In The Darkness. Damantha Makarova

Well, that would be my fault.»

      «Don’t. Everything is alright. I enjoyed your company nevertheless.»

      «I hope you won’t get tired of me, because from now on we are going to be spending much more time together. And I must warn you – I am a very strict teacher.»

      «I don’t mind, Master Itsuki. I love learning new things.» Kara smiled again. «I just hope I will be able to keep up, considering I am not fully healed yet.»

      «Don’t worry. At first I will be teaching you some things that are not as physical.»

      «If you are about what a real shinobi actually does, I know some of that…»

      «Oh, really? Enlighten me.» Itsuki sounded flirty, when he wasn’t hiding behind that mask of his, and Kara liked his expression. He seemed open, happy even. It could be a result of him being a little drunk from sake and wine, but he looked genuine.

      Kara laughed with him and told him everything she knew about the shinobi she read about in her world, and very soon she found out that for the most part her knowledge was quite extensive. But he still corrected her on some things and started telling about others that she knew nothing about.

      In that long and deep conversation they spent most of the night, before Kara started dozing off. Itsuki convinced her to go to bed and returned to his usual self – a masked and hooded silent warrior who will be looking after her while she slept. Though Kara didn’t know – he actually slept through the night, although he stayed vigilant even in his sleep. He was used to staying in the far corner of her room, hidden in the shadows and ready to come to her aid if anything happens.

      He also knew that this would be the last night he would be able to spend next to her, and this brought a faint sense of dread into his soul.

      4

      * * *

      The next morning Kara woke up to a neat stack of dark shinobi clothing next to her bed. Itsuki sat in the corner – just like before, but this time he seemed sleeping, because his eyes were closed. As Kara stood up to get dressed, the man opened his eyes and jumped to his feet. The young woman noticed that he was about to leave and smirked.

      «Stay. You’ve already seen me naked. What’s the point in leaving, if you’ve seen it all…» she said to him.

      Itsuki, however, turned away.

      «It doesn’t mean I shouldn’t respect your privacy.» He said.

      «I don’t mind.» She shrugged with a smile on her lips. «Unless, of course, my ugly scar makes me less attractive than before…»

      Itsuki didn’t answer and Kara dressed up in silence. When she finished, she felt Itsuki near and turned to him.

      With a strange expression in his eyes, he checked her clothes and nodded.

      «Let’s go and find out how well you are with your body.» He said and walked out of the room.

      Kara followed, feeling very strange.

      He took her to the gardens again – to the parts that had lots of various stones and paths that could be easily used for training.

      For the next few hours he demanded she would balance and jump and run, showing him how well she knew the basics and what she could improve. Even though her wound was still giving her a hard time, she didn’t complain once.

      As they returned to the castle, Itsuki was silent, but Kara knew – there was something more behind that silence than just her performance during what he called assessment.

      «So did I do good?» she finally asked, tired of the silence between them.

      «Better than I anticipated. Tomorrow we will try sparring.» Itsuki replied. «I’ve seen you in battle with a demon, but I must know how you fight a human as well.»

      «Can I ask you something?»

      «Sure.»

      «Did Lord Ryuu tell you what he saw when he met me?»

      «Yes. He was surprised when you asked him and his men to leave. Most people he encountered – either ran, or attacked. He also told me how you killed one of his men with a drumstick. And then how you killed three others in various ways. He was quite impressed.»

      «I’m able to turn almost anything into a weapon, when my life depends on it. Even a drumstick…» Kara sighed.

      «I believe you. Lord Ryuu, by the way, kept the second one as a memento of your first encounter.»

      «Did he?»

      «Like I said – he was very impressed.» Itsuki glanced at her with a twitched eyebrow.

      «That’s strange, because you don’t seem to be.» Kara smirked, trying to get some emotion in reply.

      «If I don’t show it, it doesn’t mean it’s not there, Nakano. You will have more opportunities to impress us all, I assure you. But for the moment, we must concentrate on your training.»

      «So what’s next then?»

      «Well…» Itsuki turned to the far corner of the courtyard, which was out of limits for her before. «Have you ever ridden a horse?»

      «Frequently. Before my world fell.» Kara saw the stables with many different horses that varied in height and colour.

      «Good. Then you will choose yourself one.» He led her past the stables behind the building where they kept horses in small paddocks.

      One of those stood a little way off from the others and contained one single horse – a giant black stallion. Intrigued, Kara headed toward him, but Itsuki caught her by the arm.

      «He’s off limits.» He said firmly. «He already killed three men. We keep him for breeding, not for riding.»

      «Let me see him, please.» Kara replied. «In all my years as a rider I have never met a horse who couldn’t be tamed. I have worked with so-called killers and turned them into fine companions each time.»

      «Fine.» Itsuki sighed.

      They walked up to the paddock, and Kara noticed the stallion tense up and run at them aggressively. He couldn’t reach people behind the tall fence, but he was obviously not happy with them being there. She watched him for some time, and climbed the fence before Itsuki could stop her.

      Walking towards the stallion, she showed the animal her empty hands as a sign of peace.

      The horse snorted and jumped, furious at the intruder, but Kara stopped in the middle of his paddock and froze, looking straight at the stallion.

      «Nakano! Get back here now!» Kara heard Itsuki calling, but ignored him.

      «Hello, handsome.» She said to the horse and noticed the stallion jump to her.

      She didn’t move, when the stallion ran up and dug into the ground, stopping himself. She didn’t move when he tried scaring her by stomping and kicking near her.

      Kara let him thrash around, until he finally stopped and looked at her in confusion.

      «Your tricks won’t fool me, pretty boy.» She said calmly, feeling that this horse was never spoken to or treated with kindness. «Would you like to be my friend?»

      She slowly reached out her hand and the stallion snorted angrily, stomping his hoof onto the ground. But she didn’t flinch, staying still and looking at him expectantly. She watched him, as he flinched and jumped nervously, too afraid to approach her. But she was patient and kept smiling, catching every move and glance that he made.

      A long time had passed before the stallion reached his neck out and sniffed her palm – not even touching her, but getting acquainted to her smell.

      «See? I’m not that bad.» Kara whispered. «And so are you.»

      She