September 13, 2008

Saito's School of Karate; 11:13 am

It's been about a month since Gwen had returned from her Summer trip. The first week had been more of an adjustment than she anticipated and even had trouble sleeping some nights. The following weeks she worked on getting into a routine. Weekdays she went to school and clubs; making sure to have all of her work done by the time her parents got home. Saturday mornings she had her karate class and afterward, she'd hang out with Ben and Grandpa Max if he was available. That left Sundays to herself so she could review and work on herself.

She was currently doing warm-ups waiting for her teacher to start class. Gwen found it odd that her Sensei was late since punctuality was something she admired about the man. She had been studying under him for a good two years and no matter how hard the lessons were it was never something she couldn't do. Mr. Saito prided himself in a hard, but fair course and anytime someone was injured he took full responsibility for it even when the student had been at fault. This mentality is what had earned the parents trust to leave their kids in his care. Even Gwen's mother, who abhorred violence, could see that there was more to his lessons than just how to fight.

When Mr. Saito finally arrived he carried a more serious tone than usual. "Good morning! I'd like everyone to pair off and practice sparring for now." Everyone started to split into pairs, but before Gwen could find a partner Mr. Saito called her. "Gwendolyn. Can I speak to you in my office?" Gwen tensed up unsure why he wanted to speak to her in private. With a simple, "Yes, Sensai" she followed him to his office.

Lining his shelves were trophies and pictures of competitions he had competed in when he was younger. On the back wall were a couple of framed degrees and certificates, one of which being his teacher's license. During the week, Mr. Saito was a middle school teacher and seeing his students struggle had led him to open his own karate school.

"What happened over the Summer?" The question had caught her off guard.

"I-I went on a road trip with my grandfather and cousin." There was silence for what felt like an eternity. She had been lucky to never be on her Sensei's bad side up to this point, but at that moment she felt how intense his presence could be.

"Last week, you sparred with Charles. After that fight, his mother pulled him from my class."

"I don't understand. Charlie loves karate, why would his mom do that Sensei?"

"You broke his nose and much worse, his spirit. Charles was my best student, that goes without saying. But you?" He looked her over trying to find something inside her that would answer the questions plaguing his head. "You're a fantastic student, Gwendolyn. But before you left for the Summer, you were nowhere near Charles' skill level." He wasn't trying to talk down to her, only state a fact, but Gwen could only see the disappointment that was on his face. "I've seen hundreds of different martial artists over the years with vastly different ways of fighting. Some train to master the techniques, some fight to harm their opponents. But when I watched you fight, I could tell you weren't fighting to win. You were fighting to survive."

Gwen felt like her entire world was pulled out from under her feet. If it wasn't for the fact she was sitting she would probably have collapsed onto the floor. Mr. Saito had let the words sink in before continuing his lecture, but he wasn't sure if he had the right words for her. "Karate is more than just about fighting, Gwendolyn." He started hoping it'd help her understand. "Though we treat it as a sport about who can get the most points and win. Karate is about control and in that control finding peace." The words had finally got her attention. "The biggest lesson I want all of my students to learn is control. You have the strength to take down a grown man without trouble, but it's whether or not you should. In a perfect world, we could solve any problem with a peaceful solution, but sometimes violence is inevitable. You know that first hand." He gave her a sad smile and it took everything she had to not breakdown and cry.

After Ben had got the watch it was fight after fight, bad guy after bad guy. It didn't take long for her to get over the fact that she was seriously hurting another person. They were heroes, and that's what heroes did. They beat the bad guys and saved the day. Why would she care if a bank robber or a crazy scientist end up with a broken bone or two? It didn't matter because she couldn't tell anyone what had happened. Any guilt she had would stay a secret.

"I hate to do this, Gwendolyn, but you've left me with no choice." His words drew her out of her head which only caused her to become even more anxious. "You're suspended from my class for the next two weeks." He held up his hand to stop her before she could protest. "I've already talked to your parents and have asked them to refrain from mentioning the issue until I had spoken with you." She couldn't believe what was happening. Four months ago, she had never gotten in trouble with her teachers and was the example of a perfect student. Now she was being escorted outside by her sensei as her entire class watched. Her mother was already waiting for her in the parking lot. "Take this time to focus on control, Gwendolyn. If you still are passionate about karate when you return, I have an open position for November's tournament." She looked up at him confused. Did he spend all that time lecturing her just to offer her a spot in an upcoming competition? "As I told you, you're a fantastic student. And now that my top student will no longer be running, I would appreciate it if you could take his place." The disappointment from earlier was no longer there. In its place was pride.

"I won't let you down again, Sensei!"

The drive home had been a quiet one. The fire that gave her the confidence to make her sensei proud was extinguished. The only sound that could be heard was the cheerful hum of Natalie Tennyson. Gwen could tell that her mother was all too pleased with the turn of events. If she had to guess, her mother was waiting until they got home before she dropped the bomb that she would not be returning to karate in the coming weeks.

The smirk on her face hadn't wavered the rest of the car ride. It wasn't until they pulled into the garage that the silence had finally broken. "Oh, do we have a surprise for you." And at that moment her smile finally faltered. She opened the garage door and found a surprise of her own.

"Finally! I thought I was gonna hit puberty by the time you got here." The boy shouted from the kitchen.

Natalie tried to compose herself. "Ben, what are you doing here?"

"Uncle Frank picked me up." And as if on cue, Frank appeared from behind the corner. "He said Gwen's class ended early."

"Well, I figured Gwen would like to spend time with her cousin after her day." Frank went over and patted his daughter's shoulder. "Why don't you head on up and get changed." She was hesitant at first but decided not to argue.

"Ben, sweety, why don't you go wait upstairs with your cousin. I need to talk to your uncle for a moment." Call it hero's intuition, but Ben could sense a fight was coming and this was one he didn't want to get in between. Once they knew the kids were out of earshot did Natalie's composter finally break. "We talked about this, Frank!"

"I know, but taking away karate isn't going to solve the problem." He was always soft on his daughter and that was no secret. "All I'm saying is that if you take away her passion then she's just going to rebel."

"Don't be ridiculous. These violent outbursts, the attitude, staying up all night, if karate isn't the issue then it's that loose cannon she spent all Summer with." Natalie loved her nephew, but sometimes she couldn't stand how he had been raised. "This never would have happened if she didn't go on that trip with Max."

"What's done is done," Frank said trying to remain calm given the situation. "I think it was good for her, Lili. That time on the road helped her find her own identity. She'll be eleven soon and before you know it she'll be a teenager sneaking off to parties. You can't deny we did some wild stuff when we were younger."

The thought of the past made her smile a little but also caused her to become embarrassed and disappointed in herself. "Fine, if ending the classes isn't the answer then what do you suggest?" She finally calmed down enough to think rationally. When she had received the call from Mr. Saito, she was ready to pull Gwen from the classes and enroll her in ballet just like she had planned a year and a half ago.

"We should listen to Mr, Saito's advice. He's been working with kids for years and if he thinks two weeks is long enough to help Gwen get back on track then let's trust him." Natalie remained skeptical at the idea. "If she's still acting out after that then you can pull her out and send her to whatever ballet class you want." That was enough to get her on board, but she remained confident in her decision that karate was not for Gwen.

Upstairs, Ben was busy telling a story about how he stopped a couple of bullies. "And then Cash started running at me so flipped him onto the table and punched him in his dumb face!"

"Isn't he like twice your size, short stack?" Gwen said not believing a word her doofus of a cousin had been saying. "Anyways don't you feel bad beating up the bag guys?" The realization from earlier was still hurting and she was wondering if Mr hero-complex felt any remorse for the damage he's done.

"Where's this coming from?" He asked, but the look on Gwen's face said that this was a serious question. "Sometimes." She was surprised to say the lease, but the guilt was stronger now.

"I was suspended from karate for not having enough control…" She wasn't sure why she was confiding in her cousin, but she needed advice and their grandpa wasn't there to answer.

"Ms. control-freak is having issues keeping control? Now that's a first." Ben didn't see how his remark had hurt her, but he knew he had to do something to help. "If you need to practice keeping control then why not use magic?"

"That's not how magic works, Doofus!" She was beginning to regret even considering Ben would help. She got up to go shower in hopes it would help her relax. Before she reached the door, Ben had grabbed her wrist.

"That's not what I meant," he said wishing he was smart enough to know the words that would solve all her problems. "Isn't magic all about control? Work on mastering some new spells or meditate with you mana stuff."

"But rule number 1 says not to use magic. Unlike you, I'm not gonna go behind grandpa's back like that." She had been avoiding even looking through Charmcaster's journal since they got back. She would love to flip through every page and dive into the world of magic just as she used to do with science, but rules were rules.

"He said not to unless it was an emergency. If doing a couple of spells is enough to get your life back together then I don't think he'd mind." Their moment had been cut off by the bedroom door opening. Realizing how close they were, they jumped apart and Gwen ran to the bathroom to take her shower.

Frank looked at the blushing boy by himself and eyed him curiously. "She's had a rough day, Ben." Ben nodded acknowledging that maybe he overstepped his bounds. "Why don't we give her some space. When she gets out we'll all go for some burger's and milkshakes." The two walked down the stairs talking about their lunch plans.

Meanwhile, Gwen was slouched up against the door thinking about what Ben had said. In a way, karate had helped prepare her to be a sorceress so it should be simple enough to go the same in reverse. "Maybe he's not such a doofus after all."

AN: So I hope this was a good start to explain how they got to where they are now. I prefer the relationship Ben and Gwen had when they were younger but I felt like I couldn't make anything that hadn't already been done so I went with an after story type of story. I'm gonna try and do past and present chapters back to back but if they're too short then I'll just combine them like I did in the last chapter. I'm also trying to make longer chapters at a time until I hit a point where I feel like I found the format I like.