"It is Chinese acupoint massage, or dienxue." Long explained. "It was developed by the monks of Shaolin, masters of the Martial Arts, what else would a master of Shaolin Kenpo do?"
"I guess I should have expected that." she admitted.
"Hey, isn't that supposed to be with the needles?" Yugo asked, moving away from Shina so as not to be cornered between her and the door.
"I said acupoint." Long repeated, irritated by the question. "Which means that I use my fingers. It is a basic concept in Shaolin Kung Fu to use your fingers like needles... both for causing pain and relieving it."
"Now I'm really confused," Yugo grumbled. "you said a bunch of different names. Kenpo, Kung Fu, Shaolin, dien... whatever! Make up your mind! Just what is your Martial Art anyways?"
"They are all related actually, but Kenpo is a type of Karate that I have mastered, and Xin Yi Ba is a type of Kung Fu." Long explained. "Dienxue is simply a massaging technique. They all originated in the Shaolin temple, you understand? So Shaolin Kenpo utilizes some moves from Shaolin Kung Fu as well as..."
"Never mind." Yugo interrupted, trying to shake his head clear of all the strange terms.
"You can't expect a simple boxer to understand something like that." Shina told Long. "He just does punches."
"Hey, I can kick too!" Yugo protested. "I'm just not into a bunch of complicated manuvers."
"That's too bad." Shina teased. "Complicated manuvers can save your @$$."
"Yeah? Well I'm so good I don't need 'em!" Yugo argued.
"Oh please..." Shina rolled her eyes.
"That would prove to be your weakness." Long informed him, finishing his work on Shina's back. "To overestimate one's own power..."
"I wasn't serious about that!" Yugo interrupted.
"I think that we should take this conversation somewhere else." Jenny warned them. "Unless you want to wake Alan..."
"I believe we should move to the main room." Long quickly suggested, walking through the door.
"Yeah..." Shina agreed, heading for the door.
"Don't leave me here." Yugo whined, following after them.
"So, Long..." Shina asked, walking up to him. "What were you saying before Yugo interrupted you? I was just curious about the Martial Arts you practised."
"Oh?" he asked, looking at her. "I don't suppose it matters much now... but you might be interested to learn that the type of Shaolin Kenpo that I practise is one of the only fighting systems that includes the movements from the original five animals. One of them is a leopard."
"Really? Cool! What are the others?"
"There is the tiger of course," Long answered, turning to look down the stairs before descending them. "and the dragon, as well as the snake and the crane."
"So it's all based on animal movements?" Yugo wondered, trailing behind.
"Not completely." Long corrected. "But Shaolin Kenpo is an art that combines elements from several other arts. These include Karate, Kenpo, Kung Fu, Shaolin Temple Boxing, and Jiu Jitsu."
"Oh, cool... so you box too, huh? Hm... But if you practise Kenpo then how can you art include Kenpo in it as well as all that other stuff?" Yugo asked, confused by all the different names of Martial Arts.
"I practise a particular type of Kenpo, Shaolin Kenpo. Which combines the aforementioned forms." Long tried to explain as he reached the bottom of the stairway. "Actually it tends more towards the Kung Fu element than any of the others, which is why I mention Xin Yi Ba Kung Fu when describing my techniques."
"Uh... okay." Yugo replied, scratching his head and trying to figure it out. "So, what you're really saying is that what you do is a little bit of several different arts, and it's called Shaolin Kenpo?"
"Yes." Long replied, nodding. "It is also largely associated with Karate, sometimes even described as a type of it, but really it is a combination of many arts."
"Why so many?" Shina asked. "Does the variety make for a better choice of moves?"
"Certainly." Long answered. "Or at least... it did anyway. I really don't expect I shall use it anymore."
"Why not?" Shina inquired. "I mean, even if you don't ever intend to fight again, practice would be good excersize. And you probably will still need to defend yourself sometimes."
"True." Long agreed. "But in order to use the arts correctly there must be a unity between your mind, body, and heart..." It was something that Long knew all too well. His hatred of his own use of the arts as a weapon to kill crippled his ability to use them. "I cannot use the arts to the best of my ability while I fear to do so. But, if I really do not wish to fight again there are ways of avoiding it. I certainly don't mean to take part in anymore futile battles concerning zoanthropes."
"I wouldn't call incidents like what happened a month ago futile." Shina argued. "The ZLF was the worst thing to happen to zoanthropes, for us, and for humans as well. Not only did they betray their own kind, but they also ruined normal human's perception of..."
"Speaking of which," Yugo interrupted. "what about my speech?"
"Ah, I completely forgot!" Long exclaimed, raising one hand and smacking his forehead. "My apologies for..."
"It's okay." Yugo interrupted. "I would forget too if Gado came storming down the stairs to yell at me like that."
"I guess I'll just go and finish beating on the punching bag." Shina told them, heading in the direction of the training room. They both gave her respectfull nods before walking back into the study to finish Yugo's speech.
A deep sigh escaped Alan Gado's throat as he rose and sat himself up on his bed. He shook his head in order to clear it of the sleepy feeling still lingering in his mind. He looked around his room and noticed that the hour was getting late, but didn't remember preparing for bed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jenny's lithe form slipping from behind the shadows in one corner... and then he remembered it all: the tape he had seen of what Long was really doing with his daughter; his own anger; and then...
"What happened?" his deep voice grumbled.
"You were so angry..." she began, walking over to the side of his bed and sitting next to him. "I had to do something to prevent you from exploding." She moved one hand over his leg, insistently caressing his inner thigh.
"Grrrr." he growled. "I'm going to..."
"Really now dear, you never even finished watching my tape."
"I don't want to..." Gado argued, but Jenny cupped one hand gently over his mouth.
"Don't worry, it gets better." she advised, removing her hand.
"Better?" Gado demanded to know what she meant.
"I said better, not worse. Trust me dear."
"Mmmm." he groaned, shaking his head while reluctantly accepting her opinion. "I guess that you wouldn't..."
"You will see." she replied, picking a remote control off of his nightstand and turning on the TV, then she switched remotes and the VCR began playing where it left off. Gado growled ferociously as he watched the hated Kenpo Master kissing his way down his young daughter's naked back. Watching the tape was like torture to him. Jenny steadilly massaged his leg, urging him to calm down. As the tape went on Long reversed his direction, climbing up the young woman's spine and then sucking the skin from her neck gently into his mouth.
"RAWR!" Gado growled, his face turning red in fury.
"Patience dear." Jenny warned him. She moved her hand from his thigh to touch his face.
The tape perfectly captured the movement of Shina's mouth as she sighed, and the effect it had on Long as he started to leave. Gado was shocked when Shina turned over and wrapped her arms around him, also exposing her naked chest... The words they said were low and mumbled, but Gado caught the effect of what they meant when Shina brought his head down to hers for a kiss. He also noticed with anger when Shina grabbed one of Long's hands and began to move it up towards her chest.
"How could she...?"
"Patience dear." Jenny repeated. As they watched the tape Long broke free from her grasp, kissing her gently on the cheek before pulling her blankets from one side of the bed. He used them to carefully cover her naked chest, never touching it, or even looking at it for that matter.
"Hm?" Gado was confused. "Now why would he do that?"
"Dear, your daughter is clearly the protagonist in this act." The two watched quietly as Long and Shina had a little talk, and then Long got up and bashfully handled her shirt and bra, placing them in her lap.
"My daughter?" Alan wondered.
"Well, let's summarize this." Jenny analzyed the situation while Long slipped out the door. "Your daughter took off her own clothing and enticed him to come massage her back."
"You think she was trying to get him to...?!?"
"Patience is a virtue dear." Jenny interrupted, continuing her explanation as Alan unwillingly watched his daughter put her clothing back on and leave the room, unable to look away. "Now it is true that Long obviously took his own actions, however they certainly weren't unprovoked." She paused for a moment, eyeing Alan and giving him a little time to consider her words. "Once he realized what he had done your daughter kept him from leaving, she even took his hand and..."
"I saw it!" Gado growled angrilly, remembing what had happened all too well without having to be reminded.
"It was he who broke off from it, and covered her up." Jenny pointed out. "Not only did he back off, but he also suggested she put her clothing back on, and then left the room so she could do so."
"What is your point?" Gado demanded.
"My point, is that I wouldn't be too hard on him if I were you." Jenny finished. "If he had really wanted to take to take advantage of what your daughter so blatantly offered him..." she left the sentence unfinished, allowing Alan's mind to fill in the gap of what could have happened.
"Ugh." he groaned, shruddering at the mere thought of the possibility.
"You really ought to talk to her about this." Jenny said persuasively.
"What can I say?" Alan wondered. "I don't want her to... well... I just think that she's not ready for..."
"Dear, that has to be her decision, not yours." Jenny contended. "Your daughter is an adult now Alan, whether you want to realize it or not."
"But... don't I get any say in this?"
"You can ask them not to do it in your house."
"Dear... you make it sound like they're..." he groaned and shook his head. "I don't even want to think about that. But what should I do now?"
"It has been a few hours since your outburst, perhaps Long and Yugo have finished the speech." Jenny mused. "If so, you really ought to gather them and Shina into the main room and apologize for your behavior."
Long sat at one end of the couch, a nervous look on his face and a paleness to his skin. His hand shook slightly as it went up to brush his bangs back out of his face while he anixously awaited Alan Gado's words. Shina sat at the other end, her arms folded and her lips pursed in defiance. She was ready to argue her side of the case no matter what her father thought. Yugo was gone, after they had finished his speech he had returned home to practice it before he had to give it the following morning. And of course, he didn't want to leave Kenji alone too long.
Alan Gado stood before the two, Jenny close at his side, he gave each one a solemn glance. "Er... first of all I would like to apologize for my actions earlier tonight." he began. "I got a little carried away."
"A little?" Shina complained. "You were pissed off Dad! And now we all know why..." she shot an angry glare in Jenny's direction.
"Yes, well... I apologize for that." Gado muttered, walking over to the love seat on the other side of the room. He took his seat at one end and Jenny sat down beside him. The room fell into silent tension as they all looked around, wondering what was going to happen next.
"So what do you want, Dad?" Shina demanded, getting impatient.
"Well..." he trailed off. What I really want is for the two of you to stop seeing each other, but...
"Alan Gado," Long said, getting everyone's attention as he stood up from his seat on the couch. "I must also apologize for my earlier actions this night. I truly and deeply regret what has happened. I hadn't intended to..."
"You don't have to apologize to him, Long!" Shina objected, jumping out of her seat. "It was his own fault that he had his little spy plant a camera..."
"That wasn't my idea!" Gado interrupted.
"Oh, really?" Shina asked, glaring at the blond-haired slut.
"Now, calm down dear." Gado pleaded. It's really too bad that she's got such a temper... Of course, she porbably got that from me... "Let's not be so hasty... how do you two know about the camera anyways?"
"Long figured it out." Jenny informed Alan as Long and Shina sat back down on the couch. "He is quite perceptive."
"It was really nothing." Long replied, becoming a bit flustered as everyone turned to gaze at him. "Shina and I had wondered what we could have possible done to provoke Alan's anger and I could only think of one thing..." A tinge of pink appeared on his cheeks as his guilt from his actions resurfaced. "And I knew that she was a spy," he explained. "so it was a logical conclusion."
"And I admitted to it." Jenny confessed. "What else was there to do? He is obviously a very bright man... In fact I don't think he would make a bad son-in-law, Alan."
"What!?!" Gado demanded, as everyone's stares shifted to her.
"You must be joking." Long mumbled in astonishment.
"We're not that serious..." Shina added. "...yet." Long groaned and shook his head at her last statement.
"I really am not ready for even this." he complained. "Let alone anything else..."
"But Long," Shina protested, "we have these fellings for each other, whether we like it or not. And you said yourself that feelings are what really matters."
"Did I say that?" Long strained to remember if he had.
"You said it earlier today when we were out with Yugo and the others, remember?"
"I did say that." he remembered, shaking his head in regret and sighing. Damn me. When am I ever going to learn to shut this big mouth of mine?
"So... exactly what was going on in there anyways?" Gado demanded, crossing his arms.
"I-I can explain." Long replied anxiously. "You see..."
"Let me handle this Long!" Shina interrupted, getting up from her seat and clenching her fists. "None of your business Dad!"
"It is so my business." he replied, struggling to remain calm. "It concerns my daughter and something that happened in my house, it is certainly my business! What did you think you were doing?" he demanded of her. She backed off, a bit startled that he was asking her and not demanding the information from Long.
"Uh.. well..." She turned to look at Long for a moment before answering. "I really just wanted the massage, Dad. My back was hurting like hell..."
"If you only wanted a massage then you could have stayed down stairs on a couch and kept your shirt on." Gado accused, eyeing her.
"Well..." she scratched at the back of her neck and sat back down. "it's not as good that way... And hey, so what if I did want a little something else? Maybe just a little privacy... It's not like you never do anything like that Dad! At least I'm not screwing him like some..."
"Ahh!" Alan screamed, cutting her off before she could do any more damage. "This is all about me isn't it? Are you jealous of the attention Jenny gets? Is that what this is all about?"
"NO!!!" Shina yelled. "How many times am I gonna have to tell you that Dad!?! All I want is to be able to live my own life, and make my own decisions! I don't really care what you do with her! But why can't you just leave me and Long alone!?!"
"Oh, so you don't care do you?" her father asked critically.
"Well... maybe just a little." she admitted. "But, if it really bothers you that much I guess I could losen up a bit."
"It would be much appreciated." Gado thanked her.
"It doesn't come without it's conditions." Shina continued. "I'm really getting sick of the way you treat me and Long, Dad. I want you to losen up too!"
"Hm... well... I guess I could consider..." he began, Jenny nudged him in the back of the neck and Shina glared at him before he could finish. "Alright, I'll do my best to stay out of it."
"Is my age really such a terrible thing?" Long wondered.
"Well..." Alan began, however he knew better than to finish his sentence and anger his daughter any further.
"Oh, please!" she groaned, folding her arms in indignation. "You just don't want to see me with anyone Dad! His age doesn't matter that much!"
"Yes, well..." Alan scratched at the back of his head. "I guess that every father hates to think of what will happen when his little girl grows up. I just don't want to lose you, Shina."
"You won't lose me Dad!" she assured him. "I'm not going anywhere, just because I care about somebody doesn't mean that I'm gonna run away with him or anything." The two looked over at each other and shared a warm smile. "Anyway, all I want is a little personal space. I'm not gonna do anything drastic just to get your attention, if I really wanted your attention that bad I'd pick a fight with you."
"Yes, that's my daughter." Gado stated proudly. "I guess I have been a bit harsh... I really don't approve of this, but then again you don't approve of me and Jenny either. So, I'll try and back off if you'll do the same, agreed?"
"Yeah!" she turned her arm over and pulled it under her side. "That's more like it!"
"Anyway, Jenny and I are leaving early tomorrow morning. We're going to Yugo's speech and then off to Paris, and the house will be all yours." Shina nodded her understanding. "I know I can trust you to take care of the house... and I would like to be able to trust that you don't do anything to hasty with him while we're gone."
"Please Dad..." Shina moaned.
"I swear that if I touch your daughter's bare skin again, in any area normally covered by her clothing, you have my permission to cut off the offending hands." Long agreed.
"Long..." Shina whined. "You're almost as bad as he is."
"Well, actions speak louder than words." Gado stated, looking over the anxious Kenpo Master. "However I am comforted by that remark, and I believe you."
"Great." Shina muttered. "Between the two of you I'm gonna be a virgin for the rest of my life." Jenny laughed gaily at the remark.
"Well, at least for awhile longer anyway." Alan corrected.
"I am not going to participate in this discussion." Long muttered, shaking his head.
"You just did." Shina teased. The two smiled at each other and Alan and Jenny shared a hearty laugh.
"Anyhow, it is getting late..." Gado said, glancing at a clock on the wall to his side. "I believe I'm going to retire for the night." he looked up at Jenny. "And you, my dear?"
"Of course." she replied, slyly smiling back at him. He climbed out of his recliner and took her hand before turning back towards the Kenpo Master and his daughter.
"There is one more thing I wanted to say." Alan said, getting their attention. "Long... Obviously you had the opportunity to... uh..."
"I-I wouldn't have..." Long tried to assure the man.
"Never mind." Alan interrupted. "What matters is that you didn't take advantage of the situation."
"How can he take advantage of something if I actually wanted him to do it!?!" Shina demanded angrilly. Alan and Long's faces both turned a little red at her angry admission.
"Anyway..." Gado finished. "What I was trying to do was thank Long for not doing... whatever could have been done."
"I really shouldn't have even done what I did do." Long added, shaking his head in regret.
"Cut it out you two!" Shina griped, getting up from her spot on the sofa and shooing her father off. "Go to sleep already!"
"Sleep? Who said anything about sleep?" Jenny's sultry voice asked as he winked at Alan and they walked out of the room.
"Yes... I'm not feeling that tired." Gado agreed as they climbed up the stairs.
"You know, it would be much easier not to complain about them if they'd stop saying stuff like that!" Shina mumbled, irritated by their behavior.
"I'm really quite relieved." Long admitted. "He didn't threaten to kill me... he didn't even kick me out of his house."
"You see? I told you he wouldn't." she reminded him, getting up from the couch. "He might have a pretty hot temper..." One hand formed a fist and she pounded it into her palm. "But he's also got me here to keep him in line."