Chaos Dimensional Cube

Julie looked at him funny and bit her nail on her index finger as she mumbled: "We will see."

"I thought they don't make men like you anymore," Julie teased.

"Men, like what?", asked Jack.

"Hero v.i.r.g.i.ns.", Julie said as she pulled herself up and gave him a kiss then started to get dressed.

"Well, maybe now they are extinct and you are responsible.", Jack teased back.

She tossed Jack's T-shirt at him and said she has to go to work. She drove away soon after

Jack stood at his front door for a long while reminiscing about yesterday's events until he heard his stomach grumble.

He patted it and said: "I know. I know."

He did skip dinner technically yesterday although what he ate because of that left a smirk on his face it was not satisfactory enough for his stomach.

As he checked for any food challenges nearby he remembered he had aikido lessons in 2 hours and that also reminded him of the three books he borrowed.

He hastily made himself presentable and ran out of the house. At the shopping mall entrance, he found one of the books where he left it but the other two were missing.

He called detective Murphy in the hope the officers might have picked them up.

"Murphy,", robocop answered.

"Hello. This is Jack Russel. Did you by any chance find two books on aikido at yesterday's crime scene.", Jack nervously asked.

"We did and we logged them into evidence since you used them to hit the assailant. What is this about?", Murphy asked.

"Would it be possible to get them back? They are not mine and I have to return them.", Jack sheepishly asked.

"Yeah, you can come by the station and get them. We have enough evidence with the guns and witness testimonies so those two books won't matter anyway. The perp is talking about a plea anyway with the district attorney as we speak and there should not even be a trial. Find me or find someone to lead you to my desk if I am not around. I will leave them on it for you. Will that be all?", Murphy told Jack.

He quite liked Jack although he had many unanswered questions.

"Thank you in advance. I will be there ASAP.", Jack answered.

Jack hurried to the police station right after that but only got to meet with the desk sergeant who gave him his books. Right after that, he hurried to the aikido dojo and made it just in time.

The books did not seem too damaged and there was not any blood on them or other bodily fluids. He stepped inside and bowed to the founder again.

Truth be told Jack would probably not even return to the dojo if he did not borrow those books.

He gained enough knowledge absorbing them and together with the sensei's somewhat bad attitude, it would have been enough to deter him from revisiting it.

As Ikeda Hironobu was currently not in the main hall Jack wanted to leave when he suddenly heard a yell.

"Good morning! Sorry for the wait. Have you come for a lesson?" , Ikeda Hironobu ran out of the locker room as soon as he spotted him. He was not about to let his new student leave without payback for yesterday's fiasco.

Jack could only stutter a greeting and confirmation after the energetic entrance.

"Please change into your gi so we can start the lesson.", Ikeda Hironobu said.

As Jack came out in his martial attire Ikeda Hironobu said: "Hit me with your fist!"

"Here we go again!", Jack thought in his head as he already envisioned himself being sprawled out on the mat with even greater force.

He punched and Ikeda responded but as he was pulling him down jack did a front flip and turned the tables on him. Ikeda flew over his shoulder and if a judo instructor would see this he would applaud. Ikeda was spread-eagled on the mat trying hard to breathe as he started yelling.

"Ge-e-t o-o-ut of m-my do-jo be-e-e-fore I k-k-ill y-ou."

As Jack went into the locker room Ikeda Hironobu's breathing normalized and he did an introspection of the events that led to him being pummeled by his new student and realized it was mostly his fault. He became one of his former teachers that he detested. Those that wented out their personal problems on his students. He knew he was haughty when he met Jack yesterday and also the move he used on him was with so much force that it could be interpreted as having malicious intentions. The retaliation that followed was a direct result of this. He shook his head at his behavior and looked at the founder's portrait on the wall.

Jack quickly changed his attire and was about to leave as Ikeda picked himself up from the mat.

As he rushed passed him Ikeda suddenly yelled: "Wait."

Jack frowned before Ikeda started to speak.

"I am sorry for my behavior. I have been under a lot of stress lately and I let it out on you. I will give you a full refund and you can even keep the gi."

Jack looked at Ikeda that did a 180 degrees turn with bewilderment before Ikeda continued.

"I became what I usually detested. A person who abuses his knowledge to make himself look superior and taking joy in the misery of others. Luckily I met you to put me in my place and wake me up."

All Jack could say was: "OK. I only wanted to return the books I borrowed anyway today. Something came up today and I can't stay longer. I will come back tomorrow if that is alright with you?"

Ikeda looked surprised and answered: "Sure, come by anytime you want. Sorry again for my behavior."

Jack bowed and Ikeda returned the bow and watched Jack leave his dojo.

He c.a.r.e.s.sed the back of his head and smiled: "What a nice man and what fierce fighting instincts he has. Too bad he missed the prime of his life for competitions."

Jack needed to hurry back to his apartment before the dreaded summons of the cube started so he made haste. He reached his home with time to spare and binged on the protein bars he picked up on the way. He knew what awaited him were 10 big guys and an inevitable level up.