I studied Middle Son’s posture and his movements, taking it all in. I saw it, his feint. It was just a twitch, intended to provoke a reaction upon which he’d capitalize.

  I reacted just enough to sell to him that I’d fallen for it, so when his real attack came I was already moving in the correct direction. I pivoted and caught his ankle as his front kick missed my right thigh, yanking him forward and into my left cross. The blow dazed him for a split second, so I used his continued momentum to let him slam into me and that was all I needed to suplex him down onto the mat.

  I stepped back, wary of him springing back up and taking out my ankles. It took him a few seconds to rise, giving me plenty of time to get clear. Of course, if this had been an MMA bout I would have followed him the floor and beaten on him for a while, but that wasn’t what this was.

  When Middle Son rose and took his position again he gave me a respectful nod, which I returned. His move had been good, but slow and obvious.

  Unwilling to make the same mistake, Middle Son’s next attack came as a simple rush. This made no sense to me since I was bigger, but it was what it was. He came in with a flurry of kicks and punches straight out of some kung fu movie. It was a basic strategy- none of the blows were really meant to do much except put me on my back foot, and to allow him in close where my reach would be more of a hindrance than an asset.

  I let him come in, purposefully telegraphing a right jab to his face. When he dodged the punch, I grabbed the back of his head and brought it down onto my left knee. Down he went again.

  I stepped back again to give him time to get back to his feet, which took a bit longer this time. Taking our positions, we nodded to each other again.

  This time it was obvious he was in no hurry to bring the fight to me, so I stalked around the mat, looking for just the right moment. I was hoping to catch him off-balance, but he was too well-trained to ever let his center of gravity shift too far.

  Seeing that continuing to circle him wasn’t really going to lead to the payoff I’d hoped, I took a decisive step in and went with a few jabs. He blocked them well, then closed to return the favor. I leaned back to stay clear and when he followed I laid a solid bent-knee rib kick on him. His gi really paid off on that one as it cushioned a lot of the blow, but it still had to hurt. Middle Son dropped his arm to capture my foot, but he hadn’t recognized the real attack. My left knee carried through and once again I brought his face down onto it.

  To any but the sharpest observer it would have looked as if he’d bounced like a rubber ball, his head snapped back so fast.

  Middle Son was in no hurry to get back up this time, so I bowed to Mr Kanawa Sr. He nodded, acknowledging that I’d clearly won.

  I helped Middle Son to his feet and then practically carried him back to the men’s changing room, where I helped him sit on a bench. I checked his eyes, but his pupils were so dark I couldn’t really see if one was more dilated than the other.

  He didn’t resist when I lowered his upper body onto the bench, then lifted his feet so that he was lying down. I tucked a folded-up towel under his head. Satisfied he wasn’t going to roll off or anything, I returned to the room where we’d sparred.

  The noise of chatter stopped when I stepped back into the large space, all eyes on me.

  I bowed again to Mr Kanawa and said, “I think your son will be O.K. in a few minutes. He just needs to rest a little bit.”

  One of Mr Kanawa’s students bolted out of the room after his sensei gave him a curt, quick order, presumably to check on Junior.

  “Your fighting style is quite effective,” Mr Kanawa said, taking his feet. “Brutal, and unbelievably fast. My son lost the moment the contest began. He was not prepared for an opponent of your quality.”

  “Jiro, tell him that I’d like to talk to him tomorrow, away from the crowd,” I said. “Put it in friendly terms, nice and respectful.”

  Jiro approached the elder Kanawa and spoke quietly with him for a minute, then came back. “He says that he would be pleased, and to come by any time.”

  “Excellent,” I said. I bowed again, then went to the changing room to towel myself off and slip into my street clothes.

  “I think Eddie undersold you,” Teddy Bear said in the van on the way back to the hot springs hotel. “You know, when you fought that UFC babe and put her in the hospital, all of us had some idea you were a badass, but seeing it like that? That guy stepped right into a buzz saw. Hell, I don’t even know what you did- all I saw was him getting slammed to the deck- repeatedly. The first time, when he came at you and you grabbed him and did that move-”

  “It’s called a suplex,” I informed him.

  "When you throw a guy on his head like that? So when you suplexed him onto the mat, he had no idea what had just happened. You could see it on his face when he got up,” Teddy Bear said.

  “No, I don’t think he did,” I agreed. “From what I can tell, their fighting style is… well, out of date, to put it politely. It seems like a fusion of more or less traditional Japanese techniques, but that’s it. He was totally unprepared for my Muay Thai knee- he had no idea it was even coming, and no defense against it. I imagine their style was super effective back in the day, but martial arts have evolved.”

  “Do you think he would have done better if he had up-to-date skills?” Jiro asked from the back seat.

  “Better, but I still would have beaten him,” I answered truthfully. “I’m bigger, stronger, and much faster than him. He telegraphs his moves, even when he’s trying to misdirect. Like his dad said, he lost the moment he stepped on the mat.”

  “Harsh!” Teddy Bear said with a laugh.

  “Like I told you, Queen Leah is a monster,” Eddie said. “Sparring with her is a lesson in humility.”

  Soaking in the hot springs felt especially good that night. Even though Middle Son hadn’t landed many solid hits, I still had a few bruises here and there, and worse, I had a cut on the top of my knee from his teeth. The hot water was nice and soothing- exactly what the doctor ordered.

  “Have you given what I talked about any more thought?” Teddy Bear asked as we soaked.

  “Honestly, no,” I answered.

  “No, you haven’t thought about it, or not, you don’t want to do it?”

  “No, I haven’t thought about it. Really, there’s no way I can commit until the details firm up a bit more,” I replied. “In general, I kind of like the idea, but if it conflicts with other scheduling…”

  “Fair enough,” Teddy Bear said. After a little bit, he asked, “Where did you learn to fight like that? You’ve said you do mixed martial arts, but where did you learn to be such a beast?”

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  “Home schooling,” I said dismissively, not really wanting to talk about it. Teddy Bear got the hint and didn’t pursue the issue. I was pretty sure he was going to dig a little further at some point, but was pleased that he let it go just then.

  “Leah,” Jiro said, coming over to our end of the hot pool. At my questioning look, he said, “I’ve never seen anybody fight like that. I don’t think anybody there ever had, either. I don’t think it was the fight anybody expected.”

  “It was exactly the fight I expected,” Eddie said from the warm pool. “No fight at all- just a beatdown.”

  “That is exactly what it was,” Jiro agreed. “I know nothing about martial arts, besides what I’ve seen on TV and in the movies, so forgive my ignorance, but there is no way Mr Kanawa expected his son to get steamrolled so badly.”

  “No, it’s obvious he didn’t,” I agreed. “There’s no way he would have invited so many spectators if he had.”

  “That’s right,” Jiro agreed. “He lost far too much face today. He gambled his standing on his son, and lost. This is exactly what Mrs Tanaka had wanted.”

  “Wait- the old lady? Akiko’s grandma? She put you up to this?” Teddy Bear asked.

  “She suggested that an outcome like this would strongly benefit the progressives among the elders, yes,” I admitted.

  "Hmm… Politics,” Teddy Bear said. “I’ve heard it referred to as a blood sport before, but rarely so literally.”

  “In my world, political maneuvering is usually very bloody,” I said.

  “Now, I gotta say, the casual way you say that is truly something else. You’re… I’m not sure how to say this. ‘Stone cold’ barely begins to describe it,” Teddy Bear said.

  “I’ve been told it’s a rare trait,” I admitted, leaning back and resting my elbows on the edge of the pool. “There’s a guy I train with- a guy I really respect, named Mr Han. He’s a bladed weapons instructor. Anyhow, one of my guys asked him how to beat me. His advice was to run away.”

  “Mr Han?” David asked. “He said you’ve promised to work with him sometime soon.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “If I had more time before Christmas I’d stop off and spend some time in Singapore training his guys.”

  “Singapore? His guys?” Teddy Bear asked.

  “He’s the head hand-to-hand instructor for their military intelligence and special forces,” I said with a little shrug. “He wants me to come in and beat his guys senseless. Some sort of object lesson about, well, I guess like Eddie said. He wants me to demoralize them or something.”

  “You’re fucking kidding me,” Teddy Bear said. “It’s the craziest thing with you, Leah. You say this stuff and I have no idea how to take it.”

  “Like I said, as it turns out, I’m much better at beating people up than most.”

  Teddy Bear had no real response to that, so he went and splashed around for a moment in the cold water stream. Once he was out of easy earshot,” Jiro said in a quiet voice, “I’d like to talk to you in private.”

  “More private than this?” I asked, waving to indicate that once again, it was only our small group enjoying the baths.

  “Yes,” he said.

  “Alright. Let’s go to the sauna,” I said, standing up. I indicated he should lead, but when my three guys stood up to follow I motioned for them to stay put. “We’ll be back in a few minutes,” I said. “Watch the door if you need to, but Jiro wants to talk privately.”

  “Not appropriate,” I heard Nick grumble, but the look I gave him shut him up.

  Once we’d sat down with the door shut behind us, I asked Jiro what was on him mind.

  “When Akiko Tanaka bathed with us two nights ago, she suggested that we could go back to my room and…” he said, not looking at me.

  “Yeah, she’s clearly interested in you,” I said.

  “I told her I didn’t think it would be correct for me to have relations with her, since I work for you and she works for the opposite side in these negotiations,” Jiro said in a rush.

  “Honestly? I’m O.K. with it,” I told him. “Yes, you are representatives of the two sides, but I’m not sure she’s on the opposing team, in a sense. She and her grandmother want things to go well, so in that sense they’re also on our side. Also, if you’re worried she’s a honey pot, I doubt it.”

  “Honey pot?” Jiro asked, clearly unsure of the term.

  I explained to him the concept of using sex to turn an agent in espionage, and he nodded that he understood.

  “That and basic ethical considerations kept me from agreeing,” Jiro said.

  “Well, don’t worry. For one thing, you don’t have any secrets to spill, right? Anything you and I have discussed I’d say to Akiko and her grandmother anyhow. Second, if you’re on guard against the possibility you’ll see any sort of entrapment coming. Third, -and I’m saying this not as your boss, but as something of a friend- you really could stand to get some. Akiko is into you. She thinks you’re hot, and honestly, if I had to guess, a certain amount of that is the whole ‘forbidden fruit’ aspect, but that doesn’t mean it’s not real.”

  “Forbidden fruit?” Jiro asked.

  “You’re a day walker. Her people aren’t supposed to have relations with yours,” I explained. “But think about it. Her people live within the larger Japanese society, right? She’s been bombarded her whole life with images of what an attractive person is supposed to look like, and for her, that’s you. But remember this: that image of beauty she sees on TV and magazines and online, it doesn’t look like her, does it? She’s taken a bold step, going without the makeup that would make her look like any other girl, and finally found a guy she thinks is attractive who treats her like any other girl, not some sort of oddity. That’s you. I guess what I’m getting at is that you taking her to bed would be a huge boost to her self-image, too.”

  Jiro was silent for a while, mulling over what I’d just said.

  “Do you find her sexually attractive?” I asked, doing my best to ignore the tent he was trying to hide in his little towel.

  “Yes,” he finally admitted.

  “Jiro,” I said, resting a hand on his shoulder, making him jump. “You wanted to talk in private because this is an uncomfortable subject for you, am I right?” When he nodded, I said, “My guess is that you’re not very experienced in these things. The truth is, I don’t think Akiko is, either. If you two do decide to explore sex together, I think it’ll be awkward and uncomfortable for both of you, but,” I said, pressing on his shoulder to forestall any objection, “that will also make it all that much more rewarding for both of you. Take her up to your room, bring a little alcohol, get to know each other. You don’t have to go straight to screwing like rabbits. Take it slow, and let it develop naturally. Remember what I said- she’s new at this, too. You’ve seen her naked, she’s seen you naked, and you both liked what you saw. You have nothing to worry about in that department.”

  Jiro’s hunched posture indicated just how mortifying he was finding this conversation, but I continued on. “Look,” I said. “The fact that you’re sporting a stiffy just thinking about it tells me you really want to get with Akiko. I can tell you for certain she finds you just as attractive. As far as your ethical concerns are concerned, make it clear to her that you don’t want to talk work stuff. Tell her that you only want to talk about what’s going on between the two of you, and that’ll sort it out.”

  “Leah,” Jiro said in a small voice, still facing away. “I’m sorry about my erection. I apologize.”

  “You know what? It doesn’t matter to me at all,” I told him. “I mean, just because I’m not interested in those things doesn’t mean I’m bothered by it. As far as I’m concerned it’s more a sign of your unmet needs than anything else, and I think we can both agree that relief can be achieved with just a little bit of making up to Akiko. Be nice to her, tell her that we talked and I have no objections to the two of you getting together. Maybe buy her chocolate or flowers. Something like that. Ask her on a date. If you’re interested in her, let her know.”

  “Can I ask her to have dinner here tomorrow?” he asked.

  “Of course,” I told him. “But my best advice is to take her somewhere else, somewhere more private. If you do have dinner here, the two of you should get your own table, far from ours. We can muddle through dinner without your help.”

  Returning to the main bathing area, Jiro went straight for the cold water. In contrast, I slipped into the warm pool with Teddy Bear.

  “I guess he’d turned Akiko down the other night because he wasn’t sure if it was kosher, him being my employee and her representing the shinobi,” I explained in a quiet voice.

  “What did you tell him?” Teddy Bear asked.

  “I told him to go for it.”

  “Good. The kid really needs to get laid,” Teddy Bear said.

  “He does,” I agreed. “Speaking of, don’t think I haven’t noticed the looks you and that one waitress have been giving each other.”

  “Yeah,” he admitted. “I don’t speak Japanese and as far as I can tell she doesn’t speak a word of English… Hell, I don’t even know her name,” he said with a chuckle. “But I sure wouldn’t turn her away if she wanted a night of fun.”

  “You do know that she’s wearing makeup to hide the fact she’s actually as black as Nick over there, right?” I asked, indicating my guy, who was sitting on the edge of the hot pool.

  “Yeah, I think I’ve figured that out,” He said, giving me an ‘I’m not an idiot’ look. “This whole experience really has me wondering how many Night Children I’ve encountered without even knowing.”

  “Honestly, probably very few,” I told him. “And it doesn’t matter, anyway.”

  “Yeah, I guess not,” he agreed. Changing the subject, he said, “Um, Leah, we’re friends, right?”

  “I thought so,” I said.

  “So, um, and this is friend to friend, and I’m not trying to come on to you or anything, but we’ve been naked with each other for days now, and I haven’t been able to help but notice that you’re absolutely freaking built.”

  “I spend a lot of time in the gym.” I said.

  “Yeah, that’s obvious,” he said. “But that’s not what I was getting at. I’d like to start working out with you, if that’s cool. I was hoping you could help me get in the sort of shape…”

  “I’m cool with you working out at the gym I go to, but as far as you trying to replicate my workout… I don’t think that’d work,” I told him.

  “Well, I am one hundred per cent not planning on trying to spar with you, that’s for damned sure!” he said with a laugh.