Three Square Meals Ch. 086

John glanced around the beautiful garden as he landed, marvelling at the sight. "It's just like the training simulator!"

Sakura nodded appreciatively, her long black hair brushing over her armoured shoulders in the light breeze. "It's absolutely enchanting."

Outside the wooden dojo was the stone garden, just as John had remembered it. There was a new shape and pattern to the stones now, the sea of white stones meticulously placed with a single onyx stone on one side, a dozen more on the other. Concentric rings rippled out from the cluster of black stones, merging and building in height until they threatened to wash over the solitary black stone.

As John was studying the patterns, he spotted a flicker of movement inside the dojo. The familiar figure moved to the open doorway, revealing Eito Yamamoto's face, contorted with anger.

"You dare come here?!" Yamamoto snarled, incandescent with fury. His eyes widened as he spotted the black ninjato in Sakura's hands. "Are you here to finish what the assassins started?!

He whirled around, darting back into the dojo before John could reply. John shared a glance with Sakura, who looked at him with equal concern. They jogged up the path towards the wooden building, with John taking the lead as he ran inside. Yamamoto had sprinted for one of the katanas that were sheathed in racks against the wall and he now held one of those deadly swords in a two-handed grip as he charged towards them.

"Wait!" John shouted, holding up his hand to urge the man to stop.

He gathered his will to push Yamamoto back with a wave of force, but Sakura had reacted even faster. Moving in a blur, she swept in front of John, smoothly parrying the katana that whistled down towards his head. Yamamoto stared at her in shock, amazed that anyone could react so quickly. Darting backwards, he repositioned himself with his katana held defensively before him, his sharp eyes looking for weaknesses in this new foe. Sakura was already on him though, and her two ninjato flashed back and forth as she rained a relentless flurry of blows against his sword, the ringing clash of the blades echoing like thunder around the dojo.

Yamamoto gaped at her in a mixture of astonishment and despair as her strikes moved faster than he could follow. He was suddenly and painfully aware that she could slay him at any moment of her choosing. His fingers were numb as he tried to hold onto his vibrating katana, until Sakura effortlessly slapped it out of his hand in a startling display of raw strength. He flinched in anticipation of the killing stroke, but it never came. Instead, she stepped back and lowered her blades, before bowing to him respectfully.

"Eito, stop," John said to the stunned man. "We aren't here to hurt you. We've brought you a gift."

"A gift?" Yamamoto muttered, staring at him in bewilderment.

John glanced at the young woman standing beside him and said quietly, "This is Sakura Honami. Like you, she was terribly wronged by Mikaboshi, the Master Assassin who took your wife and daughter from you."

Sakura met Yamamoto's curious glance with an unwavering gaze. "Mikaboshi took my parents from me and enslaved me for decades," she said quietly, her voice calm and steady. "He kept me as a prisoner in cryostasis for the better part of seventy-five years. The times when I was released, I was forced by cybernetic implants to do his evil bidding... I'm not telling you this looking for sympathy, but only so that you know I shared your hatred of the man that ruined both our lives."

Yamamoto's expression softened, moved by the sincerity of her words.

Sakura reversed her grip on the two ninjato, then offered them to Yamamoto on the palms of her hands. "I present the swords of your enemy to you. I have slain him for his crimes and we have undone his life's work, destroying everything he sought to accomplish."

Hands shaking with emotion, Yamamoto reached out to the pair of swords, his trembling fingers brushing over the black blades. He studied them for a moment until a flicker of anger crossed his face. His brown eyes snapped to John as he hissed, "You've stolen my revenge from me! This Mikaboshi... he should have died at my hands!"

John didn't back down from the man's angry glare. "I first encountered Mikaboshi nearly two months ago, when he sent an assassin after me. It was then that I discovered he was a powerful cyborg." He had a look of remorse on his face as he added, "I did consider bringing you with us when it was time to face Mikaboshi, but no ordinary man or woman could defeat him, no matter how skilled."

A flicker of doubt crossed Yamamoto's face, but he said defiantly, "No one is unstoppable. I could have beaten him..."

Sakura lowered the black swords and slowly shook her head. "Mikaboshi and I fought a close battle, but I had the edge in skill and power." Her eyes narrowed as she continued in a grim tone, "You've seen me fight, so you know how supernaturally fast and strong I am. John was being kind to spare your feelings; Mikaboshi would have killed you in seconds."

Yamamoto knew how hopelessly outmatched he'd been against Sakura and he could tell she was telling the truth. His shoulders sagged and he whispered in a broken voice, "Everything I trained for... it was all for nothing."

"Your training meant everything," John said earnestly, before glancing at the young woman standing beside him. "You trained me and I trained Sakura. Your influence spread out like ripples in a pond and she became your instrument of revenge against Mikaboshi."

The older man nodded, suddenly looking tired and haggard, the burning fire that had driven him onwards over the years guttering out and dying.

Reaching out to place his hand on Yamamoto's shoulder, John said quietly, "Be at peace, Eito. Ayumi and Kimiko have finally been avenged..."

At the mention of his wife's and daughter's name, Yamamoto's face crumpled. He dropped to his knees with a sob, shaking with emotion as tears rolled down his cheeks.

Sakura crouched down beside the weeping man. Her voice was gentle and full of sympathy as she said, "With your heart full of hate, there's no room for love. Don't let Mikaboshi take any more years from you."

With that she rose and fell into step beside John as they walked out of the dojo together. The sound of Yamamoto's grief-stricken sobs filled their ears as he mourned for his beloved wife and daughter.

John paused outside at the stone garden, glancing at the rake beside it. He shared a meaningful look with Sakura and they both began to move in a blur as they willed their psychic speed into effect. Working together, they swiftly removed stones and added new ones, using the rake to smooth out the ripples and create new ones of their own. When they were done, Sakura added the finishing touch, nodding with satisfaction as she moved to stand at John's side. They lifted silently off the ground and floated up to the waiting Raptor gunship, which tilted upwards and swept away as soon as they were safely aboard.

A long while later when Eito Yamamoto's grief had run its course, he stumbled down the steps of his dojo, looking around for signs of John and Sakura. His well-trained eye immediately caught the changes to the stone garden and he hurried over to it, anxious to see what they had done.

The growing waves in the white stones had been smoothed out, no longer threatening to crash over the solitary onyx stone that had been left in exactly the same position. Ripples now spread out from that point, touching a second black stone half way across the garden. A new set of ripples spread out from that second stone, until they reached a third on the far side, where the previous cluster of onyx stones had been positioned. Ever-expanding concentric rings circled that final stone, giving the appearance that they had swept the onyx rocks from the stone garden. In their place lay two black ninjato, their blades broken, cleanly snapped in half.

Eito studied the display for a long while, the tension gradually easing from his shoulders. He glanced skyward, murmuring to himself softly, "Like ripples in a pond..."

He turned to walk back to his house, a hint of a smile on his face for the first time in twenty-three years.

***

When John and Sakura returned to the Invictus, they headed up to the Combat Bridge to remove their Paragon armour. Alyssa was waiting for them and as soon as Sakura had removed her body armour, she approached, the locket dangling from her fingers.

"Thank you," Sakura replied, giving the blonde a grateful smile as she accepted the white pendant. "I was just about to come looking for you."

"I know," Alyssa replied, wrapping the Asian girl in a supportive hug. "Did all of that help?"

Sakura pulled back and smiled at her. "It really did, thank you." She glanced at John and added, "When I was talking to Yamamoto about Mikaboshi... I truly felt for the first time that I was putting everything that happened behind me."

"I'm very proud of you," John said, walking over to the pair of them and brushing his fingers through Sakura's long hair. "The way you handled Eito was just what he needed to hear. I hope he's able to find the same sense of peace that you have."

She nodded thoughtfully. "I hope so too."

"I've laid in a course for New Eden," Alyssa said, gazing into Sakura's eyes. "Is it too soon? Let me know if you need more time."

Sakura shook her head. "I need to visit that Shinto shrine my parents left for me. I want to say goodbye to them." Looking back into Alyssa's bright blue eyes, she added, "I already asked John if he'd come with me, but I was wondering if you would join me too?"

Alyssa nodded and gave her a supportive smile. "You know I'll be there for you in any way I can."

"I know," Sakura replied with a look of sincere gratitude.

Turning to glance at John, Alyssa said, "We've got a few hours to go until we reach New Eden. I'd like to just have a nice cuddle with Sakura until we arrive, but I believe you made plans with Dana?"

He nodded and looked at the Asian girl. "I did, but I'm happy to rearrange things with Dana if you want me to stay with you?"

Sakura pulled him down for a tender kiss, then smiled as she replied, "You've been wonderful already. Go and spend some time with Dana."

John waved them both goodbye, watching as they headed up to their bedroom in the express grav-tube. He turned and took the other one, dropping down to the Secondary Hangar before making his way to the loading lift in the Cargo Bay. He noticed several large, unusually-shaped objects stacked together by the lift and he looked at them with interest, trying to figure out what they might be. Stepping onto the lift, he hit the button to make it shoot upwards. He remembered to brace himself this time, so his stomach didn't end up doing flip-flops when he was launched up into the Engineering Bay.

He was met with a chorus of cheerful greetings when he stepped off the lift into the Workshop, with Jade, Rachel, and Dana all stopping what they were doing to say hello.

"Hey girls," John replied, before strolling over to join Jade and Rachel where they stood together at the workbench, slipping his arms around their waists. "What's Dana got you two working on now?"

"We're building Quantum rifles at the moment," Jade explained, pointing to the components on the floating anti-grav platforms.

Spotting the distinctive outer shell of the weapon in front of them, he asked, "Do you need me to shape any more metal for you?"

Rachel shook her head, pointing at the neat pile of sparkling white rifle pieces stacked beside the workbench. "Alyssa shaped the rest of the parts we needed, so we're okay at the moment."

"How many are you making?" he asked, studying the pile curiously.

"Twelve! Enough for each of us and a few spares," Dana replied, bouncing down the steps of the Command Podium as she walked over to join them. Handing the holo-reader to Rachel, she continued, "I've finished the schematics for the Quantum pistols, babes. When you're nearly done with the rifles, let Alyssa know, she said she'd come down and make the parts you need."

"I'm happy to help," John volunteered.

Dana shook her head and grinned at him. "I need you to help me lug all that stuff in the Cargo Bay through to the Valkyrie's Launch Bay."

Rachel propped the holo-reader on the workbench. "How many pistols do you want us to make?"

The redhead glanced at John and asked hesitantly, "Is twelve too much? I figured one for each of us, a couple for our resident pistoleer, plus a few spares. Let me know otherwise as I've just programmed the Mass Fabricators."

"That sounds perfect," John agreed. "We should all start carrying sidearms when we're geared up for combat. You never know when you might be caught out by a weapon jam or something like that."

Dana frowned at him in disapproval. "My guns don't jam!"

He chuckled and said placatingly, "Sorry, of course not. I meant to say: A pistol's handy if something gets too close for a rifle shot, or if you urgently need to take someone out but need to reload your rifle."

"Much better," she said with a grin, standing on tiptoe to give him a kiss. "I'm ready whenever you are."

John gave Rachel and Jade a friendly squeeze on their firm rumps by way of goodbye, earning himself some giggles and affectionate smiles. "Okay, I'm all yours," he said to the redhead.

"Can you grab that fuck-off block of crystal Alyssium?" she asked, nodding towards a massive cube of sparkling white metal . "We'll need that to make something I've got in mind for the mech."

"Sure," he replied, walking over to the enormous block and beckoning towards it with his hand. It rose obediently, following his mental commands and floating over with them to the loading lift.

Dana hit the button on the elevator, studying him silently as they dropped down to the Cargo Bay. They reached the deck and John stepped off the lift, then walked over to the various objects stacked nearby. He glanced at the cube he was gesturing towards, then back at the unwieldy components on the deck, frowning as he tried to figure out how he was going to pick them up whilst still towing the crystal Alyssium cube.

"Why don't you just use telekinesis on everything?" Dana asked, watching him with a curious look on her face.

He glanced back at her and smiled as he shook his head. "You're thinking about Alyssa. I'm the one with the bulging biceps, remember?"

She walked over to him and placed her hands on his head, before gently turning him to face the huge floating block of ore. "I don't see you manhandling that..."

John looked at it in shock, losing his concentration and wincing as it crashed to the floor with a massive clang.

*You've been using telekinesis more and more recently,* Alyssa said, her voice like a cool breeze through his mind. *All those times you've been turning crystal Alyssium into shapes and levitating it in the air, then there's those Telekinetic walls... It's all the same thing.*

"I thought it was just the shaping process," he murmured, gaping incredulously at the colossal weight of metal he'd just moved with his mind. "I wasn't even thinking about it..."

"Why not have a go with the rest?" Dana prompted him, glancing back at the other components.

John glanced at the heavy-looking objects on the floor with an apprehensive frown.

*You're much more powerful now,* Edraele whispered to him supportively. *Did you ever think you'd be deca-shaping crystal Alyssium? You did so without any real strain only this morning.*

*You've seen how effortless I make this look,* Alyssa said, her tone encouraging. *As you said last night, we're equals.*

*I didn't mean it quite like that,* John replied with a slight smile.

She gave him the equivalent of an empathic shrug over their bond. *You made me this powerful, so you must be just as capable.*

Squaring his shoulders, he gestured towards what looked like a tube of bulky metallic discs. Gathering his will, he lifted his hand, coaxing the stack to raise into the air... and nothing happened. He tried again, concentrating harder, but still nothing. It wasn't so much that it was too difficult, he might as well have just been waving his hand at the wall.

"Oh well, maybe it's just the Etherite crystals in the Alyssium making it easier," Dana said with a nonchalant shrug. "Wait here and I'll grab some anti-grav harnesses. I'll just attach them to this stuff and then you can just push it to the Launch Bay."

John nodded distractedly, looking at the stack of mech components in confusion. He tried again and again, but wasn't even able to muster so much as a tremor from the stubbornly inanimate objects.

*Don't get downhearted,* Edreale said, sounding sympathetic. *Maybe there are some things your mind isn't ready for yet.*

*We'll have to do a better job as your cheerleaders next time,* Alyssa added playfully, trying to buoy his spirits.

He smiled as he replied, *The uniforms would probably help...*

Alyssa laughed but he could feel Edraele's confusion over their empathic bond. *Don't worry,* she said to her Maliri counterpart. *I've got a spare you can borrow.*

John walked over to the stack of big heavy discs, picking one of them up and hefting it in his hand. Despite its heavy weight, it probably still weighed less than a tenth of the crystal Alyssium cube. He was able to flip it in the air like a frisbee, despite it weighing more than his own body.

"Hey! Be careful with that," Dana cautioned him as she rode down on the loading lift. "If you crack it open, we'll have a hell of a job moving this stuff."

Warily placing the huge disc on the stack, John then held his hands up and backed away. "What's the problem?"

"Those are the new articulated hip and shoulder joints," she replied, throwing him some harnesses to attach to the mech-sized components. "They're filled with a synthetic super-lubricant that practically eliminates friction. With these babies installed, the Valkyrie will be as responsive as Sakura could possibly want."

"Superlube?" John asked with a grin, locking the harnesses in place. "It sounds like something Alyssa would be interested in."

Dana laughed as she started attaching anti-grav generators to the huge stack of mech parts. Each one was a round disc about the size of a plate, looking like larger versions of the ones she'd built into the Justice rifle barrel. "The idea came to me when I was thinking about the Valkyrie upgrades," she mused, pausing and gazing into the distance. "The synthetic polymer is extremely complex, but it all seemed to fit together so organically."

"How likely is it that you spontaneously just invented something like this?" John asked, giving her a pointed look.

"Yeah, exactly..." she replied, glancing down at the articulated joint. "It looks like you've stuffed a few more fascinating surprises in my brain."

John clipped together the last of the harnesses, then leaned against what looked like pieces of some kind of partially-constructed framework. He looked at the redhead with a frown of confusion on his face. "Doesn't all this seem a bit odd to you?"

Dana turned to look at him with an innocent wide-eyed expression on her face. "Guzzling huge bellyfuls of your cum to learn Progenitor technological secrets? No, not at all... Doesn't everybody learn new tech this way?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "No, I don't mean that. What we're doing can't be how regular Progenitors unlock their technology, can it? The impression I've got is that they're a bunch of selfish, tech-hoarding pricks. What we're doing requires a lot of cooperation and trust."

The playful grin faded from the redhead's face and she frowned, lost in thought. "You're right, this doesn't seem like their kind of deal at all. Maybe they use a Matriarch instead, but I got the impression they're seen as fairly disposable too."