Myka's Tail Ch. 04

I think I might have surprised him as his widened eyes indicated shock as I sailed over his head. I managed to grab ahold of the collar of his gi and as I moved into a controlled fall I used my strength and momentum to pull him off of his feet and over my body to slam into the mat on his stomach. I knew I couldn't hesitate in that moment so I used my remaining velocity to summersault over his prone form and I took up a new stance when I landed.

Once he got up I could tell that he was cautious. That I had managed to change up the rules of the fight so drastically was quite unexpected. He was still coming in on the offensive but his strikes and maneuvers were more measured, allowing me to retaliate and make some contact of my own. I was also aware that I had moved into a hybrid fighting style that I knew I had never learned before, but the continued tingle in my arms and legs told me I could trust it. I was moving and shifting between what I would later learn were the mantis and tiger forms of kung-fu, and I was mixing it with the Kenpo that Sensei Rick taught.

I had the upper hand now, even though my other dad looked to be pushing me around at his whim. I was actually using my defensive actions to move us closer to one of the support pillars near the edge of the mat, and it was there that I was going to try and end the match. I continued to shuffle and move back bit by bit until I had us positioned where I wanted to be, and then I struck. I leaped back and to the side, planting my foot into the floor and pushing off towards the pillar. I made contact with the cold steel of the support with my other foot and used my push off to put me into a spinning round house kick that I hoped would hit him in the head.

It was a good strategy, but he was just too good and managed to move his arm up to block the kick in time, but I noticed that time had almost slowed down enough for me to react even faster. I was able to pull my kick back into my body before it made contact, though I kept moving through my turn. As I rotated, his arm came down and I could see that he was preparing to either strike or sweep as I landed, but with very little thought I lashed out with my tail and struck him across the eyes. I don't remember ever using my tail during training or sparring matches before, other than for balance, but I knew I was supposed to use it now.

My other dad sputtered as I landed, trying to regain his lost vision from my tail strike, and I took full advantage. I did a quick sweep of his leg and made sure to strike his thigh with a strong punch as he went down, and I thrust my hand towards his exposed throat as he landed and began the struggle to get up. I was able to pull my punch so that all he felt was the light brush of my knuckles as they gently caressed his skin, and Sensei called the match as Kelli's dad chose to remain on the ground.

I was breathing harder than I had in my life, and I was near trembling as I helped him off of the mat. We bowed to each other and to Sensei before taking our places on the outside of the fighting area. I looked at the clock on the wall and I realized that the fight had taken just under three minutes, and as I played over everything in my head I wondered how I could have accomplished what I had. I knew that, all things being equal, I should not have won against the way Kelli's dad had fought, and that thought scared me a little. I really wanted to avoid handing out another uncontrolled beating like the one I had given Mathias in Scotland. It was probably the thing I was most afraid of now. I did not want to become a killer like him.

The good thing was it was over now and Sensei and his other black belts were conferring together about the evening's tests. I knew that it would not take very long for them to come to a decision on who had passed and who hadn't, and the reality was that Sensei never let you test until you were ready. In the two years that I had been at the dojo I had never seen anyone fail a test. There were many who were told they had things to work on, but anyone who was allowed to test passed. I decided to step off to the side and grab a quick drink while the discussion was going on and as I was finishing up from my water bottle I felt the warming comfort of a pair of strong arms as they wrapped around me.

"That was really amazing little girl," my dad complimented as he hugged me to his chest. "I think you even impressed Steve."

"I hope so," I replied, clearly nervous. "I kinda went off track there at the end and used some skills that weren't taught here. I'm hoping they will overlook that."

"What are you talking about?"

"Dad, the entire last minute of that match I was using forms and strikes that I saw in some movies that I watched a few weeks ago. Did you see my war-face come out?"

"You mean that black and red mask around your eyes," he asked, and I nodded with a knot of fear sitting in my stomach. "I don't know really what that is, other than you and Kelli have said it's the primal part of you coming out and making itself known."

"Yeah, that's one way to put it," I acknowledged with a sigh. "That night in Scotland, when we finally broke free from the chains, I found Mathias and I nearly beat him to death with my fists dad."

By now I had tears flowing down my face, and the memories of that night were hammering my psyche like a storm surge. I was glad that my dad pulled me into an even tighter embrace then.

"And as much as I tell myself that I was out of control, and that my actions were justified because of the circumstances, I knew what I was doing dad. I knew. And a part of me really liked it."

"Little girl, I want you to listen to me for a minute. Just listen to me for a minute. Can you do that," dad asked, and I nodded to let him know I was listening.

"This is a story I have not told anyone, ever. Not your mom, not Steve or Amanda. It is a secret that I have held tight to until now."

Dad took a deep breath and let it out slowly, as if he was mentally preparing to run a marathon, and I knew that this burden he carried was something very serious.

"Back in junior high school and my freshman year of high school I was already in love with your mother," he started, and I gave him a nod to continue.

"Of course you already know that because we both talk about it a lot. What you don't know is that there was a boy named Billy Teague who liked to give your mom, and other girls in the school, a hard time. I still don't know why, but I believe that he learned much of it at home, from his parents' relationship."

"Anyway, I came across Billy talking to a group of his friends about how he had managed to cause your mom to trip and fall into her lunch at school one day, and they were all laughing about how it served her right, and she should just leave and go to the "special" school."

"Needless to say I was pissed, and I hid nearby and waited until they were going home. Eventually Billy broke off from the others to head to his house, but he didn't know I was following until I shoved him as hard as I could from behind."

"When he rolled over to try and sit up I jumped on him and started pounding him with my fists as hard as I could, and I was shouting to him that he would leave your mom alone and never bother her again. I kept punching and punching until that wasn't enough and then I got up and kicked him several times for good measure."

"In the end I gave him a sprained knee, a broken arm, 3 broken ribs, and two dislocated fingers. He had a black eye and a number of cuts and bruises, and a crushed testicle. If I had gone on any longer I probably would have killed him, but the thought of what your mom would say to me if she knew what I had done stopped me before it got that far."

"What happened then," I asked with eager curiosity.

"Well, the story that was passed around was that he was doing some climbing and fooling around at one of the ravines in our neighborhood, and he had slipped and fell down a fifty foot drop or so. I am sure he told this story because he couldn't let it be known that he got beat up by one of the freshman nerd squad."

"No one ever found out the truth, and Billy never bothered your mother again, and now there are a total of three people that I am aware of that know this story."

"Wow," I breathed in utter surprise. "I really wouldn't have guessed."

"So I tell you this, little girl, so that you understand that sometimes we have to tap into that inner beast that knows nothing but how to rage and hurt. Properly harnessed and controlled, it can be the difference in a life or death situation."

"But that's the thing, dad," I nearly cried. "I don't have it under control."

"I think you have a better handle on it than you think. In that last minute or so of your fight, I think you really could have hurt Steve badly if you had wanted to, but you didn't. And the moment you had won, I saw your mask disappear and that primal side of you backed off."

"That's not to say you don't need to practice more or hone your control anymore, but I think you have a larger strength over that side of you than many other people do."

"Do you really think so dad?"

"I do. And I will tell you this as well. If you or your mom, Steve or Amanda, or Kelli, were ever in any danger or had any sort of problem, I would be there. I would cross a lake of hellfire and knives on my hands and knees to protect those that are mine to defend and love. And that is an unbreakable promise little girl."

And with that I realized that my dad had again made me feel better as he always does, and he pulled me in for one last hug before turning me around to the mat again.

"I think they are ready for you now," he whispered and gave me a push towards where everyone was waiting.

Indeed everyone was waiting for me to return and take my place for the awarding of new ranks. The entire class stood at attention as those who would receive their new belts were called out in groups based on rank, and each group was given advice and congratulations from Sensei and his black belts. We all cheered and congratulated the students who had ranked, and there were more than a few grins on people's faces. And soon enough, I was called to the front of the class.

Sensei congratulated me on achieving my third stripe, and advised me that I would have a hefty increase in my duties as an instructor for the lower belts. I was admonished to be an example for them and to teach both actively and by example, and I was instructed to maintain a rigorous level of continual practice so that I would be ready for my black belt test in six months' time. And at the end of Sensei's speech a third black stripe was added to my belt with a great deal of cheering and whistling from the other students.

Kelli's dad then pulled me into a hug and congratulated me as well before he steered me over to an empty corner of the dojo. Sensei Rick joined us, and I realized that they both wanted to talk to me.

"That was a great fight little girl," my other dad said in praise, and Sensei nodded his agreement.

"It was indeed an impressive match Myka," Sensei commented. "I did not know you had taken it upon yourself to study kung-fu, though."

"Yeah, about that," I replied, again nervous about possibly having done something wrong. "Sensei, you know and understand that I have some skills and abilities that are better than normal. You've even commented on them every so often."

"Are you saying that was always something you could do," Kelli's dad asked.

"Not until tonight. A couple of weeks or so ago, I watched a marathon of Jet Li, Jackie Chan, and other martial arts movies on TV. And when you came at me tonight, something clicked and I was able to use what I remember seeing."

"So you don't really know the types and styles of the kung-fu you were using earlier," Sensei said, half in question and half in statement. "I may need to have you meet with another friend of mine who teaches kung-fu. I normally don't recommend mixing the training of styles until after you achieve black belt in your first, but if you are picking up moves from movies I would rather you learn the proper techniques versus the choreographed film fighting. I think I am also going to start you on weapons training a few months early too."

"Really Rick," and Kelli's dad seemed surprised. "Why, and what weapon would you recommend?"

"As to the why, like I told you earlier, I think she should already be a black belt, but the Federation wants there to be a wait period in between ranks. She is ready, and having weapons training will give her some extra focus. As for a type of weapon, I was thinking of Eskrima."

"Yeah. Eskrima would play to her strengths, and it can be adapted for knives, short sticks, all sorts of improvised weapons."

"That's what I was thinking. Sort of a catch all weapon that has multiple uses."

"Umm...," I interjected. "What is Eskrima?"

Kelli's dad walked over to one of Sensei's weapons racks and came back with a pair of sticks just over two feet long. They looked solid and were about an inch and a half in diameter.

"These are Eskrima batons," he said, and made a few simple maneuvers with them. "They are short and fast, and the techniques for using them can be applied to several types of short weapons like knives and other things."

"I think you would excel at Eskrima," Sensei replied. "You are fast, you move very fluidly, and your style would really be best matched with a weapon in both hands at once. In competition you would be nearly impossible to beat, and if you were in an actual fight... Let's just say that you would be the only one to walk away if you used these."

"But you always tell us to avoid fighting at all costs Sensei."

"And I still do, and you better keep that rule close to your heart. But Steve has talked to me in some pretty vague terms about who and what you are, and some of the challenges you might face. I don't know very much at all, but if anyone here in this dojo is going to be forced into a fight, I am afraid it will be you."

Kelli's dad pulled me into a tight hug as Sensei put his hand on my shoulder in comfort.

"We know this scares you little girl, but your dad, Rick, and I all want you to be safe. But we also want you prepared for when you aren't safe."

And with those words, and the advice that dad had given me previously, I suddenly felt the weight of worry lift from my shoulders only to be replaced by the weight of greater responsibility. I had a lot of people I cared about, and at least two enemies that I knew of. It was a sobering thought, but I decided then and there to be ready to do what I had to do to protect those I loved. I would have to work at being in control when I did so, but I knew that when the time came I would be prepared.

Dad came over finally, and the four of us talked for a few minutes longer about my progress and the plans for my future training, and the possibility of getting into a few of the upcoming competitions in the area. Eventually, however, Sensei had to go and get the paperwork finalized for all of the student's rank advancements, and both of my dads decided that they really needed to get home. We made our goodbyes, and stepped out into the cool night air which felt wonderful on my sweaty skin.

The ride home was much less of a harrowing experience due to the fact that I was no longer pressed for time, and I was really too worn out to want to yank my dads' chains. We talked about the test, and how I had really surprised Steve with my acrobatics, and he felt that he owed me an apology. Apparently he was trying to make sure that I was training to a very high level, and he went all out to push me so that he could measure how well I had learned to fight. Not only did we find out that I could certainly hold my own, we also figured out a possible new ability that we didn't know about yet.

Even with the seriousness of the conversation, it was nice to just spend a little extra time with my dads, because being grown up seemed to take some of that away. We spent some time discussing my plans after I graduated, and I told them I had been accepted to the PhD program in ecology. I told them that yes, it was mostly a product of the two new aspects that I had inherited from the dying twins in Scotland, but that didn't mean that I liked it any less. It was funny, too, that once I had settled on biology as my major, I found that I was really good at it. Who knew?

It was a bummer, however, that the dojo was not terribly far from our apartment, and all too soon we were back in our small parking lot. I had really wanted to keep talking with them for a while longer, but both of my dads insisted that there was a lot they needed to do back at their houses, and they also didn't want to get in trouble with mom. As much as I wanted to keep them around that night, I knew that they really would be in trouble if they didn't head back, and having been there before I didn't push things.

There was a surprise waiting for us when we walked in the door, and it left both my dads standing with mouths open wide. Kelli was in the living room under the watchful eye of Cassandra, and she was juggling what appeared to be golf ball sized spheres of flame. I say juggling, but in reality her hands and arms were not moving at all. Only the burning orbs were moving, and they shifted their positions in a sinuous and hypnotic pattern.

To her credit, Kelli did not pay us the slightest heed as we came in the door, even when her dad let out a very loud holy shit. From her faster than normal heartbeat that I could now hear, and the sweat I noticed on her forehead, and from the feelings I was receiving over our bond, I knew she was at the extreme limits of her concentration. From what I could see Kelli was managing to keep perhaps six flame spheres going at once, but the difficulty in following their movement meant that it could also be five or maybe seven. I wasn't exactly sure.

Moments after we entered the room Cassandra gave a flick of her hand and created another burning ball that inserted itself into Kelli's pattern. I could feel her frustration at this added difficulty, and a few seconds after that the flow of the flames seemed to lose cohesion and the spheres disappeared in tiny wisps of smoke. I could feel Kelli's increasing irritation with what she felt was an inability to keep control of her magic, and her worry that she had seriously disappointed Cassandra.

"I am sorry for letting my thoughts wander Ma'am," Kelli said, and bowed her head in apology. "I let myself become distracted when my family came back in."

"I am full aware of why you lost focus my dear, and you really need to practice keeping it while under distraction," Cassandra chided in an almost motherly voice. "And hello to you Myka. I trust things went well this evening?"

"They went very well," I replied as I moved in to wrap my arms around Kelli to give her some needed comfort. "I passed my test with flying colors and received my next rank up."

"That is wonderful to hear. And who do we have here with you?"

"Ahh... Cassandra these are our dads," I said to her by way of introduction. "This is Dan Carlisle and Steven Harrison. And this, my wonderful fathers, is Cassandra, one of the senior members of the Circle and Kelli's instructor in all things magic this evening."

Both of our dads went and shook Cassandra's in greeting, and she gave both a polite nod in return. It was clear that she had hoped to be done before we got back, and I was not sure how she would react to others witnessing magic being performed.

"Forgive me dear sirs for ignoring you at first, but I did need to finish the exercise we were doing. Normally I would be somewhat cross that the girls had brought someone here who might witness things they shouldn't see."