Three Square Meals Ch. 130

John considered that, mulling over the risks and benefits. "Alright, let's do it. We'll visit Jericho and Olympus first, then hit Mazaya before we leave for Maliri Space."

Alyssa kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for letting me handle it personally."

"They went after our friends. I want some payback too..."

Voices from the grav-tube reached his sensitive ears and John glanced across the Bridge to see Mateo and Emily rising up in the blue anti-gravity field. They stepped out, chatting animatedly together, then paused when they sensed the brooding atmosphere on the Command Deck.

"Is this a bad time?" Mateo asked, feeling like he was intruding.

"Not at all," John replied, forcing a smile. "Everything okay?"

The young man grinned. "I just wanted to let you know that the duel's about to start."

"Thanks, I'll head down there with you." John nodded to the twins and brushed fingers with Alyssa as he departed, walking past her and up the ramp towards the grav-tubes.

Alyssa followed him, then smiled at their guests as she ascended the Command Podium. "Come back later and I'll give you a tour of the Bridge."

"You're not going to watch the match?" Mateo asked, looking surprised.

She shook her head. "I don't like seeing the people I love hitting each other, even if it is only play fighting."

"See, I told you it was weird!" Emily exclaimed, darting a triumphant smile at her boyfriend.

John joined the couple in the grav-tube and they floated down to Deck Three. "What did you think of the Dojo?"

"I haven't seen it yet," Mateo explained, as their host led them into the corridor. "Callie said they'd meet us there. They're just getting showered and changed first."

"That's probably wise. I doubt those skimpy bikinis would handle the strain," Emily noted, flashing a cheeky grin at John.

He laughed, enjoying the delightful imagery that provoked. "Good point."

"Em... that's my sister you're talking about," Mateo protested.

"As if you'd be able to take your eyes off Sakura! So much for you just having a thing for blondes," she scoffed, before turning to pout at John. "Is being unreasonably tall and incredibly beautiful a requirement to serving on your crew? I don't think I've ever felt so short and dumpy!"

"Alyssa's in charge of recruitment," John replied, saying the oft-repeated phrase with tremendous satisfaction for once. "You'll have to direct your complaints to her."

Emily pretended to seriously consider it. "I might just do that."

*I know a way we could solve her self-esteem issues...* Alyssa purred, a teasing lilt to her voice.

*Yeah, I bet you do,* John replied, tapping the button to open the door at the end of the corridor. He gestured inside. "After you."

Mateo and Emily looked around the Dojo's armoury in fascination, studying the suits of armour and racks of wickedly-sharp weapons. While they were distracted, John walked over to the computer interface that controlled the Dojo's holographic settings and made some selections for the upcoming bout. When he was finished, John beckoned the couple into the main sparring area.

"Wow..." Mateo murmured in a hushed voice, staring in awe at the teakwood columns surrounding the Dojo and the magnificent view beyond.

Emily wandered out onto the training mats, then slowly turned, taking in the spectacular sight of the mountain range shrouded in fluffy white clouds. "This place is stunning! It actually feels like we're standing on top of a mountain!"

"It's Mount Daisen, isn't it?" Jack asked, as he entered the Dojo with Helene at his side.

John nodded in affirmation. "That's right. How did you know?"

"I visited Japan with Maria years ago," the older man replied, padding across the mats to stand beside Emily. He had changed into his sparring gear and looked much more at ease. "It's just as breathtaking as I remember."

There was an ominous rumble of thunder and the sky began to darken as grey storm clouds drew closer.

Helene jumped in surprise. "What was that?"

"A sign that the duel is about to start," John replied, having configured the storm to begin when the girls activated the armour-equipping frames. He reached for Helene's hand and led her away from the training mats. "Let's give them some room..."

Helene gently caressed his fingers as she sat down beside him, a warm smile on her pretty face. Jack, Mateo, and Emily joined them at the edge of the sparring area, their faces alight with curiosity. A jagged lightning bolt sizzled across the sky, followed a moment later by another boom of thunder, the bright flash highlighting an armoured figure as she stalked across the Dojo.

Calara was wielding a long-bladed naginata, the polearm whistling through the air as she spun it effortlessly in her hands. She moved through a series of kata, twirling the spear-like weapon around in graceful arcs before lunging forward in deadly thrusts. Her audience watched spellbound at the remarkable display of martial skill and even John was impressed by Calara's precision and speed, recognising the results of many hours spent training intensively with Sakura.

The storm was now raging overhead and had plunged the Dojo into an oppressive gloom, the darkness broken by sporadic flashes of lightning. With everyone's focus on Calara, they didn't notice Sakura's furtive entrance into the pagoda, but there was no missing the cartwheeling assassin as she backflipped across the floor towards her foe. Twin ninjato slashed through the air and crashed into Calara's naginata, the blades striking each other as a searing peal of thunder rocked the Dojo.

John felt Helene jump in fright and he darted a fond glance at the teal-hued beauty, who watched the two combatants with wide eyes. Despite Emily's earlier protestations, the blonde was just as captivated by the dramatic entrance, her hand over her mouth as she watched the battle in hushed silence. Jack and Mateo were leaning forward as if to get as close to the action as possible, their gaze following every sharp slash and scything blow.

Sakura struck out at Calara with a flurry of lightning-fast blows, forcing her opponent onto the defensive. The naginata whirled around to parry each stab with blade or shaft, a ringing retort echoing around the Dojo every time the weapons clashed. Despite Sakura's speed, Calara was still able to counterattack, letting the momentum of her polearm spin fluidly from a resounding parry into a ferocious overhead chop.

Now it was Sakura's turn to defend herself, blocking the onrushing blade with both swords. Having robbed the blow of its power, she held off the weapon with one ninjato, while stabbing at Calara's knee with the other. The Latina pivoted away on her back leg and brought the blade of her spear around in a sweeping slash that would have disembowelled a lesser opponent. Sakura was forced to drop to the mat, letting the naginata whistle overhead, the cutting edge missing her by inches. She launched herself upright like a coiled spring, then was back on the attack, searching for a weak point in Calara's robust defences.

Having observed Sakura's fighting style many times before, John watched the Asian swordmistress with interest. She attacked with her usual ferocity, hitting Calara with a relentless series of slices and thrusts that were designed to force her opponent back on their heels. It was a testimony to Calara's skill with a naginata that she was able to keep the deadly ninja at bay, her unusually long weapon giving her a surprising number of opportunities to reverse Sakura's assault.

Back and forth the combat raged, the Lionesses raining blows down on each other, the peal from their clashing blades almost as loud as the lightning splitting the heavens. Sakura lunged at her wily adversary, her whistling sword mere moments from impaling Calara's armoured thigh, only for it to be intercepted by the naginata's curved blade. Calara whipped the long weapon around and knocked the stabbing thrust aside, but instead of attacking with her second blade, Sakura twisted in the direction of the sweeping slash.

She parried the polearm's pommel as it swung down at her head, dropping down as she deflected the powerful blow. Her body was still turning as she moved with the momentum of the parry and she kicked Calara's legs out from under her using a bone-crunching sweep. Caught off balance, the Latina crashed to the mat on her back with a startled cry.

Sakura was on her in a flash, the razor-sharp point of her ninjato tapping Calara's armoured throat in what would have been a lethal coup de grace. The Latina held up a hand to acknowledge her defeat, conceding that her formidable opponent would have beheaded her if she'd struck with force. Sakura grinned and rose to her feet, then bowed to Emily before sheathing her ninjato and offering Calara a hand.

Enthralled by the spectacular duel, it took the stunned audience a moment to realise it was over.

"She did it!" Emily gasped, her eyes sparkling with delight. "My champion won!"

"Congratulations," Jack said with a wry smile. "You've earned the Fernandez seal of approval. You can continue dating my son."

Mateo laughed and pulled a giggling Emily into a hug, the young couple celebrating Sakura's victory with a kiss.

"That was amazing!" Helene exclaimed, gazing at her friends in awe.

"I thought you might find it interesting," John said with a smile. He raised an eyebrow and glanced at Helene's hand that was crushing his in a vice-like grip. "Could I have my hand back, honey? I want to talk to the girls."

Helene blushed as she released him. "Sorry!"

He leaned over to kiss her cheek, then rose to his feet and walked over to join the panting combatants. "Helene was right; that was an incredible performance. I can't believe how good you've become with a naginata, Calara. Sakura was very lucky to avoid those counterattacks."

"Thanks, John!" she gushed, grinning with delight at his warm praise. "I'm determined to defeat her eventually."

Sakura saw that Jack was approaching and quickly added, "Actually, it was unfair of me to choose to fight with weapons, considering how many years of experience I have. If we'd fought unarmed, the outcome would have been very different."

"It sounds like I'm in for a painful afternoon then," Jack said, patting his daughter on her pauldron and smiling at her affectionately. He looked each of the girls in the eye and continued with respect, "I've always been fascinated by martial weapon exhibition matches, but that was by far the most impressive I've ever seen. Thank you for putting on that demonstration."

"You're welcome!" they said together, the two duellists beaming back at him.

John put his arm around the Asian girl and said to Jack and Calara, "Would you mind if I borrow Sakura? I'd love to watch a sparring match between the two of you, but we need to do some important training."

"Go ahead, we'll see you at dinner," Calara replied, removing her helmet.

"Thanks, honey," John said, giving her a kiss goodbye. "Good luck in the match."

"Aren't you supposed to say that to the underdog?" she asked, grinning at her father.

Calara's eyes sparkled with excitement and John could see how much this meant to her. After years of having to sit back and watch as her father trained her brothers to fight, being able to challenge him to a sparring match was like a dream come true for the gorgeous brunette.

Mateo shook his head. "I never thought I'd see the day that Callie started smack talking you, dad. You're not going to stand for that are you?"

Jack raised an eyebrow. "You better go get changed for the fight, Princess Twinkle. Unless you feel safer in all that armour?"

Calara blushed, looking mortified. "Dad!"

John chuckled as he glanced at her curiously. "Princess Twinkle?"

"Don't say a word!" Calara blurted out, glaring at her father and brother. "I'm not kidding!"

With their laughter echoing around the pagoda, John and Sakura waved goodbye before heading into the Dojo's armoury.

"Aren't you putting on your training armour?" Sakura asked in surprise as John walked past his equipping frame.

"No, I think we should use our regular gear. Otherwise we'll never be able to hack through a hex shield."

Nodding her understanding, she moved over to an empty equipping frame and removed her armour.

As they made their way to the grav-tube, John glanced at Sakura. "Calara's progress with the naginata is very impressive in such a short time; you've taught her well."

"She's an excellent student," the Asian girl replied, smiling at the compliment.

"Do you normally hold back that much when you're sparring with her?" he asked, giving her a knowing look.

Sakura darted an anxious glance behind them.

"Don't worry, she didn't hear; they're all still in the Dojo," John said with a reassuring smile. "I doubt anyone else would have noticed. I only realised because I've fought you so many times."

"I could have ended that fight much faster, but it was an exhibition match and I wanted Calara to look good in front of her family," Sakura admitted, her brown eyes searching John's face for his reaction. "It's hard to learn from a superior opponent if they end the match as quickly as possible and I don't want to risk discouraging her. When Calara does finally beat me, she will have earned it."

"You're just a sweetheart aren't you?" he said, giving her an affectionate sideways hug. "You've actually got the opposite training style to Yamamoto; he seemed to delight in humiliating me with brutally quick decapitations."

"I think Yamamoto's technique worked for you, because it made you strive harder to defeat him. Calara loves sparring and I wouldn't want to risk dampening her enthusiasm by getting her that frustrated," Sakura explained. "Saying that, it's getting more difficult to beat her; it won't be long before she becomes a serious challenge."

John nodded as they entered the grav-tube. "She's a natural counter fighter. I've never seen anyone so good at taking advantage of their opponent's mistakes."

"That makes sense, considering the nature of her abilities." Sakura pondered her student for a moment. "Did you choose to give her Prescience because it fit Calara's nature, or did she change to adapt herself to the ability?"

"I think it was the former," John said, stepping out onto Deck Two with Sakura at his side. "Calara had a talent for exploiting tactical vulnerabilities long before I gave her psychic powers."

They strolled through the bedroom at the end of the corridor, then took the express grav-tubes down to the Armoury. Sakura remained quiet as they walked, lost in her thoughts.

She stopped by the closest equipping frame and looked at John with a worried frown. "Did you base my abilities on my personality too?"

"Did I give you Cryokinesis because you're such a frosty ice maiden?" John asked, before rolling his eyes and pulling her into a hug. "No, of course not, honey! You're fierce and remorseless to our enemies, but you've always been warm and caring towards me and the girls. I think we discussed this before; I used Shinatobe as my inspiration for your abilities, so you could take advantage of all your combat experience. I gave you psychic speed to emulate the cybernetic adrenalin booster, but the cold and wind powers were based on the mythical goddess."

"That's okay then," she replied, blushing and giving him a self-conscious smile.

He brushed his hand through her long silky hair, the raven tresses wonderfully soft as they flowed over his fingers. "I thought you were past those kind of worries. Is everything alright?"

She turned to kiss his wrist. "Of course, why wouldn't it be?" Sakura asked, studying him with her exotic almond-shaped eyes.

John hesitated, unsure whether she was just trying to placate him and there really was something bothering her. Taking the young woman at her word, he pulled away and stepped into his Paragon boots, while slipping his hands into the gauntlets. The robotic arms swung down, sealing him inside his body armour in a matter of seconds. By the time he had stepped away from the equipping frame, Sakura was also fully-geared in a Paragon suit and reaching for her twin ninjato.

She twirled the short swords around in an elaborate flourish, then watched John curiously as he walked over to the second set of grav tubes. "Haven't you forgotten something?"

He glanced back at his gleaming rune blade. "Larn'kelnar used psychic powers rather than a melee weapon. I thought it might be a good idea to practice defending myself just using my abilities, rather than relying on my sword. It'll also give you an opportunity to try hacking through my hex shield without having to fend off physical attacks."

"That's a good idea," Sakura agreed, nodding her approval before descending in the red anti-gravity field.

Strolling through to the Primary Hangar, they walked past the black Progenitor ship and kept going, only stopping when they were in the middle of the huge empty space beyond. Despite the hangar being occupied with the shuttle, they still had the equivalent of a football field to practice in, giving them plenty of room to cut loose with their abilities. John stopped in the centre and readied himself for combat, feeling oddly naked without his runic weapon.

Sakura rolled her shoulders as she paced across the deck, turning to face John when she was a dozen metres away. "Are we setting any sparring rules?"

John shook his head. "Hit me with whatever you've got. Your objective is to bring down my shield and land a solid blow."

She shifted into an offensive stance, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she readied herself for combat. A white sphere appeared around her, the hex-barrier rolling around her body. "Say when..."

John summoned his own psychic shield, the globe of blue hexagons springing into existence around him. It began to rotate, sluggishly at first, then with greater speed. "Go!"

Sakura pirouetted to the side, instinctively dodging the psychic spear that John hurled in her direction. Her eyes widened as the shield-piercing attack whistled past, then kicked off with her back foot as she activated her enhanced speed. Charging towards him, she saw that John was moving faster now as well, backpedalling rapidly to keep some distance between them. She tapped into her reserves and grinned with anticipation as she felt that delicious glacial chill suffuse her being.

Having nothing but psychic powers to defend himself felt fundamentally wrong, but John recognised that it just meant he'd become over-reliant on his sword. As Sakura charged in his direction, he tried to recall the various powers that the guide had used against him. His malevolent alter-ego seemed to prefer shadow manipulation, but despite John's best efforts to raise a shadow barrier to block the agile ninja's advance, nothing happened.

Cursing in frustration, he continued his retreat, only to skid on an icy patch of decking. As he tried to regain his footing, John heard an ugly cracking sound behind him. He glanced that way and saw a solid wall of ice had formed, cutting off his retreat. Before he could do anything to break that frozen obstacle, Sakura pounced on him, plunging her frost-shrouded blades towards his hex-shield. She had reversed her grip on the twin swords, using them like ice picks to unleash a blistering flurry of stabs at his protective barrier.

John watched in alarm as she cracked hexes with each vicious strike, the rapid rotation of the sphere the only thing preventing her from hacking through. He repaired shattered hexagons as quickly as possible, then lashed out in her direction with a wall of telekinetic force. Sakura's hex-shield protected her from being crushed by the impact, but it still sent her cartwheeling backwards across the hangar.