Legend of the swordsmen: Episode 2; The Discovery.

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Claimer/Disclaimer.

Motoko, Sue, Kitsune, Shinobu, Naru and her husband (Keitaro) and Hinata Inn are taken from Love Hina.

I own all other characters featured in this chapter.

I send my thanks to Sheo Darren and Nachtsider, for Beta reading and helping me out here and there.

Legenda

":sp:" None English Spoken dialog
"(sp)" Dialog Spoken over a device (Radio, phone, whatever)
"sp" English Spoken dialog

A/N: Shit yeah! The first chapter of the second installment to 'Legend of the Swordsmen' has been released.
And as some extra fun, A small featuring of some Love Hina Characters.
I Hope you people will enjoy this. also Don't forget to check out a the 'Legend of the swordsmen wiki' at www(DOT)Swordsmenwiki(DOT)org

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Chapter 1

Japan, 30th of August 1998

It was late in the morning; Thomas was waiting in line at the cash register while he was talking to a priestess.

The priestess was none other than Ayane, the sister of Thomas his former sensei.

Ayane was interested to hear firsthand what the young soldier thought about the family life, as he had gotten married only 10 days ago.

"So have you made a... Unity, already?" the old Miko asked.

Thomas blushed with shyness, as he stood in the small super market. "Well, yes." he answered truthfully as ever. "We have."

Ayane regard the young sword wielding soldier with much approval and amazement. Thomas was always as stiff as a board when it came to emotions. Only now however, after he had tasted the fruit of sexual intercourse, it seemed as if the clamp upon his emotions seemed to loosen up a bit.

"Anyway, how is Yu doing?" Thomas asked, just to change the subject.

"Yu is doing fine; he is a bit bored though." Ayane answered. "He would very much like to thank you for letting him come along for the wedding celebration."

"That's alright, live for as long as he has, and I would wonder how he doesn't get bored to tears." Thomas answered. "On the side of things, I sure wouldn't mind coming to visit him."

Ayane nodded. "I believe he would like that."

---

10th of September 1998

Sora sighed as she laid down her instruments. Her head was covered in slight drips of sweat. As she stood up, so did Thomas. "Well?" he asked her.

"I found the problem." She announced. "You have a genetic instability, and it is slowly killing you..."

"Ah," He answered, almost matter-of-factly. "That doesn't surprise me."

It caused Sora sadness that Thomas could speak so lightly about such matters. For Thomas, it wasn't all that hard. Having walked the battlefield while it lay littered with the bodies of the fallen soldiers whom he fought, took his fear of death away. But that didn't mean that he welcomed it.

Though he did welcome death in the past, in the present times, he yearned for life, to spend it with Sora until the end of times.

"So, is there a cure?" Thomas asked, to Sora's great surprise.

"Well, I do not have a way to cure you, if anything I can slow it down with medication."

"What is the projected time of death without?"

A lump formed in Sora's throat. "Judging from the cellular degradation, somewhere in 2000. between your birth day, and New Years Eve. With the medication, I suspect till 2007. But 7 years isn't much of a difference."

By now Sora was crying and her speech wasn't all that clear anymore. As she felt that the whole world treated her unfairly. Only just being married, and now doomed to be widowed in about 2 years wasn't a happy prospect.

Thomas sight deeply. "Then, let's do it. Give me the medication."

"I'll start preparing the first batch, Right away." Sora said as she turned around to start working at her computer. However, something stopped her.

As she looked, Thomas held her by the arm. "No, let's just spent the rest of the day together."

"But the serum..."

"The serum can wait, it's not like I won't be around tomorrow you know." Thomas said.

"You're so lax, every day without will shorten you're life span."

Thomas nodded at that. "I know, but being alone is boring."

Sora sighed. "Very well, you win." She said. "But I want to choose where we are going."

"So you want to make it a date to down town?"

Sora smiled kindly as she stood up. "Maybe, do you have the car?"

"I have a DD6 Hummvee parked outside, will that be enough?"

Sora chuckled, not really understanding what a Hummvee was. "If it has 4 wheels and you can drive it, then it's fine with me."

Thomas nodded. "It has, and I can. Let's go."

---

It didn't take long before Sora was in the car. A car was just like a house to her, it kept her blocked from the outside world. As such, Thomas only had to escort Sora into the car, and then he could get in himself without much problem.

"Where to?"

"If it's not too much to ask, Downtown Tokyo?" Sora said.

"Your wish is my command." Thomas said as he turned the ignition. "I got some business to take care of over there anyway."

"Tommy, you aren't going to kill anyone are you?"

Thomas chuckled as he started driving. "No, that wasn't my intension." he said to her. "Just visiting an old adversary of mine."

At that point, Sora crossed her arms. "Just visiting? Right, then why do you have your sword on your back underneath your clothing?"

"What are you talking about?" Thomas asked. "I always have it with me. I am nothing without my sword."

"You still have your knowledge of martial arts, but why did you bring your pistol?"

Thomas started chuckling lightly. "You got me." he admitted. "It's not that I expect to be fighting, but better safe than sorry."

Sora laughed at that. "Same old Tommy."

Thomas huffed. "I'm not that old."

"It's a joking remark." she explained. "I basically mean that you never seem to change in your ways."

Thomas scratched his forehead right after he turned onto the highway. "I... See..."

"It's not all bad Tommy; you did learn to open your heart which is a good change." Sora complimented as she smiled shyly.

A large grin appeared on Thomas his face. "Yeah, Your right."

---

It didn't take long to get to Tokyo. Neither was finding a place to park.

Thomas parked in the underground parking garage of the local Yakuza boss.

Not even a month or two ago, Thomas had laid siege to the building, killing anyone who stood in the way. The leader surrendered to Thomas.

Though Thomas didn't care much for the Yakuza, he left them alone, under the condition that the Yakuza left Sora's hometown at peace as well.

The guard at the entrance automatically let Thomas through, as soon as he showed his face. The siege had burned his image into everyone’s mind, as such; no one dared to deny Thomas.

As Thomas pulled in, he noticed that Sora had fallen asleep.

It wasn't all that strange that she hadn't spoken for over an hour. Pulling into a parking space, Thomas thought about what to do. He could wake her up, or he could just leave her asleep. Sadly, Thomas didn't feel that leaving Sora alone was an option.

Though the Hummvee was heavily armored, and very difficult to get into, it just didn't seem right to leave her behind.

Thomas got out of the car, only to be greeted by a small detail of Yakuza Body guards. Among the body guards was Tsuzuki, Yakamoto's daughter.

"Dutch-sama, Welcome." she called out.

Thomas wished that she hadn't done that, because her voice sounded throughout the garage.

He put an index finger to his mouth. "Quite down" he said. "Someone has fallen asleep in my car."

Tsuzuki bowed formally. "Gomen nasai."

Carefully, Thomas opened the door on Sora's side. Undoing her seat belt, after which he lifted her up and he carried her out.

Tsuzuki was kind enough to gently close the door of the car.

With his wife sleeping, while cradled in his arms, Thomas walked to the elevator that would return them to ground level, and take them up to the top floor.

It was only then that Thomas dared to venture whether or not Sora might have put on something different to wear.

Not that there was anything wrong with the Qipao she wore, minus the fact that while asleep, it was extremely hard for Thomas to keep her feminine features covered, as not to grand the other males in the elevator a view.

"Tsuzuki," Thomas said. "Please be so kind as to tell your lackeys to look ahead of them, before I start cracking some heads."

"Eh?"

"I don't appreciate them eyeing out my wife." Thomas explained.

Tsuzuki gave a slight chuckle before she conveyed Thomas his words.

Right away, they all obeyed. As the prospect of Angering Thomas wasn't a good one.

"So, what brings you to visit us?" Tsuzuki asked.

"I was planning to go into town with my wife, and visit your father while I was at it."

"She seems tired to me."

Thomas nodded. "I'll wake her up later." he said.

Having reached the top floor, the elevator opened.

As the people who were waiting to see mister Yakamoto casted their eyes on Thomas, A slight panic started to rule the immediate area.

"Do you have a break room on this floor?" Thomas asked as he walked out of the elevator. "Preferably one with a coffee machine."

"Certainlly, right this way."

---

Finally in the Break room. Thomas put Sora down in a comfortable couch. Getting too this room took a while. With 10 corridors to walk, Thomas felt lucky that he had arrived at all.

However, the paper pushers there were not so happy to see Thomas. They vacated the room as soon as possible, and as quite as possible.

Now, Thomas was fixing up some coffee for Sora. He had already found out the hard way, that Sora was not an early bird like himself. As such, it was better to have coffee ready before Sora woke up, because she had a habit of getting grouchy when she didn't get her coffee right away.

Pouring the black liquid into a cup, Sora began to wake up from the smell of it. "Ohayo, Anata." Thomas greeted her as he held the cup in front of her. "Black with two cubes of sugar."

Sora took the cup in her right as she rubbed her tired face with her left. "Arigato." she answered.

Tsuzuki watched with great interest at how the warrior took care for his spouse. She had only seen Thomas do battle, but seeing him here now was a great sight.

"How long was I asleep?"

"An hour, maybe one and a half at the most."

"It feels longer than that." Sora said with a sigh. "I don’t know why I am so tired lately."

"That’s ok; I'll just carry you around if you’re tired. It'll be a good work out, if only a small one."

Sora huffed in amusement. "Yes, I know."

Thomas put his hand on her shoulder. "Take it easy while you are waking up again, I'll be back shortly."

Sora nodded. "I will."

"Tsuzuki, please lead me to your father."

---

":No, you don’t understand. This man, Thomas, he is unstoppable.:"

"(:No one is unstoppable, you know that Yakamoto. The Triad is willing to stomp out this European, in exchange for access to your smuggling routes.:)"

":I refuse your offer, I saw him fight with a front row seat. My daughter's life is way to precious to waste it on such a risk.:"

"(:We are most disappointed to hear your decisions in this matter. We will remember your cowardice, when we trample over your grave.:)"

After that, the connection closed.

Yu Yakamoto threw the horn on its hook with frustration. They didn't understand no one did; Thomas was a born fight, almost monster that cannot be shot down. And in knowing that, Yu himself wouldn't dare provoke the wrath of Thomas.

a know on the door resounded. ":Enter!:" Yu barked in response. Followed by the door swinging open, revealing his daughter, followed closely by Thomas.

":Thomas-sama, welcome.:" Yu said, as he stood up from his chair and bowed.

"Hmmmm... I guess his translator is out."

"Lord Thomas, welcome." Tsuzuki started translating.

"Ah, figures." Thomas mused.

"How can I be of service?" Yu said, his words directly translated by his daughter.

"Well Yakamoto, I am in need of a few items."

"Name them."

Thomas took a deep breath before speaking. " Colt Detective Special 3rd issue with a few spare boxes of thirtieth ammo."

"Maybe I can advice a more powerful weapon to you?"

Thomas shook his head. "No, it isn't for me."

Having heard Thomas his words put into English,

Yakamoto nodded. "The weapon will be hard to come by, but when I have gathered the requested items, I’ll have them delivered to your home. I will also send you the maid and driver right away."

Thomas arched his brow at that. "Excuse me?"

"A maid to replace your loss, and a driver. They both double up as body guards as well."

"I don’t need them."

At that point, Tsuzuki stopped translating. "Lord Thomas, it is best to accept this."

"Why the hell should I?"

"Because you lay siege to the building, outsiders see us as being weak, because you were just one man. And they keep offering a deal, most it involves access to our assets in exchange for your elimination."

"What?" Thomas nearly exclaimed as his hand went toward his back.

"No, we don’t plan on risking another incident, because we already know what you are capable of, the other organizations just don’t realize how dangerous you are."

"I see." Thomas agreed. "Very well, send them over. And I'll take my leave of you now."

"Where are you going?" Yu asked.

"I am going down town with my wife. Good day."

---

In the break room where Thomas left Sora to wake up at her own pace, things were slightly heating up.

Some of the more arrogant underlings where being typical. With the more loyal types defending Sora against them.

":Do not be a blind fool, Thomas will kill you without remorse should you touch his wife. It’s what caused him to lay down a siege.:"

":C'mon, I just want to check out the booty.:"

Sora held her head while she sat in the corner, frightened out of here mind. Why did Thomas leave me in a place like this? This is crazy. She thought.

":If you don’t turn away now, I will kill you.:"

Before the arrogant youth could respond, a shot resounded. And it wasn't just any shot; it was the distinct roar of a Fifty Action Express round, a trade mark thunder of Thomas.

As everyone turned to look at the source. As Sora looked up, her guardian stood in the doors opening. Waving the massive Automag mark 5, which was a hand cannon by any other name.

Thomas had an angry expression on his face, as he lowered his pistol and stepped into the room, with his right, he gestured toward the door. "Get lost!" he said.

They didn't need translations, the gun shot, his finger still on the trigger and his gesture said enough. They left right away, one even tripping over his own feet.

"Tommy..." Sora started with tears in her eyes.

Thomas sighed as he tucked his pistol away, as he approached Sora. "I'm sorry, I should have stayed with you."

Standing in front of her, Thomas offered his hand to Sora. She took it, and allowed herself to be helped onto her feet. After which she latched onto Thomas. Slight sobs were sounded. And it pained Thomas to hear them.

"I was really scared." Sora said, as heavy tear drops found their way onto Thomas his shirt.

"I'm sorry." Thomas said again, as he held her close, trying his best to ease Sora's cries.

---

Before long, Thomas was now walking around the streets of downtown Tokyo, with Sora at his arm. Everything went great, so far, Sora hadn't surcome to her fear of the outside world, and they enjoyed them self’s.

"Tommy? What are you staring at?"

Thomas shook his head. "A potted plant vending machine?"

Sora chuckled. "Only in Japan."

"Well," huffed Thomas."That’s something I haven't seen before."

"There is one close to home; you just never visit that region of town."

At that moment Sora seemed to spot something familiar to her.

"I see, but what is it that you are staring at?"

"Hinata Inn." Sora said. "I haven't been there in a long while. Can we go there for a while?"

"Sure, I can use a drink right about now." Thomas answered.

Within moments, they were standing inside the quiet Inn. Being in doors, Sora release Thomas and started to move freely again.

It almost became something standard, going out; Sora would latch into Thomas his arm. Once inside a building and Sora would release him again.

":Miss Haruka? Are you Here?:" Sora called out.

":Hiiii!:" the head of a slacker popped up from behind the counter. ":Hmmm... I don’t know you but, welcome to Hinata Inn. Now who were you looking for?:"

Sora looked at the lady in front of her. Haruka never had assistants around, and the one in front of her didn't look all that productive at all. ":Miss Haruka?:"

":Oh her, sorry sweetie she's gone now, and she left me in charge.:"

":Kitsune, quite stalling and help me lift this barrel of beer.:" Another woman called out. ":This barrel isn't very light you know?:"

":Can't you see I'm helping a costumer?:"

":Slacking off is more like it.:"

As the ladies were talking, Thomas just looked around a little. The Inn was old, to say the least. Though it could use a touch of paint here and there, it was a perfect example of the Japanese atmosphere that Thomas had come to love.

The two ladies were getting quite noisy, which alarmed Thomas a little, causing him to return to Sora's side. "What is going on?" Thomas asked.

"Just some petty argument about that barrel of beer being heavy, alongside the pointing of fingers."

Thomas sighted. "Ask them where they want that barrel."

":Excuse me, my husband would like to know where you were going to put that barrel.:"

":Under the table with the beer tap, but why did he ask?:" the lady behind the bar asked.

":That doesn't matter Kitsune, don’t change the subject!:"

":C'mon Motoko, you can't blame a girl for being curious why such a hunk wants to know something like that.:"

With slight irritation and jealousy, Sora sighted. "Underneath the tap."

Thomas huffed in amusement. "Figures." he answered while he walked up to the said barrel.

The two Inn workers regarded Thomas with curious eyes as he grabbed both handles of the barrel. The shocker here was the fact that Thomas didn't seem to use much effort to lift it.

As everyone looked with amazement at Thomas, He put the barrel in its place. To others, it was quite a feat. To Sora, It wasn't much more than a show of muscles. To Thomas, this was just a bit of weight lifting.

After all that, Sora learned that Haruka had gotten married, and was out of the country in relation with her husband’s job. And as for Thomas, thought he couldn't understand Japanese, he found out that he wasn't only sword wielding martial artist around.

"So, you like Japan?" the lady martial artist asked.

Thomas nodded. "Pretty much, I enjoy living here with my wife." He answered. "And by the way, you're English is quite good, though sounding a bit out of practice."

":I didn't know you spoke foreign languages.:" The slacker intoned.

":If you went to Tokyo-U, then you might have learned it as well.:"

Thomas regarded his conversation partner with interest. He could see the signs of a martial artist on her as clear as day light, though it didn't much for those signs to weaver by cause of distractions, in the form of teasing. Or at least, that was Thomas his view in the matter.

“Yes, I am a bit out of practice but that only has to be expected as we don’t get a lot of foreigners in this part of Tokyo.”

Thomas nodded. “By the way, I didn’t catch your name. I’m Thomas.”

“Nice to meet you Thomas-san…” At that moment, the started blushing shyly for a mistake she made.

Thomas chuckled lightly. “I see the suffixes don’t die easily though, but pay no mind to it.”

She nodded. “I am Motoko.”

“Nice to meet you too, Motoko, and you wield?”

At that point, Sora stopped her conversation to stare at Thomas. Motoko was also staring his way. “W-what do you mean?”

“You’re not a martial artist?” Thomas asked. “A sword wielder by any chance?”

“It’s almost as if you’re reading my mind.” Motoko noted. “Yes, I am a martial artist, I sword wielder actually. But why did you ask?”

With a huge grin, Thomas stood up a little as he reached behind his back with his right hand. From under his shirt, he grabbed the hilt of his sword and pulled it out of its sheath, not fully drawing it, but just enough to show the distinct sword hilt to Motoko. “You’re not the only sword wielder here.” Thomas announced.

Motoko clapped her hands together. “Wonderful.” She said. “If it won’t be too much to ask, I would like a sparring match.”

A distinct twinkle came into Thomas his eyes, more in the right eye then in the left. Tokyo in all its glory was a little bit boring to the seasoned veteran of war. The admiral wanted a work out, and lifting that barrel wasn’t a real challenge. Being faced with someone who was also a sword wielder, Thomas was eager to once again use his swordsmen skills to its full potential. He only hoped that his opponent was up to snuff, and able to match his skill.

Thomas had come across many people pretending to be a sword wielder, and when he thought them, either to the death, or in a sparring match. It always felt like he was fighting a novice, and the only way he could satisfy his desire for melee combat was to play with his opponent.

“Alright, got wooden swords?”

“Sure, just follow me.” Motoko said, gesturing to outside.

“Tommy…”

“Yes Sora?”

“Can’t you go without conflict for just once?” Sora asked.

“Don’t worry, this isn’t an actual conflict. This is a none-lethal dual between two fighters, to see who is the more skillful wielder.” Thomas told here.

The woman, whose name was Kitsune, stood idle as she couldn’t follow the conversation. A quick explanation from Sora gave the slacker extraordinaire an idea. They might as well hold the dual in front of the Inn would at least which would attract some attention, and possibly some costumers.

At the same time, Sora would be able to watch, but Thomas and Sora didn’t really want to explain why she wouldn’t leave the Inn on her own.

---

Walking to the place Motoko called home, Thomas felt amazed at the long stairs. No doubt, running back and forth across these to get to home was a great exercise, and as such, his expectations were set quite high.

Maybe, Motoko was ever better than him, but Thomas couldn’t really say. Whatever the case may be, life just had gotten a whole lot more interesting.

Once the steps had been conquered, Thomas was met with a huge house. It looked like a dorm of sorts, but it looked quite nice in its traditional styling.

“:You pervert!:” Someone yelled out. Followed by the hugest crash Thomas had heard to date.

Thomas didn’t need any translations on the word ‘Hentai’ referring to a ‘Pervert’. He was more amazed at the noise, because it put the sound of an aircraft crashing down into the earth to shame.

“What was that?”

“Someone just got called a pervert.” Motoko answered.

“I understood the Hentai part. But I mean what was that noise?”

“From the sound of it, that must have been Naru-san sending her husband into orbit.”

At that point, Thomas swallowed. It made him wonder if all the regular girls were like that, but if that was true, he would really wonder at Motoko’s skill with a blade.

“Why are you looking so nervous.”

Thomas coughed. “Never mind.” He answered. It felt strange to him. Thomas had never felt this way. Just imagine that, the greatest warrior inside the army he served as a rear admiral that went on missions with the regular soldiers felt nervous because a pair of woman, while he survived countless fights to the death. In truth, he feared nothing, the only fear he had was the fear of Losing Sora, his family.

All things considered, Thomas just knew he was headed into trouble.

Following Motoko into the building, Thomas saw the destruction that appeared to be the aftermath of whatever caused the lady to yell so loud. He saw a man who looked like a university professor making repairs to the building.

In a way, Thomas didn’t envy him. But in another way, hauling off all the rubble would have been a great workout for him.

“:Motoko!:” A girl, sounding quite happy, jumped down from the first floor, diving straight down to Motoko.

Motoko caught her, if only just. “:Sue, don’t do that.:”

In response the girl just laughed. “:Guess what, Keitaro says my grades are getting better.:”

Motoko smiled “:That’s good to hear.:”

At that point, the girl looked past Motoko. Spotting Thomas, a lad appearing to be about the same age as Motoko, kind of set Thomas and Motoko up.

“:Are you going on a date?:”

“:I don’t date!:”

“:Hey mister! Are you two going on a date!:” Thomas just raised an eyebrow at the girl. “:Are you going to get married!?:”

“:Sue, Stop it.:”

“Please tell me what this girl is so worked up about?” Thomas said with utter confusion.

“:Doesn’t he speak Japanese?:”

Motoko sighed. “:He is a foreigner, we just came to get my wooden swords.:”

“Miss Motoko? I kind of feel left out on a loop here.”

“It has no importance.” She answered.

“Very well.” Thomas said.

From the looks of things, this could take a while. As such, he just spread his legs a little and folded his hands on his back like he always did when standing Idle for a while. The commotion seemed to attract even more attention, something Thomas wasn’t all too fond of. However, the prospect of a sparring match was worth it he guessed. Still, he wished that he was already actually doing the match.

For some reason, there was only one man present in the house, together with 5 girls.

One of the girls and the man were married, and some of them looked quite young. Not old enough to be married yet, and not young enough to be the daughters of the married couple.

Somehow, all this didn’t add up to Thomas. But as he had always done, he just took things with a grain of salt while keeping his smile.

They eyed him out a few times as he stood. And one of the girls looked extremely curious. It was as if she knew him, recognized him even.

“May I ask you your last name?” Motoko asked.

“Dutch.” Thomas answered. “But feel free to use Oranda, instead.”

Thomas didn’t know what it mattered anyway, though it was funny. A lot of times, the Japanese would have an extremely hard time to pronounce his last name. Sora adopted Thomas his last name, but seeing as the pronunciation was to hard, they got used to the Japanese word that referred to Dutch nationality. As it was the only suitable translation for the last name.

Just as he had said that, one of the girls started to cause a commotion about it. Ranting off in words Thomas couldn’t understand, jaws started to drop left and right. Thomas didn’t care much about that. He turned around to face the sky outside. If this didn’t hurry up, it would be dark before Thomas knew it. And for some odd reason, Thomas couldn’t help but feel that his presents only made things progress slower.

At that point, he wondered how long he had been away. He didn’t like to leave Sora alone for too long as such he made the decision.

“Miss Motoko, I am going back to the Inn now. No disrespect but just standing here while you all talk is making me bored, in addition however, I don’t like leaving my wife along for extended periods of time. So I’ll meet you at the Inn once you have retrieved your swords. Is that alright?”

Motoko nodded. “Yes, see you there.”

With a final nod, Thomas released his stance and walked off, leaving the crowd.

He was never a fan of crowds, they were way too noisy, and they restricted movement easily.

Coming to the steps, Thomas noticed the distinct edge on the side. It was perfectly straight and smooth. Seeing an old tree, he kicked off a piece of bark.

And before anyone could blink, he was grinding the edge of the steps as he descended down the steps, back to his wife. By standers stood in awe as he did this. Grinding like that was dangerous. To Thomas, it was a walk in the park.

Arriving at the bottom of the steps, Thomas jumped up, kicked the piece of bark into the bushes, before he landed square on his feet. Looking back at the steps, he could see everybody that was on it was still eyeing him out. Thomas just smiled and gave a two fingered salute before he walked off again.

---

Finally, now that Thomas stood in front of the Inn with training swords, He understood what the commotion about his last name was about. Apparently, he had made his way into the book at the university. Though he didn’t know what literature or subject he was mentioned in, Thomas couldn’t really be made to care.

“This should be fun.” Thomas said as he waved has sword around a few times.

“Fun isn’t a word that I would use, Rear Admiral.” Motoko answered.

“Please leave my military status out of it.”

“Indeed, I will enjoy beating you.” Motoko said as she took her stance.

Thomas gave a chuckle as he too got in his ready stance. “Bring it, don’t sing it.” He taunted.

Motoko went on the offensive. Thomas played defensive. As Motoko rushed forward, Thomas simply jumped up and over her in an awesome display of speed and agility. For added kicks, Thomas made a loop in the air. Being above Motoko upside down, he tapped her in the head with a single finger for added insult.

Right when he landed, Motoko had come to a halt and she swung around, striking out at Thomas. Thomas his natural talent of feeling things coming from behind came into play as he blocked the attack for his left shoulder blade without even needing to look.

As a counter, Thomas jumped once again, up and over Motoko, trying to give her a gentle poke with his sword. It failed.

Motoko had blocked it and increased her distance. Thomas stood in front of her, both out of striking range. Motoko had a few drips of sweat on her forehead. Thomas just stood there, totally at ease, not worried or tired.

“Saying that you have a jumpy personality and attitude would be a lie and an understatement at the same time.” Motoko said.

Thomas grinned as he flung his sword around, coming into an offensive stance. “Agreed, but your reaction time could use some work.” He answered

From the side line, Sora gasped. She had heard of Thomas his skill, but she had never seen it first hand.

“:This is so unreal!:” The girl named Shinobu, the one who recognized Thomas, exclaimed.

“:I know that Motoko is a better fighter then me, but that man is giving her a hard time already.:” The lord of the house said.

Sora chuckled. “:From the stories I have heard, he is holding back.:”

All eyes among the crowd gathered on Sora. After which they returned to the fight.

“What are the winning rules again? Best out of three?” Thomas asked.

“Yes.” Motoko answered, feeling slightly nervous.

Thomas could smell her being nervous, and he himself couldn’t believe that he felt nervous a while ago. This was easy, though a bit too easy then he’d liked.

“Here I come!” Thomas exclaimed as he shot forward.

With his blade behind him, Thomas rushed forwards while he switched from his regular hold no the weapon, to a back handed one.

Wielding the sword back handed, with the thumb towards the end of the hilt instead of toward the blade was perfect for heavy but fast hitting, though it did limit his striking range.

As he rushed, Motoko got defensive. But worry cluttered her mind from doing it cleanly. Thomas his speed was phenomenal, she knew for sure that she herself wouldn’t be able to run that fast and she doubted that her older sister could either.

Though Thomas his charge seemed so plain, in reality it wasn’t. Thomas wasn’t intent on ending the fight so fast. As Thomas closed in, he started to swing his sword early.

It alerted Motoko to where he was aiming at, and she blocked it right away.

Though the block was successful, Thomas had gotten the effect he wanted. The strike came so hard, it knocked Motoko off her feet. Grabbing hold of the tip of his own sword, he tapped her with the hilt.

“Gotha.” He said. Adding insult to injury.

On the sideline, Sora huffed. “:Show off.:” she said.

On lookers that were rooting for Motoko swallowed.

Having nailed her a first time, Thomas walked back to his starting position, allowing her to get up in peace.

“That was a strong attack.” Motoko allowed as she stood up.

“Thank you.” Thomas answered.

“But I have a trick of my own.” She said with a nasty grin. “You ready?”

“Born ready.” Thomas answered as he took defensive once again.

Motoko took an aggressive stance, and before Thomas his very eyes, something happened that he had never seen before.

A shockwave was approaching. One that was hard to see, even for him.

With one swing of her sword, while yelling something he couldn’t understand, Motoko had created a tidal wave of Ki energies.

Ki energy is termed as the physical energy of a warrior, the more Ki some one has, the more powerful they are. Though Thomas was powerful as well, he never learned to control his Ki, and now, the results were apparent.

Try as he might, Thomas couldn’t block the attack. The energy wave just went past his sword, but hit him full on. The wave was so powerful, that Thomas lost his footing and fell onto his rear.

“A rear admiral falling into his rear, how ironic.” Motoko taunted. Her friends started cheering because she won this round.

Sora watched as they applauded her and everything. Strangely, as Thomas lay on the ground, she could see him laughing. “That was a good one.” He said while standing up. “I didn’t think you had anything on me, but I guess I need to get serious with you.”

Motoko’s eyes shot wide open. If it wasn’t for her nerves gripping the hilt of the wooden sword she was holding, she would have dropped it. “You mean…” She started with a nervous tone. “You were holding back?”

Thomas chuckled malevolently as he now fully stood up, with the wooden training sword in hand. “Let’s get it on.”

“I’m, ready…” she answered.

The next thing that happened was phenomenal; Thomas shot forward like a speeding bullet, racing toward Motoko, like he was a car, wanting to turn an unexpected moose into road kill.

Within a matter of seconds, Thomas disappeared from her sight. While she looked around, a tap came from behind.

It was only a small tap, but enough to end the fight.

“:he’s really fast!:”

Sora huffed a new. “:He is, because he is used to dodging bullets…:” Sora said, with a hint of bitterness filling her voice.

The realization was with Sora, that Thomas couldn’t keep living with her. That he would have to return to active duty again. And all she could do at that time was waiting for either him to come home, or to receive a letter from the army instead of himself.

“:You don’t sound too happy about such an amazing feat.:” the land lord said.

“:I am not, because he is a soldier…:”

---

It was evening now in Japan, Thomas and Sora were riding back home.

Sora had since fallen asleep, but Thomas didn’t really care. He just did what he had too, like driving them home. As he looked to a car on his left, he saw a man and a woman chat happily with each other. It struck Thomas as strange, because this felt more like a duty to him than anything else. But it wasn’t duty as a military man, but as a husband to its wife.

It made Thomas wonder if he was even doing it all right. Taking care of Sora, just being there, Thomas wondered if he was being a good husband to her. Strangely, he had the feeling that Sora found him rather dull, because he didn’t talk an awful lot. But then, what was he supposed to say? ‘Guess what hunny, I had a heck of a day at work today, I had to kill over nine thousand people in the most brutal ways you can imagine.’ Wasn’t the best conversation he could have.

No, No one would be interested in that. Some people aren’t fit to see the carnage that was war. Some could be trained to be fit for it, other were naturally fit for such. Thomas was born for combat, but the life of a husband nagged at him. It nagged in the back of his mind, as if he was heading into an unknown situation feet first. On the flip side, it was what pulled Thomas toward it even more. Taking risks, feeling adrenalin in his veins. The only thing that would make it even more complete would be the smell of blood, as it poured out of his victims as he bounced around the battle field like a raging bull. But that was only a small price to pay.

Having driven yet another 2 and half hours, Thomas finally pulled up to the sidewalk in front of their home. It was already way past 10 O’clock, and as such, Sora was sleeping soundly. The streets were quite, not a sole making even a single noise. Being too good husband he was, he just let Sora sleeping, as he gently carried her out of the car, and into the house.

Getting up to the bed room, Thomas undressed Sora to her underwear. After which he tucked her into bed. However, he himself wouldn’t be joining her this night. Thomas took the clothing and deposited it into a basket along with the rest of the laundry.

Before he did anything else, he peeked through the doors crack. Though the lights were off, he could see as clear as day, if only with his left eye. The Cybernetic replacement was fitted with Infrared as well. Which Thomas now used to see while all lights were out.

She was sleeping soundly still.

And that’s how he left her. Thomas headed outside to workout. Though it was now 11 in the evening, Thomas actually went to get a workout and some training to keep his skills attuned.

Thinking too much caused him headache’s, training and working out eased his mind as powerful muscles flexed, and his weight was being thrown around.

As he worked out however, his mind still drifted to Leona, his sister. Thomas always wondered what happened to her, but he never found out about it all. As far as he knew, Leona was assumed to be dead, but how well was that statement backed up? She or her remains had ever been found, so there wasn’t a real hint of truth in that one.

He wanted answers to that mystery, and the only way to get those, was to investigate it himself.

Leona, what happened to you? Thomas wondered. If you are still alive after all these years, then I will find you… He promised.