burst his gut with laughter but I didn't particularly care to look. The red on my flustered face was unbearable.

"I - it - well," I stopped myself and took a moment to breath in deeply and sigh. I looked Anna straight in the eyes and said, "You're right, princess. I'm not pregnant. Not with your child at least." I could hear crashes from inside the garage, where Globe had fled to and apparently had fallen down from his laughter.

She slapped me right then and there, "That is for having the guts to turn my sarcasm back in my face." Then she kissed me.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"The very same reason. I think I've got something to show you too. Where are we going today?" she cuddled into me as I wrapped my arms around her, resting her head on my shoulder.

"My place. Like I said, I've got something to show you. And just so we're clear, I'm not interested in sex until after I'm married, and can we please not use that stuff for humor again?" I said.

"I established my boundaries early on, Willy, its about time that you lay down yours. More than fair, and to be honest I'm not interested in sex either. We're only seventeen, we've got plenty of time for that later in our lives." Anna took my arm as we started walking out.

"As you wish, mi'lady."

I couldn't tell whether Anna was livid or ecstatic when she saw the duel disk. Her hands had flown to her face and she hadn't made a single sound. She just kept shifting her gaze between the disk and me.

"I… uh… know that you don't like duel gangs very much but I've seen your notes and your posters. I'm sorry, I know that I shouldn't have looked without your permission, but it was back when I was getting your necklace back and I was making sure that the jerks in your apartment hadn't taken anything of value and -" I got tired of the silence.

"Can I wear it?" she finally said. Then I looked in her eyes. Obelisk… her eyes got me every time.

"Sure. It should go on just like any other disk. Here, lemme show you." I said, taking the disk off of the table and guiding Anna through the process of putting it on her arm. She waved her arm around for a little bit, watching the disk.

"It doesn't shimmer." she said, looking at it in a mirror, testing different angles.

"It isn't supposed to. I gave it a matte finish so that glare doesn't get into your eyes when you're playing. The originals were too shiny for their own good." I said.

"You're really good at this." she said. still looking down at the disk. I could see her face full of wonder. It was nice, seeing a genuinely appreciative reaction to my work instead of a merely satisfied customer.

"It isn't the least I can do, but it is just about the only thing that I can do." I shrugged and looked away awkwardly, sitting on my bed.

Anna sat down next to me and hugged me tightly. "Thank you." was all she whispered. Then she looked up into my eyes and seemed to ponder something for a moment.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"No, I was just wondering if you liked tea."

"Depends on the type."

"Good. We're going to see my mom today. Now, or at least, right after I put the disk in a safe place at home." she said.

"Wait, what? Already?" I couldn't really hide my shock.

"Shut up, Willy. I think that you'll like the outcome. Just don't be an idiot, alright?" Anna said.

"Sure thing, princess," I shrugged.

"Like that. Don't do that. Don't call me princess. Don't refer to me as 'my lady' either. That is what you'll call my mom. Always call me Anna, got that?" she waggled her index finger in my face.

"How strict is the family that you come from?" I was puzzled.

"Only as strict as an elderly Japanese woman who was never able to have children of her own and so adopted a little girl off the street who was good at fixing things."

"Samurai?" I asked jokingly.

"Actually, yes," she said. "Good guess."

Seiza was never my favorite way to sit. My rear sat on my feet and my knees were far out in front of me. I could never get the distance between my knees right, I always had to check to make sure that exactly two fists fit between them, and that was always embarrassing in front of a proper Japanese woman. Women had it easy, their knees always together when in seiza. My hands were never in the right place and I was horribly awkward while Anna and her mother were immaculate. I guess that the mediocre knowledge of Japanese culture that the books in the orphanage library contained had some uses, though limited.

I could feel the woman's eyes judging me the whole time while I did my best to stay silent while Anna did all of the talking.

"So what I've gathered from what you've said is this: you are currently seeing this boy and he has proven himself to you?" the woman looked into Anna's eyes. Anna did not waver in her resolve, I could see it in her stubborn face, and it was beautiful.

"Yes, mother. He has been able to prove more to me within a couple of weeks than every other man I've ever known has in years." Anna said.

"He is a boy, Anna."

"No more so than I am just a young girl."

"Which you are."

"Mother, must you embarrass me so in front of my boyfriend?"

"Isn't that what mothers here do?"

I wouldn't know, I thought.

"I only have you as an example, mother." I could see Anna's bubbling rage, but I was impressed that she was able to keep it in so well.

"Then allow me to test the boy, without you to speak for him. Leave us, daughter." the old woman motioned for Anna to exit, which she dutifully rose to obey. She gave me a look as she left which I can only hope meant that she was sorry. I gulped involuntarily out of fear.

"Now that my daughter is gone, tell me about yourself, your way." the old woman stared at me. I swear, it felt like she was looking straight at my soul.

"Uh, well ma'am, I work for myself, fixing and doing custom work on duel disks. I make sufficient money to keep myself in moderate living conditions. I was raised in Martha's orphanage. I do my best to keep Anna happy. I follow her orders and pray that my surprises are well received." I said, albeit too quickly.

She calmly sipped her tea, "Mr. Jernigan, tell me about your friends."

"I am a member of the Enforcers, ma'am. I didn't want to mention it but as you asked I will answer truthfully and to the best of my abilities. The law looks down on us as illegal gangs, but we're trying to clean this place up in a way that Sector Security can only dream of. I will not rest until I see the trash of other gangs where they belong and the worthy among them uplifted and enlightened. It may look like and very well may be violence sometimes but we don't act without a just cause. We hit kidnappers, rapists, abusive drunkards, even people of the same caliber who aren't in gangs and are just on their own. We do our homework and make sure that we have sufficient reason to fight, when and if we do." I said.

"I have heard of your Enforcers. A friend of mine just down the street said she met a group of teenage boys cleaning litter off of the streets and one with orange hair offered to clean her gutters," she said. "What did you do to cause Anna to bring you here so quickly?"

"I built her a left-handed duel disk and painted it in what I presumed were her favorite colors. It took me about a week to get right." I smiled. I could see a smile as wide as the moon on the old woman's face. She set her tea down and ordered me to stay as she rose and left. She eventually returned with what appeared to be a curved piece of wood, which she set upon the table in front of me when she sat once again. I shifted my weight hesitantly.

"This was my husband's ko-wakizashi, meaning that it is short in comparison to most of its relatives. It is currently fitted within shirasaya, which is not suitable for combat. The more ornate fittings of the Koshirae are what you will see when you have proven yourself to me once more. Should you ever draw the blade, you are not to sheath it until it has shed blood, be it your own or your enemies. Every time that this blade draws blood you are to come to me, explain why the sword was drawn and whose blood was shed, and I will decide whether or not it is worthy of my polishing the soul of my husband's family. Am I understood?"

"Yes, but before I thank you properly, may I ask what I shall refer to you as?" I said. Anna nodded her approval from behind the open door in the next room.

"Mother-sama or sensei will suffice."

"Domo arigato, gozai mashita, sensei." I said. Mother-sama smiled.

"Take it, then. I pray that you never have to use it. Anna can help you learn how to wear it properly." she got up and left the room. Anna rushed in, snatched up the blade, and helped me to rush out the door. We were out in moments.

"Do you have any idea of how well that went?" she asked, wide-eyed.

"Umm… no?" I replied.

"Well, like mother said, there are things that I have to teach you. Let's get back to your place, now. I teach you, then I go home."

"Does everyone in your family have blades on them at all times?" I asked.

"Yes. I keep a kaiken, a short tanto, hidden in my belt at all times, and I'll be given my mother's to bear when I'm married. By the way, if we ever break up I expect you to be a man of honor and return the sword to my mother." Anna replied.

"Sure, but I'm not going to plan for that eventuality beyond that." I smiled. "Let's go."