The next two days they worked on fixing up the hut, making a lean-to for the horses and gathering wood. Each night, they slept back to back and it seemed to help keep her nightmares away. By the end of the second day, her leg was healed enough that they could begin training.

"Come at me with everything you've got." Enishi instructed. He blocked kicks and punches, then tossed Sumi on to her ass. "Again!"

The harder she tried and was blocked, the more her anger spiked and Sumi took bigger risks. With a cat like twist in the air, she finally broke through his defences and landed a kick to the ribs.

"Good, but that was reckless. If I had a knife, you'd be dead." Enishi slowed down his attack, to walk her through how to defend against him. "Your advantages are speed and agility, use it here and then follow through with a fast kick or knee."

When he showed her what he wanted, Sumi picked up the moves quickly. They traded back and forth, stopping only to hydrate. She was learning faster than he had expected. Since light limited practice time, he was pleased with the results.

"That's enough for today."

Sumi panted and was slightly disgusted that he wasn't even breathing hard. Her body was sore, because when he blocked her shots, it was like hitting a rock wall. She was exhausted, but followed him down to the river with her horse, as he took the pack horse and the gelding to get water. On returning to the hut, after securing her horse, she went in to feed the fire and make them a hot meal. It was rice and dried fish, but to her it was delicious.

After she had her fill, Sumi said, "you finish it." Then began to do stretches, before beginning Tai Chi.

He recognized her movements. "How did you learn Tai Chi, if you've never left Japan?"

"My mother learned from my father and taught me."

"That makes sense." Enishi tried not to watch, but there was something beautiful about how she moved and was almost disappointed when Sumi stopped.

She lay down on their shared blanket, wrapping the cloak around her body. He put wood on the fire and joined her, however he lay on his back. Enishi knew she'd be asleep before him, because of the hard workout he'd put her through. He waited to see if she'd have a nightmare, but nothing happened and finally he rolled onto his side. The little oven moved until it touched his back.

That became their routine and since she got more sleep, her body performed better and faster. Still Enishi's training was gruelling and relentless. He wasn't just molding her into a better fighter, he was passing on his knowledge of fighting, both offence and defence. To Sumi it seemed like he was never satisfied. She didn't realize that her caliber was better than most fighters, because he was so elite himself.

Another thing that had changed them both, was sleeping side by side. Sumi had noticed how better sleep meant more energy. And she appreciated him for helping her achieve that. What neither realized was that they were getting use to each other and almost dependant on the other to sleep. Enishi was changing slowly too. He was less unstable emotionally and didn't need to be ruthless. His frenzied nerves hadn't been used for a while. It also meant his body could recover and begin to seek other fulfilment. Enishi became physically aware of her as a woman, which surprised him completely.

** ~ ~ ~ ~ ~**~ ~ ~ ~ ~ **

They were returning from the river when she twisted her ankle. Sumi's profanity in Chinese and Japanese made him smirk and remember how they'd first met.

"Get on my back, I'll carry you to the hut."

"It's okay, I'll manage."

"Don't be an idiot."

His tone of voice left no room for argument and so she accepted his offer. It was nothing for him to carry her and the water bags, but because they didn't wear the metal plated leather vests, he could feel her chest pressed against his back. Where his mind wandered, was the equivalent of a boy of sixteen. She too felt her body respond to having her legs around his waist and her hands touching his chest. Never in her whole life had she been attracted to a man, until him. Sumi got overly hot, as she recalled his naked body from the spring. By the time they separated at the hut, her face was red.

"Are you getting sick?" Enishi asked.

"No... I'm okay." Sumi turned her back on him, trying to control herself. She didn't understand why she was having these thoughts about him.

"Since you can't be on your feet, we'll stop your fighting lessons."

"Does that mean we're heading to Toyama?"

"Not yet. This week we'll focus on strength training that can be done without putting too much pressure on that ankle. Since your thigh has completely healed, I can wrap your ankle to give it more stability."

"Okay, thanks." A little while later, she spoke again. "Um... Enishi... I need to pee." Sumi was humiliated having to ask for help to do that.

"I'll carry you to the bushes, then tell me when you're done."

He obliged her. After she completed the performance in the bushes and got her pants on, Sumi stood up and tried to walk back, almost falling on her face. Enishi sprang forward and caught her in time, causing him to loose balance and fall onto his back. Their faces were inches apart. She kissed him, just a quick brush of her lips on his, pretending it was accidental, then Sumi rolled off.

"Sorry."

When he stood up, Enishi rotated his shoulder, as it suddenly felt sore from hitting a rock. He would never admit that it hurt and could override the pain with his mind if necessary. "I get that you don't like asking for help, but sometimes you need to." He scolded her.

**~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ** ~ ~ ~ ~ ~**

That night Enishi once again started out on his back, one hand under his head, the other stretched out above Sumi's head. Not ready to sleep, he was shocked when she rolled over and put an arm of her own over his chest, using his right arm as a pillow. Her body heat seemed hotter than normal, so Enishi's other arm came out from under his head and his hand touched her forehead. It wasn't feverish. Due to her position and how his body reacted, it took him much longer to fall asleep. He pushed those thoughts of Sumi out of his mind, by thinking about Tomoe. As he fell asleep Enishi thought he saw his sister laughing at him.

In the morning, they woke up once again back to back, to his relief. Enishi wondered of all the women he'd come in contact with, why did he suddenly like her? He had lost his virginity at thirteen, but sex was unnecessary. Sumi, from what she'd told him, wouldn't even let men touch her. Yet she allowed him to touch her during training or if she was injured, and seemed to trust him sleeping beside each other. That made him wonder if they ever made love, would he have to be extra cautious?

"How's your ankle?"

"Feels swollen."

"Let me see it." Enishi checked and saw it was puffy. "When I take the horses to the river, you put your ankle in the water too. It should be cold enough to reduce the swelling."

"Okay."

"Try to keep that foot up, until the swelling goes down."

"Sorry for being a burden."

The look he gave her, she couldn't identify, but it made Sumi shut up. The last thing she wanted was for Enishi to leave, because she was annoying. Sumi admitted to herself that she liked having him around and to lean on. He was the first person in her whole life that had ever helped her, without wanting sex in return.

"I noticed from when you fight and the previous days in town, that you have good situational awareness, which is key in fighting. Analyzing your surroundings and the players, could determine whether you win or loose a fight. You do need to improve your range of engagement. During a battle it's good to be vicious and use extreme violence. Sometimes intimidation is all you need, so taking down the leader, can get you out of a bad situation. We still need to work on your striking power, which will improve with stronger muscles. Knowing what muscle groups to use, can help win a fight." He pointed to his own body to explain further. "Thick neck muscles help prevent choke outs and absorb head blows. Legs need power for kicking and takedowns. Forearms help with punching power and blocking blows...."

She realized that he was strategic in how he fought and maximized every part of his body to win a fight. He didn't expend energy on useless movements. If Sumi could master fighting with efficiency, her endurance alone would win a fight.

"Can you teach me how to take apart a gun?"

"Maybe in Shanghai. The best way to defend against a gun is to give a smaller area of impact, so turn your body to the side. You can kick a gun out of a person's hand, but accuracy is the key. Missing might mean death. In close combat, smashing the wrist of the attacker, will make him drop the gun. For now you'll learn how to disarm a man from using a knife or sword."

"Once I've mastered all that, do we go to Toyama?"

"We can go after your ankle heals, even if you don't finish training."