“Give me one good reason to stay in this floating palace a second longer!” Reina yelled, storming out towards the back of the yacht. She left the others quite shocked, even Kara seemed lost. Only Le Gall was loving the idea of having all of them fight it out for a secret title in the middle of the ocean.

“You’re being a child,” Dim Mak said, following closely behind, though she pretended to walk unconcerned.

Reina kept walking, ignoring the grandeur of the city lights on the dark horizon of the sea. “I am done! You hear me? Enough with the lying and the crazy manipulations to fight for your name! I don't want to kill people!”

“You don’t have to.”

Reina stopped, she had one foot already on the steps descending towards the speedboats they had arrived in. She didn’t know how to drive them, but at this point she was willing to swim if necessary. “Stop lying to me.”

“I’m not,” Dim Mak replied, stopping a few feet away. She seemed as passive and uncaring as ever, but Reina knew her well enough that there was the slightest shift in her demeanor, the kind she had seen only a few times when she was worried.

“You forced me into a position to kill someone or lose the only person I had left in the world, which unfortunately for me is you. And I almost did it, too. You get that? What you almost made me?”

“It is what I trained you for.”

“You told me I would always get to choose!”

“And you did,” Dim Mak spoke quietly, but Reina could feel a tinge of sadness in her voice.

“You’re actually disappointed, aren't you? All this time, despite everything you said, you still hoped I would do it. But I turned out just like them, didnt I? Like Kara.”

Reina knew she was twisting the knife in Dim Mak with her words, and it gave her a savage pleasure to do so, for once being able to inflict some kind of pain in the woman who had broken her body again and again over the years.

“Yes, I hoped…and I was wrong. You and Kara are very alike. Strong wills, but no hatred…except maybe for me.” Dim Mak said, almost sounding resigned.

“If we do, it’s not exactly without reason.”

“I suppose not,” Dim Mak conceded, “But whatever you think of me, Reina, all I’ve done is what I know, and that’s what I'm trying to pass along.”

“How about just being proud of us? Your daughter owns a freaking hotel! Your students include the hottest movie star and a world champion! Why is that good enough?”

“It’s not about accomplishments,” Dim Mak said, her tone strengthening in conviction. “Money, fame, none of that matters, or have you learned nothing from living with me? Only the art itself does. The strongest person is above all that, and is free of even the delusions of anything being sacred, including life or death. The strongest is simply strong.”

The look in Dim Mak's eyes was terrifying. She had never displayed such passion openly to Reina. It struck her that until that moment, she had never truly understood her Sifu at all. It wasn’t just about tradition for her, this went deeper. A hardcore belief that her strength was the highest calling, and the only thing to live or die for. 

“I value more than my own strength,” Reina said, rising to meet her gaze.

“Then show me that is stronger than what I believe,” Dim Mak said, raising her fist and cracking all her fingers loudly just by clenching her fist. “Show me I am wrong, and that your compassion makes you stronger, if you do…then you will still be worthy to be called Dim Ma.”

They stood there in silence for a few minutes, neither knowing what to say, nor in Reina’s case, even what to think. The truth was, Reina didn’t want to hate her. And she had to imagine her offering to consider her worthy to fight despite her refusal to kill was a monumental effort on her part. 

Dim Mak's eyes suddenly shot upwards in alert, and then she moved to look around, as if counting something. “It’s rude to listen in on private conversations.”

“I remember a time when I wouldn't have been able to do at all, sensei.”

A man suddenly flipped down from the floor above, doing a back flip somersault to land perfectly on the metal railing like…like a ninja. It was the same move Tala had performed to drop in on Reina when they first met, and the man in front of them was even more outrageously dressed.

He wore a flamboyant Kimono like robe of white and gold with a purple dragon drawn across it that fell loosely to expose his muscular chest and shoulders, covered only slightly by a skin tight shirt. An oddly thick belt made of white and red rope held it in place, and he wore socks and sandals in the old japanese style like ninjas, with black metal grieves on his legs. If he were a ninja, he was certainly the least subtle one to ever exist.

Reina had been so distracted by his outfit that she failed to notice how he was leering at her. His smile was creepy, made more so by the large scar that ran up the left side of his mouth, marring what would have otherwise been a very handsome face. He was in his early thirties or so, still in his prime, and exuding a youthful energy with his wild hair and the crescent moon earring dangling from his ears.

“Age catches up with us all in the end,” he said, his voice playful. “That’s why we’re here, after all.”

“That invitation was extended to you alone, Takeshi,” Dim Mak said, glaring at him. “Not your little minions.”

“Forgive me, sensei, they are just doing their job, and they did find a little rat onboard.”

Takeshi whistled, and six more ninjas appeared out of nowhere, all wearing the same dark robe with the purple eight-headed snake symbol, and two of them holding up a beaten-up Tala.

“Hey!” Reina yelled, rushing towards them, but Dim Mak stretched out her arm to block her.

“That girl is under my protection.”

“That girl is a traitor to the Yamata no Orochi, you remember what that means, don't you?”

“Do I? I’m still alive.” 

Takeshi smiled wider, he gave Reina the impression of a snake enjoying playing with his prey. “The only one to leave us and live, yes, such is the respect and fear our group has for you, sensei.”

“I told you before not to call me that,” Dim Mak said, and the warning in her voice was clear.

Takeshi nodded and waved his arm slightly. His men dropped Tala on the floor and vanished into the upper floors of the boat like bugs escaping from the light.

“My apologies…Sifu,” Takeshi amended, though he was still smiling. “I’ll let the matter of the girl go for now in the spirit of our reunion.”

Takeshi looked at Reina now, his eyes digging deep as if looking for weaknesses. “I’ve seen your other student, they leave much to be desired…especially that one. She will die.” 

“Be a good little ninja and vanish already.” Dim Mak commanded, moving to help Reina pull Tala to her feet.

Takeshi gave a little chuckle and then complied, jumping back into the water, only the was no splash. It was eerie, but Reina ignored it, more concerned with Tala. She was pretty beaten up, but with no serious injuries. A large bruise did spread across her face, and it made Reina want to jump in after the peaking creep and give him one of his own.

“I am sorry, master Reina,” Tala said weakly. “There were too many, and I couldn’t–”

“No, no, come on, you did good,” Reina said, helping her up. “I’m sure you broke some bones before they took you down.”

“Three arms and one pelvis,” Tala said, “it should have been more.”

‘“You did good, little one,” Dim Mak said, joining them as they walked back inside.

“Yeah, you broke some literal ass,” Reina added, before turning to Dim Mak. “Now who the hell was that was pendejo?” Reina asked,

“They call him Ame No Murakumo No Tsurugi, which means “Heavenly Sword Of Gathering Clouds” 

“That sounds as pretentious as he dresses.”

“It’s the name of the sword hidden in the tail of the great serpent their clan was named after. When the Shinto God Susano killed the beast, his sword broke upon this hidden blade, and so he took it as his own. It lives on to this day as one of the three great treasures of Japan.”

“So what, that makes him special?”

“It is a title given to the strongest in their ranks, their secret sword,” Dim Mak continued. “I met him as a young boy when I was part of the clan, he had already killed eight men with his own hands then.”

“He sounds like your dream disciple,” Reina said critically.

“He is not,” Dim Mak said, surprising her. “For all his talent, he took it too far to the other extreme. It’s one thing to not be afraid to take a life if necessary, another to take extreme pleasure in doing so.”

“Oh, so he's like a full psycho? Got it.”

“Everyone in the clan fears him,” Tala said through the pain. “He kills at will and is known to be quite the sadist. The old Daimyo declared him his successor, so he’s poised to take over soon.”

“Why would you invite him here?” Reina demanded.

“He was still my student, and while not my first choice, he does have a claim to the title. It would cement the Yamata No Orochi at the top again if he became Dim Mak, so you must not allow that to happen, Reina.”