The chapters are coming a lot faster now. A big part of that is due is my Beta Team Sentinel and CajunBear.

Thanks Dudes

Chapter 43 Political Dissidence

If their arrival back in New York was late by Middleton time, it was very late by Eastern Time. It was only the excitement of the flight back that kept Ayame from nodding off and her adrenaline rush caused her to 'crash and burn' as Sousuke put it just before they got to Shunya's Upper East Side Brownstone home. Even Kaname was leaning against her Fiancé, who had insisted on carrying his future Sister-in-law, as they ascended the steps to the entryway.

Shunya, carrying the couple's overnight bags, was amused as the young man held his youngest in his arms as they crossed the threshold. So much so he felt compelled to tease the Soldier, "Soko ni wakai hito wa chūi shite kudasai. Dare ka ga kawari ni Kaname no Ayame to kekkon shite iru to omou kamo shiremasen." ("Be careful there, young man. Someone might think you're marrying Ayame instead of Kaname.")

Kaname instantly blushed, "Otōsan!"

Shunya was on a roll, "Kanojo wa kare no ude no naka de kanari kaiteki ni mieru ka." ("She does look rather comfortable in his arms.")

Kaname glared at her beau for an instant, then smiled beatifically at her Father, "Shikashi chichi wa, kanojo wa Load-san ni haruka ni kyōmi o motte imasu. Tabun kanojo wa o miai o hitsuyō to shite imasu!" ("But Father, she's much more interested in Load-san. Maybe she needs an omiai!")

Shunya immediately backpedaled, "Uhh. Kanojo wa ima sono yōna monogoto ni wa waka sugirudesu." (Uhh. She is much too young to think about such things right now.)

He pointed up the stairs, "Kon'ya, Kaname-chan, no tame ni anata ga kanojo no futon ni anata no imōto ni yakudatsudarou? Anata ga sore o hidari no yō ni o heya ga arimasu. Sagara-san wa, watashi ni shitagau to, anata ga nete iru doko watashi wa anata ga hyōji sa remasu." ("For tonight, Kaname-chan, would you help your sister into bed? Your room is as you left it. Sagara-san, follow me and I will show you where you are to sleep.")

"Shikashi, otōsan…" ("But, Daddy…)

The Elder Chidori glared at his daughter, "Anata no ie, anata no rūru. Watashi no ie, watashi no rūru! Hikisū nashi! Watashi wa isshun de anata no baggu no ue no kai o motte kuru." ("Your home, your rules. My home, my rules! No arguments. I'll bring your bag upstairs in a moment.")

She looked resigned to the situation. "Otōsan hai" ("Yes daddy.") She took her sister from Sousuke and led the sleepwalking girl up the stairs.

Shunya moved downstairs to the basement followed by Sousuke. A large portion of the basement contained what could only be called a 'Man Cave'. There was an overstuffed couch against one wall and a huge HiDef on the other encased in an entertainment center. Shunya dropped Sousuke's bag on the couch.

Because they were no longer around his youngest, Shunya switched to English, "I assure you the couch is very comfortable, Sagara-san. An American colleague of mine introduced me to the concept of a 'Man Cave'. I find it an excellent place to relax. Almost as good as a Zen garden."

"Thank you, Sir."

"It's my pleasure Sagara-san. You have made my daughter a very happy young woman tonight."

Sousuke looked abashed, "Not as happy as she's made me, Sir."

"By the way, that was well done, young man, very well done. Your proposal, I mean."

Shunya eyed the young Soldier, "I would like to hear your thoughts on a…situation I have."

"Certainly, Sir"

"For the last three and a half years, as my eldest daughter pursued her education, I've only seen her infrequently. We were separated by half the planet while I was assigned to UN Headquarters in New York."

"Here's my quandary. Next year, I will be recalled to Japan when my appointment to the UN ends. She is going to be here, in the States, for the next three and a half years at least. Maybe longer if she decides to pursue her Master's. We will once again be separated by half the planet."

"Both Ayame and myself find that neither of us like that idea very much. I would like to find a way to be closer to her if at all possible."

Shunya smirked at Sagara, "How would you suggest we accomplish this, young man." It was time to see if his daughter's fiancé could think outside of a Combat situation.

Sousuke rubbed his chin, "You would not insist she transfer to Todai or another University in Japan?"

"No. I will not stand in the way of my daughter's education. She has made her decision like an adult. I will not treat her as a child and unmake it for her."

"Then the only solution, Sir, is for you to find an appointment closer to her. 'If Mohammad will not come to the mountain, then the mountain must go to Mohammad.' You are a trained diplomat. You could be expected to be assigned anywhere in the world to represent Japanese interests." He pondered for a moment, "Denver. Is there not a Japanese Consulate in Denver?"

Shunya smiled, "Very good. There is a Consulate General's office in downtown Denver, close to the I70/I25 interchange, about an hour's drive from your home. That was exactly the assignment I requested and was granted." He looked at the younger man conspiratorially, "Ayame doesn't know yet. I intend to make the announcement to my daughters at Christmas. Would like to help me set up the surprise?"

"I would be Honored, Sir."

"Excellent. Bedding and pillow are in the closet. Your bathroom is on the first floor, down the hall, on the right." He nodded as he made a decision, "We'll see you in the morning, Sagara-kun."

Sousuke was so surprised at the change in suffixes from the formal -san to the more personal -kun he automatically bowed and said, "Goodnight Chidori-ue." He held the bow until Shunya ascended the stairs.

(Ue literally means "above", and denotes a high level of respect. While its use is no longer very common, it is still seen in constructions like chichi-ue and haha-ue reverent terms for "father" and "mother" respectively.)

Lying on her side, she felt a pair of arms lightly curled around her, one she was using as a pillow and the other around her waist with the owner's hand resting on her breast. Feeling the owner's breath gently tickling the back of her neck, she awoke warm and contented. Her only surprise was she was the one holding his hand in its place at her breast. Without opening her eyes, she smiled as she cuddled back closer to her man and was rewarded with a slight tightening of his grip, both with his arms and his hands. Her smile grew.

She had settled back to savor the moment, when Ron surprised her. Quietly, almost whisperingly, he said, "If we wanna make it back before it gets too late, we gotta get moving, KP."

Without moving, she asked, "How'd you know I was up?"

"Ahh, but you see you're not 'up'. We might be awake, but we're not 'up' yet."

"Do we have to get up? I'd rather just stay here for awhile."

Ron leaned up a bit to look at the firepit, then slid a hand out of the bag and felt the ground. "Well, the fire needs to be fed and I'll bet the warming fire under us is about gone too. So one of us is gonna have to throw some wood on the fire or we'll freeze."

Rolling in his arms, she grinned at him, "I'm sure we can figure a way to keep warm."

"Ohh, that'll def work, KP. Least till we starve to death."

Kim's eyes started to grow and her bottom lip began to stick out with the beginnings of a PDP. Ron merely reached up and pushed her bottom lip back, saying, "Don't even try it, KP. Besides, I'm gonna have to get up anyway. Nature calls."

"Ugggg, you had to say it." As soon as he said it, she felt her own need to go.

"Sorry. Here, skouch down." She knew what was coming. When she was settled deeper into the bag, Ron reached for his pack. First he pulled out a pair of thermal shirts and pulled himself back under cover.

"WHOA! It's gotta be like 10 below out there!" He handed her one of the thermals and donned the other. Kim knew she was agile, but the two of them trying to get dressed inside even a double bag was an endeavor. Once the couple had an upper layer on, they flipped the bag open to their waist and Ron drug Kim's pack close enough for her to reach it, then rooted through his pack some more.

Putting on the bottom layers without opening the bag all the way was even harder. Once they had on at least a single layer and Ron pulled out his flip-flops, they emerged. He slipped on the footwear, walked to the woodpile and started stoking the fire. While he worked on keeping them from freezing, Kim pulled the rest of the clothes they would need for the day from their packs.

With the fire blazing, they finished dressing. They'd set their boots close enough to the fire the night before so that, while they weren't nice and toasty, they weren't freezing either.

Then, while Ron whipped up breakfast, Kim started reloading the packs, rolling the sleeping bag and mats, then loading everything back into Motor Ed's Ramcharger. When she had everything put away that she could, she trudged out one way and Ron went the other to answer Mother Nature's call.

When they returned she gave him an evil eye, "You guys are so lucky. Just unzip and go, we actually have to drop 'trou'."

He just grinned and said, "And that's my fault how, KP?"

Fully dressed with a hot meal inside them, they finished loading and policing up the snug little campsite.

Kim looked around seeing the sun rising and noted the direction the cliff side overhang was facing. "Ronnie, we oughta come back here in the summer." She indicated the semi-cave, "I bet most of this is in the shade in the summer. It'd be nice to campout without it being a mission and this is a really spanking spot."

Ron put on his goofy grin, "Were ya thinking that before or after last night?"

She lightly kissed him, "Both." The light kissing quickly progressed before Kim came up for air. Breaking off the incipient make-out session, they got back to the business of leaving.

Ron pulled the first of the five gallon fuel cans from the back and started refilling the truck's tank. Twenty gallons later, they climbed back into the SUV. Ron turned the 'Master Switch' and pushed the start button. He was rewarded with the sound of a rising whine. A few seconds later there was a 'Whooooooosh' as the turbine ignited and all the gauges started climbing into the 'green'.

Ron looked at the gauges, turned to Kim and said, "Ya know, I don't think I'll ever get used to a truck engine making a sound like that. I mean, a real truck should kinda sound like my car."

"Most def not the normal sounding truck, but it seems to use a lot less gas then I thought it would." They'd brought eight cans of fuel just in case.

Ron stuck the truck in drive and pulled away from the sheltering overhang. Down the slope and through the trees, he drove back to the cabin half a mile away. When they got there, he drove up onto the rise the cabin sat on and out of the deeper snow in the lower laying areas. Pulling their coats on, they started to examine the area.

Now in the light of day, they could see what had caused the tree to end up in the cabin. A path of fallen trees told the tale. Although uncommon, tornadoes do occur and sometime in the last year one had come through and sent the tree flying.

The young couple moved to the structure itself. The log cabin was fairly well made, but old. The lower third of the walls were fieldstone with the logs adzed to make the top and bottom of each log flat and smooth, leaving no gaps between the logs.

Ron looked around, clambering over the tree driven through the front wall, careful about where he set his hands and feet. The floor was earthen, beaten nearly to the hardness of concrete. The open fireplace and hearth were fieldstone closely laid together using minimal mortar. The windows were shuttered with very thick wood and a cross cut into the center of the shutters. The roof beams looked like they were at least eight inches thick with boards laid across the beams and somehow sealed. A part of the tree that created the damage in the first place had knocked a hole in the chimney.

Once inside, they wandered a bit. Kim noticed that the builder had filled the few spaces in the walls with newspaper for insulation. She a pulled a piece from between the wall and looked at the date on the header.

"Ron, this says February 1905 on it! How long has this place been here?"

"According to Uncle Roger, there was an old prospector's log cabin here from the mid 1800's. Sometime before the First World War, somebody rebuilt it. The last one to really do any work on it was my Great-Grandpa when he dug the new outhouse after the Second World War."

Kim noticed the cross shapes cut in the shutters. She pointed and asked, "Some of your ancestors were Christian?"

"Ahhhh, no, KP."

Kim looked from him to the windows and back again, the question obvious on her face. Ron walked to the window and said, "It's for fields of fire. Up and down, left and right. That's why the wall is solid rock to the waist and the shutters are so thick. To keep the Indians from hitting you with return fire."

"Well when you get this fixed back up, I don't think you need them anymore."

Ron looked closely at the hole in the front wall. "I dunno, KP. I got no idea what it'll take to fix this up. I was figgering maybe cleaning the place up or replacing a window or something. But this? Half the wall's gone!"

Kim glanced around then looked at her lover pensively, "Ronnie, I never asked. But could you afford to have someone do the work?"

"Sure, but I dunno." He suddenly looked miserable, "I mean, Rog was planning on doing the work himself. And I kinda wanna …" he trailed off as his jaw trembled.

Suddenly she was holding him as the pain came again. "I understand, Ronnie. It's like your car. You want to do it yourself, don't you?" She felt him nodding. "Well how about this? We get Wade to ask around and see if we can find you a contractor or an expert, then get them to show you how to do it. Just like Roger did for you and Elma Lee. How's that sound?"

He sniffled a bit and said, "That sounds great, KP."

"Then let's get home and have Wade start making some calls."

The Thanksgiving Break came to an end and everyone dove back into the grind as the professors started ramping up for semester finals. Wade had found Ron a contractor willing to work with the young man to repair the cabin.

He told Ron that the best thing to do would be to apprentice with him for the first half of the summer and do the work in the second half. IF the cabin was worth the effort. He agreed to go up to the cabin in the spring and give Ron his best estimate about the place.

In the meantime, classes were getting harder. All four of the college students had taken to spending a part of the day in either the library or at the Student Studies Center while working on their assignments.

Ron approaches the Center only to see a bunch of protesters waving signs and shouting slogans. Shaking his head, not really paying them any mind, he stomped the snow from his boots outside the entrance. Inside he found a multitude of students milling around carrying a selection of coffees, lattes or hot chocolate.

Many were seated in front of laptops, books open beside them. Others had their faces buried in textbooks, highlighters flying or scribbling notes. There was a large group with raised voices trying to be heard over the din in the large room. They seemed to be arguing some political point or another.

Ron didn't care one way or the other. He liked Roger's take on such people. They had the Freedom of Speech guaranteed in the First Amendment. If they wanted to be yammerheads, they could be yammerheads, as long as they left him alone.

Weaving his way through the crowd, Ron made his way to the back of the room. Spotting a mane of red hair, he threaded closer, he verified it was his love. There were several redheads in the crowd after all. She was seated with Kaname and Sagara with a selection of hot drinks in front of them, including a coffee for him.

Anybody else wouldn't be able to tell, but Ron had come to know Sagara well enough to tell he was clearly nervous in the crowded room and Ron could tell that the aggressiveness of the protesters inside only made it worse for him. The closely packed sea of students basically cut the Soldiers sight lines to ZERO and Sousuke DID NOT like that. The only reason he was even in the room in the first place was the deprogramming efforts of his fiancée.

As he made his way past the last of the crowd, he called out, "KP!"

Having not seen him since early that morning, her smile lit up as she called back, "Ron!"

When he got close enough, he enfolded her in a hug and gave her a smooch. Breaking the kiss, he loudly asked, "How's my woman doing this fine bondiggity afternoon?"

From off to the side, he heard a female voice scream, "HOW DARE YOU!" Thinking someone was assaulting a female student, all four reacted, scanning for the 'perp'. And one of the first things they did automatically was tap a button on their Kimmunicators starting them recording and alerting Wade they may need instant tech support.

Imagine their shock when a trio of young women stormed up to Ron. "We're here holding a rally against male oppression and you say something like that? We oughta report you to the Deans office for sexual harassment."

Ron is obviously confused. So was Sagara. Now, that's not really an unusual occurrence. What was unusual was both Kim and Kaname were looking at the enraged females perplexed as well.

Ron glanced at his girlfriend, who shrugged, the other couple, Kaname shook her head. She had no idea and Sousuke was obviously at a loss.

One of the trio, the leader evidently, said, "Well, what do ya have to say for yourself?

Ron addressed the trio, "Uhh, what're ya talking about?"

"The fact that you called this poor defenseless girl 'My Woman' like you owned her or something!"

"….Again I ask, what are you talking about? And who's this 'poor defenseless girl' you're going on about? The only person I've said a word to since I got here was KP. And believe me, she's anything but defenseless!"

"Typical sexist male. Stupid and clueless. Hiding behind the bourgeois propaganda!"

"Now let's just wait a minute here. I'll cop to the male tag and maybe even the clueless one. But I ain't either sexist or stupid. A bit uneducated maybe, 'cause I don't remember off the top of my head what 'bougwhaaw' means, but that's one of the reasons I'm in college. Now I don't know what's got you chicks panties in a twist, but the bathrooms are right over there so how bout you disappear and go unbunch your shorts"

"We're NOT 'Chicks'! We're women. 'Disappear to the bathroom'? Just like 'Disappear to the kitchen', 'Disappear to the bedroom.' That sounds like another typical sexist male response."

"Hey! That's the second time you've called me sexist. Now I followed KP's orders on missions for years and never thought a thing about it. Hell, she's still the Team Leader. I doubt that sounds like something a 'sexist male' would do?"

"You were probably thinking about trying to get into the poor girls pants the whole time, too."

"Actually Nooo! That thought never occurred to me until just before the 'Night of the Diablo's'." Kim blushed to the roots of her hair. "Before ol' 901 came along, for the most part she was just KP to me."

"And that derogatory Kay Pee. I doubt seriously that's her name."

Ron was getting exasperated, "I've called her that since we were four and she's never said anything about it in her life."

"She was probably too scared you'd get violent if she did."

Ron immediately cracked up. "Me 'Get Violent' with KP?" he air quoted. "Ya gotta be joking. HAHAHAHAHA, she woulda sooooooooo kicked my ass if I even tried it. Last time we were in the dojo, only reason I won was she missed getting my Bo away from me before I laid her out."

"YOU HIT HER? YOU BASTARD!"

"Hey! Listen!" Like he was speaking to a simple child, Ron continued "It…was…a…spar…ring…match. The last time I tried holding back in one, she totally kicked my biscuit telling me if I did it again she was gonna do ten times worse. Of course I tried to hit her. Hellooooo! That's kinda the point behind a sparring match."

One of the other girls in the trio said, "You're probably one of those gun-toting thugs, too."

Ron just looked confused with a raised eyebrow. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, flashing the inside at her. "Do you see this? It's caaaaaalled a baaaaadge. Beside it, is my ID. As you can see, I'm a carded Law Enforcement Officer." He waved his thumb at the rest of the Team, "All of us are! Of course we're carrying guns. As a matter of fact, it's against the regs for us to NOT be armed in public. Don't mean we gotta use 'em, but we still gotta carry 'em." He put his wallet away.

Gasp. "This campus is a 'Gun Free Zone'. I'm calling 911."

"Go ahead, when ya talk to dispatch, it should be Dunn on radio duty. Tell 'em Ron wants his twenty bucks, the MHS Mad Dawgz won last night. And second, as for a 'Gun Free Zone', how bout you show me a cop wandering around this campus that ain't packin' heat. Good luck with that. Look ladies, this conversation's gone about as far as it's going to."

"No it hasn't! We're empowered women, fighting to end the sexist discrimination that occurs every day by men just like you trying to oppress the women of the world, you bastard!"

Ron looked perplexed for a moment, then a light of understanding appeared on his face, "….OHHHh, I see what's happening here. You're away from home for the first time in your lives and you've started sucking up the pabulum a lot a morons try spoon feeding people around here. Well guess what. Your personal opinion of me," In a surprising display of flexibility and strength, Ron lifted his foot to shoulder height and pointed to the sole of his boot. "Means less to me than the gum on the bottom of my boot. It's merely an irritant that'll go away after I scrape it on the ground for a moment. After that, it's forgotten."

"No it's not! We won't be forgotten and we be won't silenced. We're going to see to it that the women of the world rise up and throw off the shackles of male oppression."

Ron looked over at his girlfriend, "Nothing worse than a zealot. They never shut up and they never change the subject." Kim and Kaname both snorted trying to hold back their laughter. Many in the crowd that had taken an interest in the events didn't even bother.

Ron looked back at the trio accosting him. "You go right ahead with that. One of the things I've been studying here is 'The Constitution', so let's see, off the top of my head, those sorta activities would fall under Rights of 'Freedom of Assembly' and the 'Freedom of Speech'. As long as ya do it peaceably, ya can knock yourselves out. However, your Rights end when you start inciting to riot or advocating the use of violence."

"If rioting or violence is what it takes, then so be it, you sexist male pig!"

"HEY! Now that's the third time you've called me sexist and about the fifth or sixth time you've called me something derogatory! And not once have I called you a derogatory name ya, ya, ya FemiNazi! Your major problem with me seems to be the fact I have a penis and you don't! Well it's not my fault if ya feel you were born with the wrong chromosome! GodDammit, this is why I avoid political talks! Yammerheaded zealots, every last one of ya!" Ron was getting livid by now, his eyes starting to flash blue.

Kim breaks in, putting herself between Ron and the trio that was fast making themselves 'targets'. Soothingly she said, "Ronnie, normally I'd be all for you standing up for yourself, honey. But I'd like to ask you to let me handle this. Please."

It was the 'Please' that really set off the trio in front of them "'Please?' How can you possibly abase yourself to this pig? Don't you have any self-respect?"

Ron just quietly said, 'Uh oh."

Slowly, like a battleships turret, Kim's head turned to face the trio. "Abase myself? You've got it all wrong. I'm trying to keep you morons out of trouble. All of this started 'cause you stuck your noses where they weren't wanted. And Self-respect? Don't you realize who I am?"

"Another woman that's been brainwashed by sexist male oppression."

The Team looked at these three stunned. Most of the people in the room had stopped what ever they were doing to see what was going on in the back corner. Many of the crowd started laughing.

"I don't believe it! They don't know who she is!"

"That's impossible; she's only on the news like every other week."

"Have they been under a rock since the age of two?"

"HAHAHA, No, they been spoon-fed pabulum all their lives!"

One of the crowd shouted out, "Hey FemiNazis, that's Kim Possible and her crew. She's probably the toughest bitch on the planet."

The now labeled FemiNazis were furious and asked "So you're just gonna let him get away with calling you 'His Woman'?"

"Of course! He's 'My Man'! He can call me 'His Woman' if he wants. It shows I belong with him and no one else and vice versa. But it's like respect, it's a two way street. As long as I respect him, I'll be 'His Woman', as long as he respects me, he's 'My Man'. If you don't like it, that's tough. I'll thank you to mind your own business and stay out of mine from now on! I think the last six years of freak fighting has proven I can more than handle myself against any of your so called 'sexist male oppression'. Come on, Ronnie! Let's go so these yammerheads can get back to their political dissidence."

The next day, Fukushima was sending Ron through his paces with the Katana. He grudgingly had to admit that his Gakusei had improved and progressed to the point he had no choice but to advance him to the next stage.

Watching as his Gakusei reached the end of the Kata and before the sweating young man launched himself into the next, he called out. "Teishi!"

Ron came to a stop, but held the Katana at the ready. No matter how much he hated it, the Sensei had to admit his Gakusei never quit, never slacked off, and never questioned some of the insane sounding things he had put him through.

"Anshin shite. Anata jishin, ikutsu ka no mizu shutoku to sū-fun o okimasu." ("At Ease. Get yourself some water and rest a few minutes.")

Nodding Ron said, "Sensei Hai." Breathing hard, Ron dropped his guard and walked to the cooler and pulled out a bottle of water. He filled his mouth and rinsed it, then spit it out in to a trash can. After downing half the bottle, he held his head over the can and poured the rest on the back of his head and neck. Grabbing a second bottle, he drank this one slower as he let the water drip down his back cooling him down. When he'd finished the second bottle, he grabbed one of the towels and started wiping his face, the back of his neck and trying to dry his hair a bit.

While Ron was taking his break, Fukushima went to his bag and pulled out one of the last items Sensei had sent with him: a Saya with a basket around the Tsuka. It was meant to be held in the off hand and instead of pointing forward, it was often held reversed from the normal sword position.

Not a trophy or for display, it was a working weapon meant to be used in conjunction with the Swordmaster's Katana. It wasn't designed to cut an opponent, but to parry or block the enemy's weapons. It was simple looking, with plain lacquered hardwood and burnished blunted steel along both the upper and lower edges. It wasn't a weapon on its own right, but it could be used to bludgeon an opponent if needed

It took a significant amount of skill to use the both of them to full effect, but if the Swordsman could do so, the Saya could have a devastating effect on the battle.

"Bokutō o katazukeru. Anata wa kunren no nokori no raibu no ken o shiyō suru kotodesu. Anata no buki o erabimashita." ("Put away the Bokken. You're to use a live Sword for the rest of the training. Chose your weapon.") He gestured to the wall holding a selection of Swords, real, blunted and training.

Ron shied away from the Lotus Blade set in the center of the wall, instead pulling a regular Katana from its place to the side.

He'd been sure his Gakusei would accept the unspoken advantage the Blade would have given him. By accepting a normal sword, he had chosen to put the responsibility of success upon himself instead of relying on the enhancement the Lotus Blade could bestow.

By restricting himself to non-mystical weapons and training under their handicap, when Eraba (The Chosen) did take the Blade into battle, he would be 'Ken no masutā' (Master of the Sword) instead of merely 'Kenshi' (Swordsman). Fukushima, against his will, was impressed.

Over the next twenty minutes, to prove the point of how effective the Saya could be, Fukushima had Ron use a live Katana while he took the Saya and an enhanced Bokken. The enhancement was it was made from steel instead of the normal wood; because no normal wood Bokken could survive against a razor sharp live steel Katana. No matter what some of those Baka Manga and Anime might try to say differently.

When Ron attacked, Fukushima taunted and played with his Gakusei. Any attack to his left side was deflected, parried, or blocked by the Saya. A few times he even trapped Ron's blade and either disarmed him or forced him out of position, opening him up to a counterstrike.

That's not to say it was easy. Fukushima had to work for each opening. This was a very good thing because Ishido Sensei had called and told the penitent that he was sending someone to test Eraba in a couple of months. Dankanmakuraudo-san should be impressed.

Middleton, CO, USA

11 December 2007

21:45 Local

06:45 Zulu (12 December 2007)

05:45 Senior's Island (12 December 2007)

Wade was just getting ready to settle in for the night, setting his alerts wake him if something came in when he got a surprising video call request.

"Senior? Is there something I can do for you?"

"Yes, there most certainly is, Mr. Load. Would you have about five or six terabytes of free space on your drives? You see I have quite a bit of information that I would rather not have fall into the wrong hands."

The young genius looked confused. "Uh, yeah, I have the space. But why do you need it, Sir? You have some of the best security on the net."

"Because Mr. Load, all the 'net security' in the world does you no good when the hacker has physical access to the hard drives. You see, we're having a bit of a bother here."