Grieve-Tan Origins 3: Tea for Two

“Boy, how are you feeling?”

“Sore, really sore. But...I should be fine.”

“Sore?”

Dooku-sensei chortled at the thought before he took a sip of his tea, his unique curve-hilt bokken at his side. The two of you sat down in the middle of the dojo, with a small table dividing the both of you. He told you about the “x” the guests were supposed to sit on. Dooku-sensei is very adamant about space and posture. Its kind of hard to attempt and air of friendliness, since you’re having tea with the man who just made you do the: “Electric Boogaloo”. And the tea his Butler made for you is a little hot. You decide to let it cool for a while. Lining the walls were some old wood-carving paintings. Some of them were real, others were framed prints. One of them, a large man in dark samurai armor fighting a ronin with robes. The inscription read: “A New Hope”. You thought it was a nice painting, but Dooku-sensei calls upon your attention.

“But what brings you, trespassing onto my property? You’re lucky I didn’t cripple you with my bokken. It would’ve given me something to practice my swing.” Dooku-sensei said, putting down his cup. You get a terrible feeling in your gut about this guy.

“Well, you see Sensei...”

You start to explain what Magnaguard-Tan told you about Grieve-Tan’s history, and why you’re here. While you explain, Dooku-sensei just looks at you with his signature deadpan expression. He stops you right before you get to the part about the car crash.

“I see you know quite well about her backstory. But tell me, why exactly do you want to know?” He gives you the quizzical stare. “If you’re putting trust in my ability to tell you about her, then I will invest some of my trust into you.”

Why? Why is a good question. Was it because you liked Grieve-tan? No, no, no, you’d never admit that to yourself. At least not yet. Maybe its just because of your morbid sense of curiosity. Did you want to use these anecdotes about Grieve-tan against her someday? Whatever the reason was, you tell him why. Dooku-sensei strokes his beard at your answer.

“Interesting answer, Anon-kun, I trust your reasoning. If you wish to know, then now I will tell you.”

Dooku began his tale.

“When I was a young man such as yourself, I was a teacher at an old dojo not too far from here. After my teaching partner, Sensei Jinn was killed I became disillusioned with the self-defense arts and wandered off to find purpose. In the end, I would find ‘other masters’, like nature, the beating of the drum in my heart, the CI--*cough* *cou*-admaster*cough*Sidious*cough*.”

Dooku-sensei reached inside his pocket, revealing a handkerchief.

“Excuse me. I have had a nasty cough this morning. Must be the flu that’s lurking around.” He politely wipes his lips.

“Now where was I? Oh yes. When I decided to go back to teaching self defense, as the CIS buildings were being constructed, I first turned to my old apprentice for help. She on the other hand went rogue, but, was soon dispatched before her influence could corrupt anyone else further. Searching for a new protege, I wandered the countryside until I found myself in a forest village.”

“Grieve-tan’s village?” You ask.

“Correct,” Dooku-sensei said. “it was a novel village, but when I visited the karate studio, I met her for the first time.”

Your tea is now cool enough to drink. As you bring the cup to your face, you can’t help but You take a sip of the bitter water, as Dooku continues his story.

“I had heard of the prowess the Magnaguard Twins had, and witnessing their synchronized staff techniques. However, what caught my attention was their youngest sister, Grieve-tan, a white belt at the time. Though small and fragile at the time, I knew what potential she possessed. Taller than most girls her age, and with those slender arms, she was going to be my--how you say this? ‘Magnum Opus.” Dooku sighed through his nose, reflecting on the past.

“Still, Grieve-tan was constrained by her family. She would never learn to grow in the ways of Kendo if she were to ever. And the parents would never allow me to bring her to the city. At first, I gave up on my venture to find the perfect protege in that town. But, fate played its cards, and it went down as it did. Her friend’s death, the car crash, all tragic turn of events. So sad.”

You nod, as you listen to his story.

“You know,” Dooku went on. “I had played a part in their deaths.”

In shock, you overdramatically spit out the tea in your mouth. The range of your tea lands on Dooku-sensei, his face covered in the brown liquid. You reel back for a minute, but he doesn’t flinch. He just looks at you with more contempt. You look down at your lap in embarrassment.

“May I continue, boy?” He wiped off the tea with his hands. Dooku’s voice was grave.

“What I meant was that I helped fund the funeral. It’s not like I sabotaged their car or anything so that it would crash and kill her parents. Not like I planned anything like that, no, not at all. Why would you imply that at all?” Some tea residue dripped off his brow, Dooku-sensei’s eyes shifted briefly before turning his attention back over to you. He seemed completely serious in his words.

You weren’t implying anything though. But, you trust that he’s telling the honest truth.

“So, I came by to their house one day, and offered the twins a proposition. They could come live with me in the city for a better life, or choose to stay here with their family business as woodcutters. Inviting me inside to negotiate, I saw the product of the days gone by. Grieve-tan was broken mentally, but she was almost in the palm of my hand. Although they agreed, the sisters would only comply if they had their own house. It was uncomfortable for them to have this ‘stranger’ come into their lives and offer them the world. So I gave them their own house nearby, and they had their jobs as my own guard for a while. Grieve-tan, on the other hand, went to grade-school.”

Drying his face with the handkerchief, Dooku-sensei tries to recollect some memories for a moment.

“Those were hard times for Grieve-tan. I remember since I was the only thing closest to a father figure, she would come crying to me about how they treated her. ‘A freak’ she was old by Shaak-Ti sempai. She told me all the time, with tears in her eyes, how they made fun of her, telling her she will never be good at Kendo. But I said to her that those children were wrong. I promised to make her stronger, and powerful than anyone who will oppose her. People who treated her with disdain, must be treated likewise.”

You grip your tea cup a little too hard, since to you it’s getting pretty juicy.

“And so we trained every day, as much as we could, kendo. Sometimes, it would be all she thought about. I taught her to be cruel in her words, and show her wrath in her attacks. I taught her to show sportsmanship, but also ambition. That she must fight for what she wants. When her sisters caught wind of her behavioral changes, they resigned from being my bodyguards, and to shield their sister from my influence. Of course, that didn’t stop her. Grieve-tan took my lessons to heart. As much as they wanted training to stop, she kept sneaking away after school to my estate. The twins stopped caring anyway. And then, when CIS was built, she took her rightful place as one of the first members of my Kendo club.”

Dooku-sensei stroked his beard, looking upwards at the ceiling. His breathing seemed slower.

“Anon-kun, do you remember the Battle of Geo Nosi’s Arena?”

The Battle of Geo Nosi’s Arena? It used to be a large plot of land used by the occupying American Army for baseball, but abandoned after they left. Then CIS bought it off for educational purposes. You yourself haven’t seen the riot yourself, but it gets mentioned once in a while at Republic High. You heard from the upperclassmen that it was one of the worst riots in the city to happen. Rumor had it that when CIS high was built that year, they took most of the field for their own, giving unequal room for both schools, leading up to the riot. Another rumor had it that Cody-sempai owned a scar from that day, but he himself doesn’t like talking about it. But not having much knowledge of it, you nod “No” to the bearded man in front of you.

“Ah, a shame. If you had known, Grieve-tan shined there for the first time.” Dooku-sensei

She did? Grieve-tan never told you she was present during that battle. In fact, there hasn’t been a lot of things she hasn’t told you. That list could go on.

“In addition to the first set of bokken I gifted to her, she won her first trophy after that day. And she’d continue to grow in skill and might, watching her improve little by little.”

A memory comes to mind about that day when Grieve-tan dragged you along for “Jedi Hunting”. She got a bunch of those large SBD bullies from school to help her, and cornered six of them into an ruined warehouse. You watched the conflict from afar, but when she returned, she came back with at least three new bokken. The other three Jedi got away when Republic High’s elite Airsoft Recon Commando team came to the rescue. But she was seemed proud of herself that day.

“Of course, as the first school year pressed on, I found Ventress-chan as a wonderful colleague and rival for Grieve-tan. Once, I thought Ventress would even surpass her, when I even gave her my old apprentice’s set of bokken to her. But when Grieve-tan found out, her jealousy made her the best at what she is, tuning in her anger into power and form. All these years of training and hate, turned her into the 2 meter tall monster she is today. It was going so perfect, my perfect protege.” Dooku-sensei close his eyes, reminiscing.

“Going so well until what?” You asked. His eyes slowly open and glare at you, frowning.

“Until you got involved.”

“Had you not been there or if I had detected your presence in her life earlier, it would have been a walk in the park for our plans.” Dooku’s voice was stern, almost bitter.

Our plans? Before you think about it anymore, Dooku-sensei looks away from you disdainfully.

“I thought I killed the sweet girl inside her a long time ago. Even if that part was still there, she was locked far away in her mind. But you did. Somehow, by some twist of fate, you brought that girl back.”

For a moment, you sympathize with the disappointment in his voice.

“We are nearing the crossroads, Anon-kun.” Dooku-sensei added “A point where a life can split into many paths. And you, are you the wrench that will either break this machine, or fix it? You’re far from what I expected to be ‘her hero’. Grieve-tan is to be my successor should I fail, yet her life is another path. Something I wish I could control at this point. But I want her to be on the ‘right’ path, and if it’s anyone who is the key to her ‘happiness’, it would be you.”

The weight of his words drops on you like lead.

“Should you fail, however.” He presented to you his curved hilt bokken.

“And if I’m still here, I will make sure that you shall know no mercy from a gentleman such as myself.” Dooku-sensei said in the most calm, yet bone chilling tone you have ever heard.

Pressing a hidden button, it unsheathed an--HOLY HELL. That’s no bokken, that’s a bloody sword! All this time he’s been using his sheathed sword as the bokken. Wow. But the blade’s design seemed pretty foreign to you. You couldn’t tell if it was some sort of banged up Chinese sword, or one of those old Filipino machetes they used to crack Magellan’s skull. Either way, you’re both amazed and terrified by his threat. Dooku-sensei unsheathed it sideways, the blade reflecting a distortion of your face. It was kind of funny. You start making stupid faces like you did in those funhouse mirrors.

As he sheathed back his blade, you are in direct view of his gaze, disappointed by your boyish tendencies. ‘Such an unsuitable suitor for Grieve-tan perhaps’, as you imagined Dooku’s thoughts. You try to look away with shame, but just can’t help looking back. Dooku-sensei’s dark eyes, peering into your soul. For a moment the two of you meet eyes, but there’s only an abyss. You don’t dare to gaze back again. There’s only emptiness there. What manner of man are you dealing with here?!

“Well, it was nice speaking with you Anon-kun, but I have some urgent business to attend to before the regional championships start soon.” The both of you stand and respectfully bow.

“FA-4-sama, bring me the remote please.” Dooku called upon his butler.

Walking into the dojo, FA-4 came with a remote control of sorts, cradled onto a pillow. As he hands it over, Dooku-sensei speaks to you.

“And I have one more lesson to teach you before you leave. Its actually, the first lesson I ever taught her.”

“And what’s that?” You reply.

“Never trust anyone.”

As he presses the button, the “x” below you becomes a trap door. You fall in.

Well you did fall, but not entirely. Your body gets stuck halfway into the entrance, much to Dooku-sensei’s dismay.

“Oh bother, not again.” Dooku-sensei said.

“Sir, may I suggest that we install a new trapdoor entrance. The Americans are coming over next week to discuss franchisal terms,” FA-4-sama said, pulling out his pocket calendar. “Your appointment is about five days from now.”

“Right, we’ll ask the mechanic to come by in the morning. But first...” Dooku-sensei took out his bokken, and started to beat you so you’d go down the dark hole.

“Ow, stop!” You said, but he kept doing it, whacking you with his bokken.

“Shall I get the butter, sir?” FA-4-sama said.

“That won’t be necessary, but grab that staff over there and help.” Dooku-sensei said, pointing to his weapons rack.

And so they beat you. And it keeps happening. Luckily seconds later, added in with FA-4 sama’s help, you finally fall in.

Falling down the chute wasn’t any better than getting beat up. It was worse than that time you got stuck in that waterpark slide when you were eight. Whereas there was water back then, there was nothing but cold. hard metal. It wasn’t even a smooth ride, since the walls adhered to the sweat you’ve accumulated that day. But, after what seemed like ages, you see the light of day.

Crawling out, and landing in a dry ditch, you find yourself at the bottom of the estate’s hill. Dusting off the dirt you caught while falling, you limp home. Your mother asks you how school went today. You just tell her “It’s just another day.” After showering, you text Grieve-tan that you can’t come over right now, but tell her you’ll come over sometime soon before the Regionals.

Opening the windows in your room, since you feel pretty hot, you lie down on your bed thinking. You’ve assessed all the info you could have gathered about Grieve-tan, but what now? Keep it to yourself, or tell Grieve-tan everything? So much has happened, so many things you wanted to know, but other facts you wished were never revealed to you. Do you even lift? Do you even want her in your life anymore? There’s a lot of conflict in you, but the answer will come soon. But for now, sleep. It will get better somehow, for the both of you. It just has to.

As you reach to turn off the light, you see a mantis on the ledge of your open window. Using your instinct to kill it, you find the nearest blunt object and intend on smashing it. However, it's gone. Did it go back outside, or did it enter your room? Realizing you now share your fear of mantes with Grieve-tan, you close the windows, shut off the lights and go to bed immediately. It better not lay eggs in your mouth while you sleep.