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My Mom got a hold of my hair for a moment as she tried to get a knee into my guts. I got my forearm between us and pushed her knee aside before she was able to get any force into it. A spell I had worked out with Grandma Bree that made my hair nearly frictionless so I jerked my head down out of her grip and nearly got her in the chin as I whipped my head back up.

She stepped away. “Your father is going to get weird about you going to a dance. He will be proud that you are confident enough to go, and… he will be jealous.”

I began to circle her in what we called the family room, an open area with wooden flooring off of the kitchen with the piano nook on one end, the little greenhouse on the other, and a fireplace opposite the kitchen.

Uncle Dave had nodded in approval when he saw the place. “Fire opposite water, air opposite earth and wood. You will train yourself in the center of the world.”

I had considered that, “What about metal?”

He grinned at me as he reached out to press his fingertip above my heart, then my forehead. "Here, and here.”

I circled my Mom, “Why would he be jealous?”

She gave me a disappointed look. “You are living his dream, doing normal kid stuff. Teaching children in his Dojo will be the closest he has ever come to getting to play.” Then she started chasing me around the room with a series of punches, elbow strikes, low kicks, and foot stomps. "This is what the Winter Tong will throw at you. Counter it!"

I started blocking at angles, pushing her with the motion of her blows to force her to take more time to recover from her strikes.

Outside I heard my Dad’s van pull up, a Nissan Quest that had gotten my Mom to start mocking him, “Really John, a wife wasn’t enough, even your car has to be Japanese?”

He had grew up on martial arts films, it had left a mark on him.

With a mutual nod, Mom and I bowed to signal it was the end of the training. I had also made it clear to both of my parents that I lose all trust in them if they tried to sucker punch me after formally ending about. I would be safe from a surprise attack at least until I was done helping to clean up after dinner.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

I wiped off some sweat with my towel and went to greet my Dad at the door. Surprising him with a nod as he stepped in, then a full body hug. "I'm sorry you never got to go to a dance. Or play a sport. Or be a band geek. You deserved... everything."

He had been on guard at first, braced in case I tried to throw him or something. Then he relaxed and pulled me in tight. But I kept holding on tight to him because it was hard to yell at someone when you’re hugging them.

I told him, “Neal asked me to go with him to homecoming, I said yes, but I’m going to tell him we have to go as a group so it isn’t a date. Can you drive us?”

He made an irritated sound, then lifted me off my feet before walking us over to the kitchen to talk to my Mom. “Did you put her up to that?”

I heard her laugh. "Nope. But I have been teaching her to come up with a counter for a variety of styles. It may have gotten her thinking strategically.”

Dad tried to set me down, only to have me hang on to him. “Are you letting go anytime soon?”

I shook my head, still buried in his shoulder, side to side. “Not until you’re not mad.”

He sighed and gave me a quick squeeze before beginning to untangle me. “I’m not mad, but you should have asked us before you agreed to anything.”

I stepped back with a nod and sniff. Why was I tearing up? "He caught me by surprise, and I didn't want him to get all weird about it if I didn't lock him down with an acceptance. I figured it was better to tell him later that I had to tell him I was changing my mind because my parents told me I Had to, then have him ask someone else before I could talk to you…"

Dad shushed me, which left me sputtering. Then took a long hard look at the top of my head before reaching out to grab my hair between his fingertips. “Interesting, is that inner or outer magic.”

“I… don’t know. Grandma talked me through it when I asked her how to do it, it’s maybe a little of both.”

He got a weird look in his eyes, then nodded and smiled. “I am so proud of you.”

Great, there goes the waterworks again.

After a shower and dinner, hand made pizza rolls, Aran’s choice for his once a week pick, Dad coached me through some Kata's and showed me some of the moves he knew from the style of the groups he had gone up against from back when he participated in the tournaments.

He had dropped out from doing them when Mom had gotten pregnant with me and she had to stop and he didn’t think it was fair for him to go when she couldn’t.

But now? As we stopped to drink some water he looked over at the house. “I think your Mom is getting fired up, which is weird since she always felt like the fighting was just showing off and letting everyone know the best way to fight you. I think it might be because all her cousins and aunties always saying she would start acting like a proper lady after she had a few kids.”

I struck a fighting poise, “So I might have to go up against her someday.”

He shook his head. "No, they never have people from the same school fight each other. And I’m not going to let you join my school, you’re too far ahead of them.”

I hadn't really thought about being a part of his Dojo, and he had never sparred with me, ever. My Mom said he felt like he hurt my training by holding back too much. Instead, he threw me to Uncle Dave who just made sure I knew self healing techniques before he cranked up how hard he hit him.

He waved at me to head into the house, it had gotten dark enough for the mosquitoes to come out. Not that they could break my skin, but it was creepy feeling them crawling around on me.

"I will ask you to come in and spar with them once they start thinking they're bad asses. Getting knocked down by a little girl will keep their egos in check, and they may even learn something fighting someone closer to their skill."

I frowned at him and he gave me an apologetic shrug. "Relatively closer."