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He blocked the kick and I pushed off of his raised arm and spun in the air, letting my book bag swing up so as I spun around I could snap it out towards his groin. He turned to take it on the hip, and I think I surprised him for once when the bag continued to spin because I had held onto the strap.

A spin that let me try to put a back kick into his kidneys, which failed as he jumped over my leg with a backflip, to land on his feet.

Rather than use a technique to recover, he spun his leg out to try to trip them, then came up as I leaped over his foot. As he came up he lunged forward with a flat palm toward my belly with a shout.

Only to turn the trusting palm into a twisting stand as he grabbed Neal who had jumped forward with a shout of “Hey!” before Uncle Dave spun him around and send him flying twenty feet away to land butt first on one of the bleacher seats with a grunt and a shocked look.

My Uncle glanced from him to the punch I tried to get in as he finished his spin. As he tried to twist my fist he stopped it with his open hand, he asked, "That won't hurt him right?"

I shook my head as I slipped my fist free. “Not for long.”

He grinned, or what passes for grinning for him, a sort of thinning of his lips. “Endurance, that would be a good thing in a boyfriend.”

Then he winked at me.

“Ugh! Stop it. Stop being gross.” He slapped aside my fist as I tried to pull back and got a knee into my guts that lifted me up five feet and sent me flying back another ten. Then he jumped forward to try to drive a fist into me while I was in the air.

I used it to twist my momentum to the side and land ten feet from him. As he set down, he took his instructor stance and nodded his head behind me.

Nearly everyone in the gym was on their feet and looking ready for a fight.

I smiled. It was nice to see so many people ready to back up someone who was almost a complete stranger to them. “It’s okay, he just playing. He’s not even using any techniques. Are you okay Neal?”

Neal nodded and then sat back down, shifting his shoulder around while pressing one hand up against his back.

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Uncle Dave turned with his hand behind his back and looked around the room. “I am David Ichiban. The training master of House Itchiban for the last fifty years. Sara is my grand niece and my number one student. I have hopes that she will one day replace me once she has passed her fiftieth birthday and is mature enough to have mastered all of House Itchiban's Techniques."

He stepped up next to me as I stared at him in shock. He turned his head to look down at me for a moment with an almost gentle smile before he turned his head back to the Werewolves with a stern look.

“Techniques are not for you. They require the ability to use your Chi, your magic, freely. Your condition uses all of your magic, leaving nothing to use outside of the Curse."

That started some comments, so my Uncle brought his hand around in front of him, each hand as hard as iron as he clapped them together with the sound of two stone slabs crashing together.

“But, you are strong, fast, and tough. As well as some of you having other tricks.” He gave Del an almost approving look. "You can still learn to fight on a level that will resemble something out of the most cheesy martial arts action movies Hong Kong or Hollywood can produce.”

He gave them an evil grin. “Your greatest strength is that your instructors can train you quickly and fully since they don’t have to hold back due to your ability to heal quickly from any injury.”

My Uncle looked at me again. “Can they heal from dismemberment?”

I sighed. "They can, some of them, but even then they have to wait until the full moon to heal on that level."

He frowned. “Hmm. Somewhat limiting. Still, your father can at least get serious just before the full moon. I shall get him a lunar calendar as a Dojo warming gift.”

Some of the Werewolves now looked a bit concerned.

I waved at them. “It’s okay everybody. This is just his sense of humor.” They looked at me, then at my Uncle’s tight lipped smile. I don’t think they entirely believed me.

Neal raised his hand, “Ah, are you going to be teaching at the Dojo.”

Uncle Dave shook his head sadly, “No, but I may bring some of my students over a few times a year to train against someone new. But…” he seemed to brighten up. “They will get to use their techniques. It will give all of you who become John’s students and chance to learn how to deal with them.”

I turned toward my Uncle. "Where is he anyways? You said he was coming as well.”

My Uncle turned to me and brought his hand out from behind his back, showing he was ready to spar again. “He hates seeing his little girl getting beaten up. Remember, no techniques. Your father wants them to see how people as strong and fast as them with training can fight.

We got serious and mostly stopped holding back, or at least I did. I don’t think I could beat Uncle Dave if he went full out, but I think I could at least put up a fight.

I had several bruises and was worn out by the time Uncle Dave was done with me. My new workout clothes were ripped, I had lost some of the treads on my new sneakers from pushing off from the walls, and I was soaked with sweat. All this over the course of ten minutes.

It was great, aside from my Uncle berating me the entire time for being out of practice and swearing to discipline my Mom for letting me slack. “You leave my Mom alone bully!

Meanwhile, we had a real conversation by screaming at each other in Japanese. I thanked him for doing this since it let me show off in front of the Werewolves what I could do, and then chewed him out in real anger for teasing me about Neal.

In response to which he teased me some more, and I punched a hole in the floor. Which is when we decided to stop.

As I was catching my breath he told me, “Finish saying goodbye to your friends. Then I’ll drive you home, you need to get cleaned up before you sit down with the enemy.”

What now?

I tried to answer some questions, got teased by Del about busting up the floor, and then got walked toward the door by my neighbor Dare under the excuse that my Uncle was waiting one me.

He stopped outside the door to the gym. “One more question?”

I nodded.

He looked around for anyone listening in, before finally looking back at me and asking in a low whisper, “Is your Uncle single?”