Chapter Four

Accident Prone Yoshiko

A few weeks passed, and Yoshiko was becoming more accustomed to the Institute and it's inhabitants. She got along with everyone there, and surprisingly enough, Logan even didn't mind her!

"It's just the way she smiles!" Kitty giggled, "She's so innocent!"

Yoshiko befriended Hank, who tried his hardest to make Science interesting for her. They decided that she probably shouldn't have PE because Logan would be drillings her allot now that she was being home schooled. She staid in the boundaries of the Institute and never left them, you could find her outside allot or playing in a tree. Yoshiko didn't eat much, she had a pear every morning and two pears at dinner and they never found her eating anything else. She'd patrol the halls of the Institue at night, she never slept, she never even looked tired.

One Saturday afternoon Logan was drilling a bunch of the newer students there along with Kitty, Kurt, Evan, and Yoshiko. It was indoors in the danger room, and he figured it'd be a good chance to figure out what kind of abilities Yoshiko had. They changed her into a basic X-Men uniform, it took them a whole week to get it just right because of her small size. Her boots went to her knees and black gloves that went to her elbows, her hair was always put down to rim her small face and never really seemed to grow.

"Come on Yoshiko! Jump!" Rahne Sinclair from Iralnd, a mutant with the ability to change into a wolf or werewolf at will, tried to encourage Yoshiko to jump across the holographic image of a cliff to the other side, "I'll catch you! It's all right!"

"B-but I can't!" Yoshiko had learned quite a bit of English over the past weeks from Professor Xavier, but her thick sweet accent staid intact, "I'll fall!!"

"Come on Yoshiko!" Roberto Dacosta, a mutant that can convert the sun's eneergy into strength and flight, yelled after her, "Just don't think! Just do it!"

Yoshiko turned around and took a few passes before she turned back and ran, she ran with all her might and jumped, she went sailing through the air but she didn't get all th way to the edge.

"AWW CRUD!!"

She closed her eyes tightly getting ready for impact, her legs kicking underneath her.

"Gott-cha!" Rahne grabbed Yoshiko's arms right before she was about to fall, they've became really good friends over the past couple weeks, "See! I told you!"

"Thank you!!!" Yoshiko was pulled up out of the cliff's edge and onto the hard ground, she started to twirl in circles out of peer joy, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

She twirled too fast and when she wanted to stop she tripped right off the edge and back into the cliff's belly, immediately the hologram disappeared and an energy wrapped around her and lowered steadily back onto the ground. When the energy disappeared Jean gave a small wave from the control center of the danger room.

"Aw Yoshiko!" Kitty grumbled, "You almost did it!"

"Well, technically she did," Jean said as she and Logan descended from the control room, "She just got too excited."

"I'm sorry, I'll try it again if you want," Yoshiko said as she lowered her head.

"Ten push ups kiddo," Logan said, "I herd you say the word can't."

Everyone found that Yoshiko would say that word often, Logan started to get sick of it and decided to make a rule. If she said the word, "can't" she'd have to do ten push-ups.

"Aw Logan! You know I can't-er-crap!" Yoshiko winced, she didn't it again.

"Twenty," Logan rolled his eyes.

"Um, you know I'm not capable of!" Yoshiko said, "Doing that many push-ups! Ha!"

"Thirty for'getten smart..."

"Can't I just run laps or something?" Yoshiko mumbled as she got down on her knees, "I like running! Why can't it be running?"

"It's a punishment," Evan said, "If you like running and we made you do something you like every time you said can't then you'd say it more!"

"1, but I, 2, don't see, 3, how this, 4, will help, 5, me!!" Yoshiko frowned every time she got close to the ground, "9! 10!" She stopped in mid-push, "What comes after ten!?"

"Eleven!" Rahne rolled her eyes just like Logan, "Really Yoshiko!"

"Elfen? Aven? Elfenen? Aw forget this!" Yoshiko rolled her eyes as well and went back to her push-ups, "Zyuuiti! Zyuuni! Zyuusan! Zyuusi! Zyuugo! Zyuuroku!"

"What is she saying!?" Kitty yelped as she looked to Jean.

"She's counting in Japanese," Jean sighed, "Yoshiko, it's not very good to just give up like that! You'll never learn then."

"Nizyuu! Doo itasimasite! Nizyuu iti! Nizyuu ni! Nizyuu san!" Yoshiko was now at 24, "Nizyuu si! Nizyuu go! Nizyuu roku! Nizyuu siti!"

"What'd she say and what number is she on?" Roberto asked, "I lost track a while ago."

"She's on 28 and she said don't mention it," Jean sighed and looked to Logan, "What are we going to do now? We've been jumping off cliffs now for over an hour."

"Everyone is dismissed except Yoshiko," Logan said, he looked down at Yoshiko who stopped and started to mumble stuff in Japanese which he was sure weren't praises, "We're going to go over some basic things until she gets them down like breathing.

"Bye Yoshiko!" Rahne waved, "See you at dinner!"

"Bye Jean! Bye Mr. Logan" Kitty waved bye also, "Bye Yoshiko!"

"Bai!!" Yoshiko waved back as they left.

"Come on, get up off the ground," Logan said, he held out his hand for her to get up.

"I've do it on myself," Yoshiko got up and dusted herself off.

"I can do it by myself," Jean corrected her, "Your English has improved allot Yoshiko, but you still need some reminders and tips."

"Right, enough chit chat, let's get on to some serious business," Logan walked up the tower to the control room and typed in some things on the control board, the hologram projectors disappeared and a balance beam, some bars and some mats came out of the ground and replaced them, "Jean, help her up on the balance beam."

Jean picked Yoshiko up and placed her on the high balance beam, Yoshiko peered about wondering what to do. Jean took Yoshiko's hand and guided her across the balance beam, she turned her around on the beam and let go of Yoshiko's waist so she could do it on her own.

"Iya!" Yoshiko yelped, "Kuru usiro!" (No! Come back!)

"Come on Yoshiko, you can do it," Jean took a few steps back allowing Yoshiko to move freely, "We just want to see your acrobatic abilities, or if you have them at all." Yoshiko still didn't move from the spot, "It's easy, just walk one end to the other."

"Yame-ru? (Give Up?)" Logan asked from the control room, a slight smile on his face, "We can stop here if you like Yoshiko."

"Logan, quit tormenting," Ororo walked into the danger room, she was in her x-men uniform, her arms were crossed and frowning up at Logan, "Yoshiko, go ahead."

Yoshiko put her hands out parallel from each other in hope to gain some kind of balance, she picked up one foot and her knee that was still standing buckled underneath her. She waved about frantically and gave a small yelp before she fell off the balance beam, Jean wrapped her mind around Yoshiko and hovered her there for a moment before replacing her back on the beam.

"Try it again," Jean said with a smile, "Slowly."

Yoshiko gave a small nod and put out her hands again, she closed her eyes and tried to walk across the beam. She took one step, and then another, and then!

"IYA!" Yoshiko tumbled off the beam as Jean's mind wrapped around her again.

She lowered Yoshiko down onto the ground this time and let go, Jean looked up at Logan who didn't seem too happy. Balance was definitely not one of Yoshiko's abilities, they figured that out from day one when she fell into the fish pond in the garden.

"Try the mats Yoshiko," Ororo waved over to the mats, "Maybe beams aren't your thing, who knows, you might be better at these."

But she wasn't, Yoshiko's arms kept on buckling underneath her when she tried a cart wheel and the only thing she could do was a somersault. Even then, her somersault was messy and she never tucked in her knees and didn't bounce back up like others did. Logan's expression never changed, if she couldn't do any basic moves there's no possible way she can defend herself physically. What if she lost her powers one day and all she had to defend herself was her fists? He sighed, she wouldn't last a day. He typed something in and the balance beam and mats disappeared, he didn't want to see her get hurt on the high bars so he didn't even bother testing her on those. Logan descended from the control and ruffled Yoshiko's hair.

"Your free to go kiddo, but I think you have a class with Mr. McCoy right now?" Logan smirked, "Keep up the good studies I've herd."

"Mm-kie!" Yoshiko turned around and left with a wave to go change out of her uniform.

"Oh Logan... what are we going to do with her?" Ororo asked as she watched Yoshiko turn the corner, "She'll never make the team, even though she'd make a fine edition, her abilities will go to waste and she'll stay cooped up in this mansion..."

"We'll just have to work with her harder," Jean sighed, "Maybe she's a good fighter."

"Nope, Monks are raised not to fight. She probably doesn't have a bad bone in her body," Logan sighed also.

"She hasn't been outside the mansion's boundaries since she arrived," Ororo led them out of the danger room and into the elevator, "Maybe Jean, you and some of the other girls from the Institute can go to the mall or something with her, she won't wear anything but that orange outfit that she got from the Temple. I'm sure she'd like some new clothes."

"Doubtfully, once again Monks are raised to wear those basic outfits all their lives practically." Logan said, he pressed a button to the main floor "I was surprised she had that coat."

"It isn't even hers," Jean mumbled, "It doesn't even fit her correctly, it was probably that guy's the Professor was talking about. Dekua was his name?"

"Oh, which by the way, is coming by in two weeks," Ororo said, she hung to the rail, she was never really fond of enclosed places, being clasterphobic and all, "Charles said that Dekua and some of the Monks from the Temple will be coming by to check up on her. They said it has been three years now since they received her and they want to celebrate."

"That sounds like fun!" Jean said, "I'm sure Yoshiko would love that!"

The elevator stopped on their floor, the three exited and gave their byes as they went their separate way. Not to see each other until dinner, Logan headed to Charles' office. He rapped on the door and entered before he could be answered.

"Logan, please, have a seat," Xavier motioned to the pair of chairs by his desk, "And how is our Yoshiko?" He paused, he didn't need to read minds to see the look on Logan's face that was usually emotionless, but somehow, Logan looked depressed, "That bad?"

"Mm, the kid has no balance what's so ever, being raised in the Temple as far as she can remember I guarantee she's a lousy fighter," Logan propped a foot on his other knee and leaned back into the chair, "Although, being young, she can probably learn some basic fighting skills easily. I mean, she learned English easily enough."

"Hm, I understand," Xavier folded his arms across his chest and starred at his desk in deep thought, "Logan."

"Yes?"

"I'd like you to teach her everything you know, and then some." Xavier looked up from his desk, "As far as powers go, me and Jean will deal with that, but I want to make sure she can defend herself without using her powers."

Logan cocked an eyebrow at Xavier, he shook his head and sighed, "Sure, Professor."