The next day Laina was up before Ryo. She stepped over the tiger that had taken to laying down right next to her bed. Her bare feet padded quietly down the clean steps. Laina smiled happily that they were in fact still clean! It was a miracle, for sure! She threw her clothes and backpack into the laundry and made her way to the kitchen. Quietly she got a pot of coffee going and started making pancakes for breakfast. It didn't take long for her happy quiet to get disturbed. She heard Ryo's bare feet on the steps before she saw him enter the kitchen.

"Smells good in here," Ryo said, walking in once again with no shirt on. He wore a pair of red and black flannel pants as he sauntered over to the table. He stepped over White Blaze's new spot easily and Laina once again wondered if he could actually see. He sat down on the seat that had the sun shining on it and leaned back so Laina could get a full luscious view of his ripped and tan torso. She went about making him a cup of coffee. She set it down in front of Ryo and he moved a hand to rest on the handle of the mug.

"I'm going to train you today. You need to be able to take care of yourself," Ryo said with a smirk, remembering that she had said the same thing before, and after the warning Seiji had told him. If for some reason he wasn't here, she needed a fighting chance.

"You're going to train me on how to make a sandwich?" Laina asked with a laugh.

Ryo chuckled, "I think it's an even trade. You teach me stuff and I teach you how to protect yourself."

"How can you teach me to protect myself?" Laina asked, her eyebrow raised. She went back to making pancakes.

"We should go for a run today. Can you keep up?" Ryo asked as he sipped the coffee, and ignored her questioning of his abilities.

"I'll try," Laina replied. Normally she would say she could, because she thought she could run with the best of them, but Ryo was really fast on the soccer field yesterday, and so she probably couldn't. They ate breakfast and went for a run on a path Ryo obviously knew well. He followed every curve and slowed down only for Laina to keep up. They got cleaned up and Ryo went with Laina to the bank, where he let her borrow money to open her own account. An embarrassed Laina thanked him and promised to pay him back. Then she wondered if that was why he had insisted on going with her.

He gave Vince a call so that Laina could give him her information. Vince proceeded to tell Laina that he gave them a large bonus for giving her up quickly, and that her boss says she can come back anytime. Laina smiled at that. When she got off the phone, she threw her things into the dryer. She had to borrow a pair of sweats and a shirt from Ryo. That might have been why the people at the bank were giving her strange looks. Laina shrugged and reheated some dinner for lunch. Ryo sat next to White blaze on the back step, so she took her bowl and his out to him. Sitting next to him she handed him the bowl and gazed out at the forest. It was a beautiful sunny day and the birds were singing. All they heard was the sound of forks hitting bowls as they ate. Ryo finished first and waited on her. When she was finished, he grabbed her bowl from her and took it in. Laina stood up and stretched. The peace and quiet of the woods made her reluctant to move. When she turned Ryo had been standing right behind her, and she bumped into his chest. He grabbed her elbows so she didn't fall backwards and Laina felt herself blush.

"Sorry, didn't hear you come back," Laina said tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Ryo chuckled and guided her to the grassy area at the bottom of the steps.

"Okay, so you remember the basics that Shin taught you, right?" Ryo asked going back into serious mode.

Laina nodded and got into the stance Shin had taught her. Then she shook her head, feeling like an idiot. She knew he couldn't see.

"Yes," she said.

"Okay, so one of the things people tend to do when someone is attacking is back up. I don't want you to do that," Ryo said raising his eyebrows and moving to slowly punch at her. Laina instinctively jumped back.

"No, if you do that, I can keep coming at you and gaining momentum until you lose your balance and fall backwards," Ryo said moving forward until she fell, "See what I mean?"

He held a hand to her to help her back up and she nodded as she brushed her sweats off.

"Oh, I mean yes," Laina said hitting her head because she had done it again.

"This time I want you to step to the side. Not only does it make you safer because you can see better, but it makes it so your attacker has to adjust and move, slowing down his momentum," Ryo said getting ready again.

"That actually makes sense," Laina said getting ready. This time as Ryo slowly punched at her, she dodged by jumping to the left. He had to turn around and adjust his trajectory before going at her again. She jumped to the side again and smiled.

"Good job! Okay, now I'm going to move a little faster," Ryo moved a little faster and Laina had a harder time getting out of the way. She could tell he purposefully missed her a couple of times. She needed to be able to move faster. Then Ryo taught her how to block. Moving her arms and explaining the important areas to block, and how they would be the week spots of her attacker. After a few hours she was feeling slightly overwhelmed with all the information.

"Don't worry, Rome wasn't built in a day. I don't expect you to remember everything today. We'll just keep going over it, until you get it, okay?" Ryo said resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you," Laina said. She was surprised at seeing this side of Ryo. He was much warmer than he was when she first met him.

"No problem," Ryo said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for a hug. Laina was stiff for a moment and then relaxed, wrapping her arms around his waist. He gently rocked her for a moment and Laina smiled, leaning into him. Ryo gently lifted her chin and when she flinched, he remembered she had bruises that he couldn't see. He gently kissed that spot on her cheek and felt her sigh. He could feel her cheek move as she smiled. This was how she wanted to be held by a guy. Just like in those romantic movies she loved to watch. His cheek rubbed against hers lightly. She was surprised when his lips brushed over hers, a spark of something had her gasping in air. Did he just? She heard him gasp and wondered if he felt the same thing. Then his lips pressed against hers more firmly, and that spark ignited. Something came over her as her hands moved to the back of his neck, her fingers getting tangled in his silky soft black hair. His tongue grazed her lip and Laina met his tongue with her own.

His hands moved down her back and slid over her rear. He lifted her as though she weighed nothing. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he deftly guided them to the living room. He laid her down on the couch, without once breaking from the tango of tongues going on, his hands sliding under her shirt, a delicious fire burning over her bare skin followed his touch. His hands sliding over the smooth skin on the small of her back. His fingers pausing briefly on the scars she had. It was almost like he was mapping out her body. It took him no time at all to unsnap her bra, his fingers sending ripples of electricity over her skin. She moaned as his hand cupped her breast. She could feel the need pooling in her groin, his fingers gently pinching her nipples sent a shiver down her spine. His hardness was pressed against her, and she found herself wiggling her hips against it. Ryo let out an erotic moan that made her pool between her thighs making her squeeze her hips so that he pressed harder against her core in an attempt to relieve some of the pressure mounting there. She was close to her release and she wanted him so badly. She pulled her fingers from his hair to reach the bottom of his shirt. They broke apart for her to pull his shirt over his head, and she gazed at his chest as her fingers slid down every bump of muscle there. She looked up into his unfocused blue eyes and could tell he was enjoying this as much as she was. His lips found hers again, their tongues melding together. Then a guitar ringtone broke through their solace. Ryo jumped, pulling back and digging into his jeans pocket. He pulled out his phone and slid across the screen to answer.

"Hello," Ryo said, holding it to his ear. Laina laid back, trying to catch her breath. She had been so caught up in the moment she hadn't even thought of what could happen. She moved quickly, sliding off the couch and running to her room on the second floor. She needed space, needed time to think about what just happened. She found herself, fixing her bra back into place and pacing around the room. She could hear him having a conversation with someone. What was she going to do? Did she actually have feelings for the guy or was this a purely physical thing? I mean the guy is a legend, who wouldn't want to do that with him? Her mind ran circles around the pro's and cons of being with Ryo. Her heart raced and she eventually sat down and tried some meditation to try and calm down. She needed a clear head and her thoughts were telling her to just meet him down there naked and have her way with him. Would that be taking advantage of him though? She shook her head trying to go back to the meditation. It took her some time to get herself calm, and lots of deep breaths.

After a while she heard a knock on the door of her room. Laina got up stiffly and opened the door, leaning against it. What was he going to do? Was he going to kiss her again? She found herself gazing at his soft lips.

"I'm sorry, about that, I didn't mean for it to go that far. I don't know what came over me. Please forgive me. I never want to hurt you, Laina," Ryo whispered, he moved and pressed his forehead against hers gently. His hand touched her shoulder and slid down her arm to her hand. His breath smelled like mint, and that mingled with the masculine woodsy scent of his cologne.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault too. I could have stopped you if I wanted to," Laina whispered. Ryo let out a relieved chuckle. His lips pressed chastely against hers and he pulled back, not letting go of her hand. He guided her down the steps.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving. All the working out we did today made me hungry. I went ahead and got take out, for both of us. I mean it's not like I can take you out, so I called my favorite food in," Ryo said guiding her to the kitchen. A bag of take out containers sat on the counter. Laina's eyebrows rose in surprise. She never even heard anyone come to the door. She did have a little freak out session there, so it could have happened then.

"Do you mind making us up some plates?" Ryo asked as he grabbed some chopsticks from a drawer. He grabbed a couple of napkins and put them down at the table. Laina smiled already feeling more relaxed as she brought the food and plates to the table. He had ordered bulgogi, and jab chae. Laina smiled that he had also picked some of her favorites.

"I'll take the spicy pork," Ryo said, "I figured you would like the bulgogi."

"I do like bulgogi, thanks," Laina said making Ryo a plate and making one for herself.

"It was Shu that called. He said his wife was feeling really sick, so he had to watch the kids," Ryo said with a frown, "I told him to bring the kids. You should have heard him. He didn't want to sound rude but he was like, Dude, your house isn't exactly kid friendly right now, and I told him it actually was. He sounded surprised. I explained to him that I had you here to help out and he seemed relieved."

Laina laughed as she ate the food with the chopsticks, he gave her.

"I told him to bring the baby, too. To give Akane a little break. She's going through chemo right now, and it's taking a toll on her," Ryo said sadly.

"I love babies!" Laina said brightening up, "I hope he brings it."

"Her, her name's Sakura," Ryo said smiling as he ate, "We should make him some meals to take home with him. Because his wife is sick."

"I can do that," Laina said, nodding her head.

"You have to make a lot because Shu eats enough for three, and his kids have a really good appetite," Ryo said with a laugh. Laina furrowed her eyebrows at him.

"There is no way he eats that much," Laina said shaking her head.

"No really, you'll see. Just make sure you make a lot of food. We'll probably have to go to the store again," Ryo said. There was a moment of silence as they ate. Laina watched him as he chewed and looked deep in thought.

"I want to take things slower. I haven't been in a real relationship, like ever. The only thing girls wanted was my body, and that gets draining after a while. I'd like to get to know you more, on a more personal level. I know you're definitely loyal, and I could really use that. I've had plenty of girlfriends who couldn't wait for me and moved on to someone else, while I was traveling. I'm not the best boyfriend material, I'm sure you already knew that, but I'd really like a girl who wasn't just about having sex with THE Sanada, Ryo," he said with a sigh and put another bite into his mouth.

At that moment Laina was really glad he couldn't see. She shoved food into her mouth so she would have time to think before she had to respond. This is serious! She was probably bright red because she had actually thought that. She considered just having sex with him to see what it was like. He wanted more of a relationship and she wasn't sure she was ready for that yet. But this was a chance of a lifetime to be with him. Not just because he was a superstar, but also because he could be a nice guy. He was really gruff at first, but she's seen him actually be kind, and he loved kids. There was also the fact that she felt as though he would never hit her. He was training her to fight, but at the same time she knew he would be there to protect her. Something inside her told her to take the chance, there might not be another. She chewed her lip for a minute as she thought about it.

"I don't know if I'm ready yet," she replied with a resigned sigh, "But I'm not ready to say no either. Can I have some time to think on it? I'm really attracted to you, there is definitely something there. I just don't know if I'm ready to be in a relationship again. My last one tanked so badly, you get it, right?"

Ryo nodded, "Okay, I get it. Just let me know when you are ready, okay?"

Laina nodded as she ate more Bulgogi, savoring the sweet meat.

"But just so you know, I'm not going to stop kissing you, or imagining you naked in bed, so…," Ryo said with a smirk and laughed as she coughed, "Sorry, it's in my mind now. I know what your body feels like, and I know your scent."

Laina actually chuckled at that. She didn't want to admit it to him, but she also didn't want him to stop kissing her. His kisses made her feel more alive than she felt in years.