Once the women had left, Jacob let a space of silence hang in the air a few moments before he went over to a small glass cabinet and took out two short cut-crystal glasses and a matching crystal decanter half-filled with a clear liquid. He poured them each a glass and sat on a perspex dining chair opposite Raizo. Jacob reached behind his ear to retrieve a joint he'd started smoking earlier but didn't finish. There was a small blow torch by the foot of the chair he was sat in and he used that, expertly, to light the joint just before taking a long slow drag. He let the smoke sit in his chest before releasing it into the air as slowly as he had inhaled it.

"She's got the bug Raizo."

Raizo was gazing into the doorway trying to hear what might be happening downstairs with Mika and Mel but there was no use in that. He knew the room they were in would be heavily fortified and sound-proofed. He looked back to Jacob. "I know. I knew before she did. I just didn't know what to do about it."

Jacob took another drag while reaching across the coffee table for an ashtray in the shape of a throwing star. "What could you have done? Try to stop her?"

Raizo reached for the glass on the coffee table and raised it to his nose before taking a small sip. "I don't know. Yes? No, it's not my place to restrict her. She is her own person. It's what drew me to her."

"Tell me something Raizo, when you and she became, 'you and she' do you think she would have rather you pick a less violent form of work? It's not like you really need the money."

Raizo contemplated a moment. "Of course but she didn't. That's when I knew something in her had changed. She feared for my safety but there was a part of her that was becoming comfortable with the danger. When I came back to Berlin to check in on her after the Ozunu fell, I thought that I was rescuing her but perhaps I've done something else."

Jacob took a drag and leaned back in his chair resting his left ankle on his right knee. "You unleashed her."

There was a faint banging sound coming from the basement for a few moments and then it stopped. Raizo glanced over at Jacob who seemed unbothered by it. "Mel's moved on to the boards. Don't worry, she won't break any bones."

Raizo rubbed his brow. "I should have told Mika."

"You know that's not how this works. You can't tell her. Mental endurance training doesn't work if you're anticipating it. Mika needed to be caught off guard and she needs to know that you won't be coming to save her. She's tough. She'll get through it."

Raizo took a deep breath and exhaled. He knew what he had to do. He'd known for a while but it didn't make the thought of having to leave Mika to be tortured for two days any easier to stomach. He trusted Mel and Jacob. This is how they trained their prospects. It was just how it was done and Mika would either immerge stronger from it or it would break her and possibly cause her to try and retreat back to a life of normality, a life without Raizo. That was impossible. Raizo hadn't told her that. He didn't feel that information was helpful to anyone. Mika had to make this decision on her own without emotional coercion but if it turned out that she couldn't withstand the induction into a life she begged to be a part of, she wouldn't be allowed to go back to her old life.

Mel emerged from the doorway wiping her hands on a damp towel that looked like it had seen better days. She was flexing her hands into fists as if to ease tension there. She had blood spatter on her shirt and a sheen of sweat on her face.

"Whooo!, I forget how tiresome this can be."

Raizo could barely bring himself to look at Mel, "How is she?"

Mel wiped the towel across her forehead. "Conscious and in one piece."

Raizo knew he wouldn't get much more detail out of Mel and to be honest with himself, the less he knew at that moment, the better.

"Love, turn the thermostat down in the chamber. I need her cold tonight. She's not to sleep." Jacob did so from an app on his smartphone. "Will you be staying with us tonight Raizo?" Mel asked.

Raizo nodded. Just another 16 hours and he would have his Mika back. He hoped.

That night Raizo slept in one of the guest rooms with images of his Ozunu training flashing through his mind. Images of Mika sometimes took the place of his memory of Kiriko and when that happened, he awoke and then meditated to get back to sleep. Hours seemed like days. Eventually, Raizo had woken up and just stayed awake either meditating or exercising.

There was a gentle knock at his door. The person on the other side didn't wait to be invited in, they just pushed the door open slowly. It was Jacob. "Mel is getting her ready."

Raizo nodded remaining silent. He gathered his things and went to the meeting point. It was in woodland by an old worn-out cabin. Stood at the foot of the porch he centred himself and went to that place he went to when he needed to be calm and focused.

Jacob approached with Mika who appeared to be asleep in his arms. She had a blanket around her shoulders hugging it tight to her body. She looked small. Her clothes were wet and stained. Her hair was dishevelled and dry blood stained her face. "I'll take her to the car," Jacob said.

Mel hung back behind him to walk with Raizo. "She did well skoenlapper." She looped arms with him and patted his shoulder. "She will wake shortly. Come and see us when you're ready for the next phase."

Raizo nodded as they approached the car and unlocked it to allow Jacob to place sleeping Mika on the back seat. Raizo turned to them both. "Thank you both. There's no one else I would have trusted with her induction."

Mel smiled back, "You should come make love with us some time."

Raizo smiled easing a small bit of the tension he was holding. "Maybe next time." He called back as he got into the driver's seat of the car.

"Tease!" Mel yelled back watching the car pull away slowly.

"You used to be so subtle once upon a time." Jacob said to her turning to go back in the direction they came.

"Subtlety is the language of youth and liars." Mel replied pulling her dress off over her head and tossing it at Jacob.

When Mika awoke 7 hours later, her ears stirred first. There was silence around her apart from the low hum of a washing machine in the distance. Next, her nose let her know that she was somewhere clean, surrounded by familiar scents like fresh linen and more importantly, Raizo. She didn't move, partly for fear this was all a dream and partly because it could be a trap.

"You're finally awake."

It was Raizo's gentle voice, he was in the room with her and with all the confusing emotions that were rushing through her head and her heart Mika risked opening her eyes. She was on her back, she recognized the ceiling, she was home. Something inside her tried to unclench but it was an effort rather than a release.

Raizo was knelt by the side of the bed and reached out to touch Mika's arm. She flinched and then instantly apologized.

"I'm sorry…I don't know why I did that."

Raizo shook his head softly dismissing her regret. "It's okay. You've been through a lot." He got up off the floor to sit on the edge of the bed. His eyes sought Mika's permission and she nodded slowly while shifting over to give him more room. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you about the training."

Training. Mika let that word roll around her head a moment before attempting to pull herself upright in the bed. Pain burned through her left side. Raizo noticed her wince and helped arrange some pillows behind her so she could sit upright.

"Easy Mika, you've got some bruising, but nothing is broken. You need to rest."

Mika was gazing down at the blankets around her waist. She caught a glimpse of her bruised face in the closet mirror opposite her. She looked disappointed. Raizo noticed.

"Talk to me…" He reached out and took a gentle hold of the fingers on her left hand and raised her knuckles to his lips. "What is it?"

Mika took a breath and exhaled slowly feeling foolish and selfish. "You're training was a million times worse than this. And you were a child, and it lasted years. I've had less than a fraction of that and I thought I was going to die."

She pulled her hand away from Raizo and pulled her knees up to her chin. The pain of her bruised ribs made the task slow and laborious, but she completed it all the same.

"You're being very hard on yourself. Mel was very impressed with you and besides, feeling like you're going to die is kind of the point."

"You weren't there Raizo."

"No, but I stayed and waited for you. It killed me not to come in there and make it stop but I trust Jacob and Mel, they are the best at what they do. Most of all I trusted you. I trusted that you would want me to let you see this through and that if you didn't want to do it anymore you would tell me."

Raizo pulled Mika's hand out from under her chin gently and placed in between both of his. "Mika, do you want this to end?"

Mika looked at Raizo and saw the effort he was putting into controlling his emotions for her sake. This wasn't about him after all and that level of respect and trust, she'd never seen in a partner before, not even Maslow. "I really thought I was going to die." She said again quietly, letting the realization wash over her, "and this is just the start. I know that."

Raizo scooted closer to Mika and placed his palm on her bruised cheek, his thumb gently brushing her healing lip. "Mika, I love you. Do you want to stop?"

Mika raised her eyes to him squarely for the first time since she'd woken up. For some reason she couldn't understand, she was shaking. She leaned into Raizo's palm, resting her own hand on the outside of his to keep that warm touch against her skin. "I love you too." She said back. "But no more running, no more fear in control, I want to keep going."

Raizo just nodded in silence and pulled her into his arms.