Thanks for the reviews. I'm glad you guys are liking this. And to those who aren't one for ship stories, worry not. This is not a ship story. The only pairing(s) there'll probably be will be some Daniel/Janet (just because they make a cute couple), but not for many chapters. If I did pair Sam up, it be with another character besides Jack, probably from the planet she was on. But like I said, I'm not sure if I'm going to do that. This story mostly deals with Sam learning how to live with the things she had to do.

I will explain how Sam knows Japanese/the Japanese culture in the next chapter.

Anything recognizable does not belong to me and never will.

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"Here is the room you will be sleeping in," Ryu said, sliding open the door. They had traveled to thevillage up in the mountains a day after Sam had visited Samanosuke's house in the city.

"Thank you," Sam said.

"I will show you around the village once you've settled in. If you'd like, there are some clothes you can change into," he added, pointing at a pile of neatly laid out clothes.

"Thank you," she said. He nodded and left.

Sam picked up the clothes and noticed that they were a pair of hakama pants and the gi tops, along with a belt. She glanced down at her own dirty clothes and changed. Sam felt comfortable in the Japanese clothes and stepped out of the room, heading outside where Ryu was.

He turned and smiled faintly. She wore dark brown hakama pants and a dark, midnight blue gi top. He motioned to some sandals she could wear and she stepped into them. She walked over to him and they began to walk through the village, Ryu introducing her to several villagers.

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Sam sat cross-legged in the long grass, the wind picking up every so often and gently blowing her hair. Her eyes were closed and her face was relaxed. She tried to let her mind drift, but only managed to notice the chill that was creeping up on her.

After several more minutes she opened her eyes and sighed. She pulled out a small flask of sake and took a drink. She glanced up as Samanosuke walked up to her. She rose to her feet and bowed to him.

"If you are not careful, you will become ill," he told her, arching a brow and looking pointedly at the sake flask.

"I'll be fine," she said.

"Drowning your past will not erase it," he said as she began to walk away.

"You don't know anything about me," she snapped.

He folded his arms into his jacket and looked at her. "I know you are a soldier. And I know you have done things that give you nightmares."

"How do you know that?" Sam demanded.

"I listen," he replied. He turned and took a few steps away before facing Sam again. "I've instructed the people of this village not to give you any more sake," he said. "It is for your own good." With that, he walked away. Sam glared at him, quelling the anger that rose.

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"I don't see why you can't just let her drink," Ryu said to his father.

"Ryu, she is strong but lost. If she continues to travel down the path she is on, it will destroy her. In order to move on with what she has done, she must stop running and face it," Samanosuke said.

Shouts from Sam's room made them turn their heads. "What could have made her run from the things she cares for?" Ryu wondered aloud.

"I do not know. She will tell us when she wants," Samanosuke said. "Try to get some rest." Ryu nodded and the older man left. Ryu looked at Sam's room as she cried out for sake. He turned and walked to a small shrine in the house and knelt down.

"Spirits, please help her," he prayed silently, bowing his head. "Help her to find her way once more."

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Sam slowly pushed herself to a sitting position, squinting at the dull light as it came through the windows. She stretched and rose to her feet, changing into her old outfit out of habit. She slowly walked out of the room and outside. Rain was pouring down, turning the streets into mud.

She walked out into the rain and strolled through the streets. Ryu fell instep beside her, two other men joining them. As they walked, two young boys came leaping out of a nearby house, their bokken (1)clacking against the other's as they fought. The slightly older boy knocked his opponent's blade aside and rested his stick against the other boy's neck. They broke apart and fought again, this time the older boy knocking the bokken all the way out of his friend's hand. He rested his own against the boy's neck, a smirk on his face.

Sam bent down and picked the fallen bokken up. "Nicely done," she said to the defeated boy, trying to hand the weapon back to him. He backed away and bowed.

"They are young but strong. You try," Ryu said.

Sam looked at him, then at the small boy. She turned to him and he charged in. She dodged to the side, knocking his weapon away. He slashed at her middle and she leapt backward. He then brought his bokken down in an overhead strike, but she caught the wooden blade with her hand.

"Oy!" a voice yelled, a hint of anger in it.

Sam released the bokken she was holding and the boy backed away. She turned and saw one of the village samurai, Ujio, walking towards her. He halted in front of her. "Drop the sword," he ordered.

Sam looked down at the bokken, then up at Ujio. She lifted the wooden weapon and stood waiting. Ujio sighed and twirled the bokken he was carrying. He slashed in, hitting Sam in the gut then in the back. She staggered forward and he kicked her in the back, knocking her down into the street.

He began to walk away, but Sam gripped the bokken tighter and rose to her feet. Ujio turned and attacked again. Sam managed to block one attack, but he struck her in the side of the arm, shifted his right hip behind her left hip, and flipped her over onto her back. She got up again. Ujio knocked the bokken down and struck her first in the stomach, then in the nose.

She fell back again, blood trickling from her nose and lip. She pushed herself to her knees and slowly got up. Ujio knocked her down again, moving the sword a foot from her hand. He turned to go but Sam grabbed the sword and pushed herself to her knees. He stared at her in amazement.

She weakly slashed at him and he easily caught the bokken. He tried to jerk it from her grasp, but she held on tight to it. He suddenly struck her in the shoulder then on the neck with just enough force to knock her back into the mud.

Ujio pulled the sword free from her hand and looked at her, a slight bit of respect in his eyes. He looked up and tossed the sword to the boy before he turned and left. Ryu and the others looked at Sam lying on the ground as she tried to get back up.

"You were right father," Ryu said the next day. "She is very strong. Not many could have taken the beating Ujio gave her yesterday."

"I've instructed Ujio to teach her the way of the sword," Samanosuke said. "Though she may be an excellent hand-to-hand fighter, she cannot fight with the weapons we have here."

"Father?" Ryu asked, confusion on his face.

"I doubt she will want to return to her homeland. At least not for many years, if at all. She is a warrior first and foremost. I have seen it in her eyes along with her sorrow and regret. She will train, and hopefully find forgiveness."

Ryu nodded and left the temple, heading back for the village. Along the way he saw Sam standing in a field looking over the village and the nearby clearing where several dozen men were practicing moves with their katanas. He made his way over to her and stood next to her.

"You did well yesterday," he said.

"I got my ass kicked," she replied.

"You didn't give up," he pointed out. "You kept trying to get up. It says much about you," he commented.

"Lucky me," she murmured quietly.

"Ujio is going to train you in the way of the Japanese sword," Ryu informed her.

"Why?"

"Why not?" he countered, looking at her.

"Good point. It's not like I have much else to do here," she said. "And I've always been interested in learning how to use a katana."

Ryu smiled warmly. "You see? It works out well. Come. It is almost time to eat," he said. They made their way down to the village, talking idly about different weapons that were in the village.

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1. Bokken are wooden training swords in the shape of akatana and are fairly heavy.

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Hope you guys liked it. More to come soon, but until it does, review!