Another edited chapter, thank you very much.

The second half of this chapter was surprisingly easy to re-write, probably because I'm such a sadist and I like to punch people around like Kim.

As I'm editing this it's close to midnight where I am, and although I would normally stay up for at least another two hours, I have to be up at seven tomorrow, so I'm sadly not going to get my full fourteen hours of sleep. Such a pity.

Anyway, yet again, a few minor tweaks in this one, nothing too colossal.

Hope you enjoy ¥_¥

...

"Yo, Jack! My man! How's it goin'?" A tall latino dude that I recognised from Art class called out to Jack, signalling for him to go over and join what I assumed was the 'gang' who were all standing together near the lockers.

I followed my new friend inside, slightly nervous about meeting his friends. I considered myself generally as quite a sociable person, but I couldn't help my sudden fight or flight reaction to the situation. And at that moment, I was leaning more towards flight.

But before I had time to make a break for it, I was suddenly next to jack, his hand resting lightly on my lower back, making my heart skip more beats than the healthy average.

"Guys," he addressed the boys facing us. "This is Kim, the girl I was telling you about, and also a potential new member of our little family."

I blushed at his words, stuck on the part where he had told them about me. I knew my reaction was stupid, he had obviously just wanted them to know that I would be coming to practise that afternoon, but a part of me couldn't help but wonder if he had told them anything else about me...

I gave the group a small smile and tilted my head in greeting. God, I was so awkward.

I was starting to get a little creeped out by the stares they were giving me, and Jack seemed to sense my unease. He cleared his throat rather loudly and the gang abruptly snapped out of their daze.

There was a small silence, but then the scrawny ginger-haired kid approached me, looking even more nervous than me, and introduced himself.

"Hello, my name's Milton. Milton Krupnick. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." I was slightly taken aback by his strange choice of words, but I shook his extended hand nonetheless. This seemed to calm his nerves slightly.

Bouncing back and forth on the balls of his feet was a short, chubby african-american teen who looked like he had never seen a girl in his life. Or at least up close.

"Hi," I offered weakly, not quite sure whether to greet him or run away. Kid was giving off some seriously creepy vibes.

When he didn't say anything, Jack stepped in and intervened on his behalf.

"Kim, this is Eddie. You'll have to excuse the drooling, he's just not used to having a member of the opposite gender talk to him. Are you big guy?"

Eddie just nodded his head absentmindedly, before apparently taking in the insult, his face scrunching up, shooting Jack a look of distaste.

"Hey! I resent that. I get plenty of attention from the ladies." He then turned back to me, looking all cocky. "I'm a playa'".

I pursed my lips, trying not to laugh. What a strange kid.

"Ahem!"

The loud latino guy cleared his throat ever-so discreetly, obviously waiting to be introduced.

Jack rolled his eyes and obliged.

"And this impatient fellow over here is-"

"Yo, girl, what it do? Jerry's the name, don't wear it out," he cut his friend off. Yeah, I see what Jack meant when he said he was impatient.

I gave Jerry a small smile, slightly amused. "Oh, I don't think you need to worry about that."

Jack laughed and slung his arm around the latino's shoulders. "Ouch. Dude, you just got burned." Milton and Eddie also let out a few giggles, and I smiled at their immaturity.

Boys.

"Uh, so now that I've met everyone, would someone mind showing me where the changing rooms are? I somehow doubt that I'll be able to spar in skinny jeans."

Jack smiled at me. "Sure, grab your bag and I'll show you."

Having slipped in to my Yoga pants and tank top - I would usually just train in a sports bra, but I had a feeling that it wouldn't be appropriate in a room filled with teenage boys - I came out of the changing rooms and walked back into the main area to rejoin the boys, but I found them all engaged in a rather animated conversation with a small, blond man. He looked to be about thirty, and I immediately concluded that he must be the Sensei of the Dojo.

As I approached them, he was waving his arms in the air vigorously, jumping up and down as high as his little legs would allow.

When his eyes finally landed on me, his eyebrows raised to his hairline, and he immediately bounced over to me, snatching my limp hand and shaking it vigorously.

"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness! You must be Kim, I'm Rudy Gillespie, the sensei of the Bobby Wasabi Dojo. I must say, it really is a pleasure to meet you. Jack has told me all about your father." His head was bobbing enthusiastically and I couldn't help but laugh at his mannerisms.

"Oh has he now?" I raised an amused eyebrow in his direction, and my californian friend gave me a small shrug, appearing slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, yes," the small man continued. "I expect you must be a very talented martial artist with a man like Ian Crawford teaching you."

"Well, I'm a bit out of practice, but yeah, I like to think so." I give him a small smile. I really wasn't looking forward to approaching the impending topic of my belt color.

"Briliant!" His smile widened, and I prepared myself for the next question.

"So what belt are you, exactly, so I can determine where to start your training."

That hopeful stare of his was making it impossible for the words to come out of my mouth, and in a completely subconscious move I found myself turning my head towards the one person in the room that I felt completely at ease with.

Jack must have caught on to the panicked expression on my face, as his amused smirk softened into an understanding smile, and he stepped forward to wrap a strong arm around my shoulders and hugging me to his side.

What were we talking about, again?

"Actually," the sound of his velvety voice was enough to snap me out of my little moment of infatuation, and my attention was now completely his.

"Kim was just telling me earlier today how she had never trained in an actual dojo, and despite being exceptionally skilled in the sport, had never competed in any actual karate competitions."

The words seemed to just roll off of his tongue like honey, and I felt my cheeks heat up at his exaggerated praise.

Rudy stared at me, brows furrowed, obviously confused at what Jack was telling him.

"So that would mean that..."

"Kim has earned no official level in karate," Jack supplied for him. "Yet."

Before the small sensei could fully process what he was hearing, the boy by my side jumped in again, a determined gleam in his dark brown eyes, making me wonder just what was going to come out of his mouth next.

"I was shocked when she told me, too, but after spending the afternoon thinking about it, I think I've come up with a way that her situation could benefit us and the dojo."

That seemed to have caught Rudy's attention, and his eyebrows shot up when he heard the word 'benefit'. I wasn't all that surprised. From the first glance I could tell that he was a 'Will-do-anything-for-money' type of guy.

Not bothering to wait for his sensei to urge him on, Jack continued :

"See, imagine how it would look to the outside world if we took in a girl, with no previous official training, and turned her from a white-belt to a black-belt in record time. Not only would it attract more clientele, but it would also promote our dojo to the female students. It's an all-around win-win situation."

Wow. That was actually...a good idea. Like, a really good idea. So good that I probably could've thought of it.

I tilted my head up to look at him and give him a huge smile, trying my best to convey just how impressed I was at his plan, while slinking my right arm across his lower back to give his waist a grateful squeeze.

The emotion flashed through his eyes so quickly that I couldn't identify it, but it made my knees turn to jell-o and my heart melt into mush, so it can't have been bad.

I was so caught up in his stare that it was only when Jack turned his head away that I realized that Rudy had been speaking to us, and once again I felt my face start to turn fire-hydrant red, completely mortified at my behavior.

Kimberly Ann Crawford, what has gotten into you?

"...don't see what we have to lose," was all I caught of his sentence, but it was enough to make my smile spread right up to my ears. I was in!

"But I'm going to need you to have the sign-up papers signed by your parents before I can start teaching you, and the fee for each three-month period needs to be paid up-front. Although it would be convenient if we used the rest of the time we have tonight to assess your level of skill. Does all that sound okay to you?"

I was a little taken-aback by that huge pile of information, and it amazed me how Rudy could go so quickly from a laid-back goofball to a serious, professional man. I guess he wasn't sensei for nothing.

The wheels were turning at such a fast pace in my head, trying to figure out a way to get everything sorted and paid for without my dad suspecting a thing. It was going to be hard, but before I had time to reconsider, my hand was shooting out to meet his, and I had agreed to what seemed like the impossible.

"Great!" He beamed, returning to his happy-go-lucky state. "I'll fetch you the papers before you leave. Now, who wants to go up against Kim and see what she's got?"

My first sparring partner was the self-proclaimed 'playa', Eddie. Rudy had suggested I start with the small african-american to 'warm up', making Eddie release a small cry of indignation, before begrudgingly making his way over to the sparring mats to face me.

This was going to be so easy.

We both took our positions and bowed, before Rudy yelled : "Hajime!" And the sparring began.

My partner licked his lips nervously, before charging at me with his back bent, obviously hoping to tackle me to the ground. I waited for him to get close enough before countering the attack, sending him to the floor in a matter of seconds.

Once I'd pinned him to the floor long enough, Rudy signaled the end of the fight and I got off of Eddie, extending a hand down to him and pulling him to his feet.

When I was sure that he could stand without my help, I let him go and watched as he rubbed the back of his head, obviously still recovering from the impact to the ground.

"Sorry," I offered with an apologetic smile, relieved to see him smiling back at me.

"No worries, I'm used to it." I chuckled at that, believing him wholeheartedly.

"Well done," the small blonde congratulated me. "You beat Eddie - although, to be honest, that doesn't really say much about your skills."

"Hey!" Eddie protested.

Rudy just shrugged and gave him a 'you-know-it's-true' look, to which the small teen muttered something under his breath before rejoining his friends.

"Maybe you could try practicing with Milton next?" Rudy offered.

And so I did.

The scrawny bird-boy was exactly that : a scrawny bird boy. But he was definitely more strategic than my previous adversary. When Rudy yelled the starting words, he didn't charge straight at me, instead opting to circle me for a while, observing me and figuring out the best way to defeat me. I let him, knowing that it would ultimately be for nothing, and, sure enough, when he finally made his move and came at me, I had him pinned to the floor faster than you could say 'Boom! Goes the dynamite!'.

Jerry was my next opponent, and I knew that while his intellectual skills may not have been up to par, he certainly kept his body in shape, and that could've ended up causing a problem if he decided to charge at me like Eddie had.

So, to prevent that, as soon as I heard the word 'hajime!', I charged the latino at full force, knocking him backwards and pinning him down. He seemed surprised at my sudden attack, but I didn't miss the lazy smirk that crossed his features once he had realized that I was straddling him.

Pervert.

Rudy let out a low whistle when I was back on my feet, and he gave me a friendly pat on the back before addressing me once again.

"That was some pretty impressive stuff, Kim. I wasn't expecting you to be able to move that fast. I'm starting to think that you joining us could be a really good think for the dojo. But, just to make sure that you really are as good as I think you could be, would you mind sparring with Jack for a little while, too? I just want to see how you get on faced up against a stronger opponent."

I turned to face a confident-looking Jack, and I wondered just how strong he was compared to his friends. So far, the competition had been a piece of cake, so would he really be that much better than them? I sure hoped so, it would make things much more interesting that way.

"Of course," I accepted. "Why not."

As we took our places opposite each other, Jack shot me the cockiest look that I had ever had the opportunity to lay my eyes on, and in that moment I wanted nothing more than to wipe it straight off of that ridiculously handsome face of his.

Preferably with a kiss.

Damn, Crawford, you need a therapist.

"If you're scared, I'd be more than willing to take it easy on you. After all, you are a girl."

Why that sexist little... I knew he was just trying to get my panties in a twist, but I'll be damned if it wasn't working.

"How chivalrous of you," I responded with a dry tone. "Or are you just trying to buy yourself some time because you're afraid I'll kick your pathetic little ass?" I baited him in return.

See how you like them apples, mister Kicky Kicky Chop Chop.

If anything, though, my comment only made his smile spread even wider, and by the time Rudy had called out the start signal, Brewer was at a definite mental advantage.

He waisted no time in charging at me, taking advantage of my unbalanced mental state, but I shook myself out if my stupor just in time to dodge his attack. It was close, but I was now fully focused and one hundred percent ready to take him on.

When I was facing him again, I quickly got close enough to swipe my leg behind his knees, the motion making him stumble forward, but not fall as he normally would have had he been less in control of his body.

He didn't let that little stumble affect him, though, and he kept exchanging blows as if it had never happened.

after about a minute of back and forth, I decided to deliver a sharp blow to his stomach that would've surely sent him to the ground, but it was as if he could sense my foot approaching him even before I had lifted it off of the ground, and he narrowly missed it, but instead of simply retreated, he performed a full-blown backwards aerial flip, his body completely in the air, exactly like that guy out of the field had.

It was only when he had landed and pinned me with a challenging stare that I had managed to put the pieces together.

It was him! That was Jack, this morning, working out in all his shirtless glory! No wonder he was so confident, he had to be at least a second-degree black belt to pull off moves like those. Damn him.

Jack had taken advantage once again of my lapse in concentration and he had somehow managed to tackle me to the ground, pinning my arms above my head with his hands, and using his upper-body strength to give me just enough space between our sweaty bodies to breathe.

Our sweaty bodies...I liked the sound of that...

My vision gradually started to return to normal after that sudden impact, and the first thing that they focused in was the beautiful brown orbs staring directly back into mine with an intensity that almost took my breath away-again.

When he noticed my staring open-mouthed he smirked and brought his head down right next to mine, his warm breath tickling the sensitive skin on my neck, before whispering into my ear :

"Like what you see?"

I opened my mouth to say something that could have quite possibly dug me even further into my own grave, but was thankfully cut off by Rudy before I could make an even bigger fool of myself by saying something along the lines of 'Oh, most definitely. Please take me now'.

"Aaand, Jack is the victor!"

Suddenly, the intensity in my opponent's eyes was completely gone, and was replaced with a sort of child-like glee, and a large smile covered his face as he stood up from on top of me and offered me his hand.

I was going to be a good sport, I really was, but in that moment the little devil on my shoulder seemed to have taken full control of the reins, and I found myself tugging harshly on his hand, bringing Jack toppling back to the ground right next to me in the process.

"Surprise attack," I whispered.

And then I tickled him.

...

I just had to keep that last sentence. For some reason it just cracks me up.

Don't forget to review and tell me if you find the edited chapters an improvement to the carnage I had previously written, it really means a lot to get your feedback.

With that said,

Live long and prosper. (In case you can't see what I'm doing because you're not like me and are not psychic, I am currently giving you the Klingon salute. Just because I can.)

-CCC