I'm updating this story a lot earlier than I expected. I was relaxing in the hospital with a pesky Crohn's flare. I'm feeling a lot better now and wanted to finish this chapter asap. As you all read in chapter 5, we're going to finally get into the meat and bones of this story. You've survived the primarily stuff lol. Now here's chapter 6!

Before Maya's first day of training with Kenshi and Hanzo could begin, the updates about her developing temple had to be addressed first. To make it easier on her, Natsuo made a house call. The two bathrooms in Maya's home were occupied by her and Kenshi. Hanzo patiently waited his turn to use one while holding a towel. He lazily opened and closed his eyes and thought about what Maya will make for the day. She didn't stick to Japanese cuisine, often times for lunch and dinner she cooked meals from her home. Rice, seafood, and meats are staples in the two cultures but the way she prepared them were completely different from what he was used to. The very thought of eating the beef patties, fried pork and the very spicy pickled vegetable she effortlessly makes, made his mouth water and stomach growl.

The door bell ring three times and as soon as he moved an inch, the bathroom door he was standing in front of opened. Hanzo wasn't prepared to see Maya standing in front of him. She promptly dried off the water that still clung onto her body and slung the damp towel around her neck. Her gray tank top was more revealing and skin tight than the ones he's seen her wear in the past. Her black gym shorts weren't as tight but revealed her long legs.

"That should be Natsuo." She told him while making a braid around the crown of her head and letting the rest of her hair fall to her shoulders. "Bathroom's all yours, dude." She winked before leaving him flustered and blushing once again.

"She's doing this on purpose."

"You okay there, Hanzo?" Kenshi asked, feigning concern. Without saying a word and a scowl on his face, Hanzo quickly entered the bathroom and slammed the door. Kenshi's laughs echoed in the hallway and died down when he entered his room. "It's only a matter of time. She's breaking him down."

"Ah! Good morning everyone!" Natsuo clapped his hands when the trio joined him in the living room. Sitting on a table was a copy of the documents he and Maya looked at weeks ago. There were new additions on the floor plans and notes written alongside them. Maya looked over them and nodded her head. "We're almost finished with this temple. Now's a good time to make any minor edits, if you don't have anything else to add you should be ready to move in and do whatever you want in two months, which means mid November."

Hanzo prepared himself to see something strange to pop up when the sorcerer tapped the document. A holographic model of the developing temple appeared in front of everyone. It looked strikingly similar to the Buddhist temples in Japan, so much so that it could easily pass as the Yakushi-ji temple in Nara. It came to no surprise to Hanzo that it is located in the Eastern Himalayas where lush mountains and water could be found in the region. With all of the time she spends in her garden and around water, he would have been surprised if she would abandon them for a life in a frigid area in the Himalayas.

"This temple suits you." He absentmindedly said while looking at the vast garden located in the rear of the temple. She quietly thanked him with a smile on her face, as usual.

"You told us you didn't know what you planned on doing there, have you changed your mind?" Kenshi asked.

"It took a while but I finally decided what I'm going to do there. After working with Natsuo and other sorcerers, there's still some room for improvement in the whole healing area. There's still a lot of people who've fallen on hard times and could benefit from learning about not only helping themselves but others too. I'm going to have to use different teaching methods with non sorcerers but that shouldn't be too difficult."

What Maya said resonated with the three men for different reasons. Natsuo was happy to learn that Maya will continue to help those in need when she could easily return to the comfortable life she lived before The Invasion. The confidence in Maya's voice while she spoke was completely different than the uncertainty and fear Kenshi heard when she was 17, out on her own, and healing people without having an army of people to fall back on. Like Maya, Hanzo didn't know what he was going to do next in life. For years he put himself first, everyone else was an afterthought. Now she planted an idea in his mind to change that.

"They're going to learn from the best." Kenshi assured her.

"I have contacts who can help you find your new apprentices, you won't have to travel far when you're first going out to seek them. There's some people in Japan who can benefit from what you have to offer. Are you two going with her?" Natsuo asked.

"Of course." Hanzo's response came to a surprise to Maya and Kenshi. None of them discussed his plans for the future. Maya prepared herself to have to say goodbye when he felt ready to be out on his own once again. Hearing that he would continue be by her side came as a relief.

"We will act as her bodyguards." Kenshi added. "Until then she's going to be the student while we're the teachers." He patted her head."It's been a while since she's spared, so this might be a challenge."

"Hey! I'm not that bad." She crossed her arms and pouted.

"My family's old training grounds are always open for you guys to use. Now, if you excuse me, I have a nice, long vacation to get ready for. With everything you've told me about Arcadia, it sounds like paradise."

"Trust me, you're going to love being there." Kenshi told him. "Thank you for all of your help, Natsuo. We really appreciate it."

"That's what friends do for each other."

Hanzo immediately knew who was knocking on his door while he was gathering his things. Maya quietly entered his room and closed the door behind her. When she saw he was having trouble fastening the last strap of leather in it's buckle that kept his right forearm guard in place, she moved to stand in front of him and fastened it for him. Checking to see if the other straps were secure wasn't necessary but he didn't let her know when he felt her hands on his arms and hands.

"There's a lot less metal and spikes than the one you came here with but it looks good on you. I had a feeling you were going to want something new to wear, so I made this."

"Thank you. This wasn't necessary but I appreciate it. You always go above and beyond to help me."

"Force of habit. You did the same thing when I was sick. Besides now it's your turn to help me out again. His brows raised after he looked her over. "What?" She crossed her arms and titled her head.

"I hope you have new training clothes yourself. Your outfit won't fair well with what I have prepared for you." He told her while looking directly at her. Maya wasn't going to let him off easy with that comment. The way his voice deepened when he replied betrayed the indifferent look on his face. Now that he was playing along with her game of cat and mouse, she decided to take things a little further.

"Don't worry, I have something else to wear. I have a feeling this might be ripped to shreds if I wear it while I'm training." She walked to the door, before leaving she looked over her shoulder and at him. "You're going to take a more hands on approach and won't hold back. Which is good, I don't ever want you to go easy on me. While we're training, of course."

The Yamauchi training grounds were hidden away in Mt. Daisen. Thanks to a power concealment spell the family placed on the area, the frequent visitors and hikers were oblivious to it's existence. Wooden dummies and archery targets were on opposite sides of the training grounds. In addition to the weapons Kenshi and Hanzo had on themselves, Maya brought a few of her own. The two men waited for her to get ready to begin her lessons. She placed her loose hair in a tight bun and adjusted her arm bands and guards. She wore a black and blue cropped halter top with a white trim that split above her navel. Her black pants and boots had blue and white asymmetrical shapes on them.

To warm up, the two men had her run laps. It was a cake walk at first, she began humming songs on her 5th lap. Her care free attitude quickly went away when she sensed something flying towards her. The three kunais missed their target when she didn't stop running, they remained in the ground for a few seconds before levitating and chasing her. Hanzo continued to throw kunais in her direction and each time he missed, Kenshi took over and used his telekinesis to make them follow Maya.

A total of 12 knives chased her. On her final lap, she glared at the two men and waited until she was on the opposite side of the grounds to attack them. The hold Kenshi had on them slipped away and was taken over by a much stronger Maya. They were launched into the air at once and landed a few feet in front of the men, making a whirl pattern. She jogged towards them and took in a deep breath.

"Is that all you two got?" She placed her hands on her hips and smirked. "I thought you weren't going to go easy on me." She directed at an equally amused Hanzo.

"That was just the warm up exercise. To get your heart racing. Don't get too cocky." Kenshi wagged his finger. Hanzo took his place at the center of the training grounds. "Take a breather while Hanzo and I go at it. When we're done, you're going one on one with me."

Seeing the two men attack each other with opposing and sometimes similar styles reminded Maya the long hours she spent sitting under the trees in Arcadia, watching her father and brother train under the hot sun. They were well matched. For several minutes, neither man landed a single attacked without it being blocked or reversed. Already familiar with Kenshi's techniques, Maya gave Hanzo her undivided attention. She wanted to prepare herself for what he might throw at her when they go one on one. Growing tired of using only hand to hand combat, the men separated and removed their swords from their scabbards. Their swords clang every time they collided with each other. Maya shuddered when she sensed the various emotions Hanzo felt during their fight. He was annoyed that Kenshi continued to dodge and block his attacks.

"If he doesn't cool it, Kenshi will win."

"Good. He was getting cocky when he thought he had the match won. Losing once in a while could be good for a jerk like him."

"He's not a jerk."

"He's not one right now. That crush he has on us might be helping put that stank attitude has has away."

"Us? The hell you mean us?"

The two illusions were back and sitting on opposites side of Maya. Like Hanzo, she became annoyed the more the illusions talked. She wasn't surprised they reappeared, being able to conjure illusions ran in her family but the way hers appeared bothered her. While her parents and brother can control theirs with ease, she didn't have that same ability. They had a mind of their own. Another thing that bothered her was the fact that she was the only one could see them. She expected Kenshi to be able to sense them like he does everything else. In an instant Hanzo saw an opening when Kenshi stepped back to avoid being cut by Hanzo's blade. Hanzo then threw his sword at Kenshi, who reflected and threw it in the air. With one final kick to the face, Kenshi fell on his back and had Hanzo standing over him.

"That was impressive."

"You're being a little generous with that word. It was okay."

Maya approached the two men with her illusions walking, and arguing, behind her. Kenshi remained on the ground, this time sitting up. She knelt down and took her time in healing his sore muscles. He felt warm for a few seconds before cooling down. Hanzo and Maya expected him to stand up and start her lesson now that he regained his strength, but Kenshi decided to lay down and relax.

"Now that I think of it, it's only fair that Hanzo trains you for the day. He did win after all." Kenshi placed his hands on the back of his head and sighed. The nicer illusion caught on to what he was doing and began to laugh, much to her opposite's annoyance. She sat down next to him while her opposite remained by Maya's side. Her laughter was very faint in Kenshi's ears but he still didn't sense her presence. "That's weird."

"I don't want you to go easy on me."

Hanzo kept that in mind when Maya got into her stance. For someone who would rather avoid fighting, she was confident. Her body didn't shake as he stared her down and the determined look on her face told him she was ready for whatever he had in store of her. If he moved an inch, she stayed still. Her refusal to flinch or give him any sign that she was ready to strike or on guard reminded him of the first day they met. Putting his hands around him to see if she placed any barriers to block him was a foolish decision. By the time he sensed her behind him, she already delivered a tornado kick to his face, making him stumble backwards. He regained his composure and retaliated. While she blocked his punches and gradually distanced herself he saw a flash of panic in her eyes.

He continued to pursue her in an attempt to close the space between them. Her frustration grew every time he got close and a nagging voice in her mind became louder. He used her annoyance to his advantage and successfully landed multiple jabs. The right hook he connected to her face sent her over the edge. She subconsciously locked in on her anger. The cuts and bruises he left on her body quickly healed.

"You should not let your anger cloud your judgement-"

Now was not the time to talk to her.

She returned his right hook but with more power behind it. His jaw wasn't broken but he sure as hell thought it was. He jumped away in time to avoid being punched in the head. A small cavity formed on impact, sending minor shock waves throughout the mountain range and making Kenshi and Hanzo's stomachs drop. The next set of strikes to his shoulders and arms momentarily immobilized him. It was as if knives cut off the source of his strength to his upper body. When he felt it return he found himself bound by her magic and unable to move again. She used that time to distance herself from him again and waited for him to make his next move. Now that she had her space, she returned to equilibrium.

"He's doing this on purpose."

"This is a training exercise after all."

"Why did you have to go ahead and start it off by kicking him? I had a plan."

"You were taking too long to do anything and I was getting tired of waiting. It would have went fine if you didn't freak out when I switched places with you."

"You could have at least warned me."

"Why would I warn you? I'm just the illusion, you're supposed to be in control of me. You have all of these powers but don't know how to use them. That's a shame."

And with that she disappeared with her other half. They did however leave Maya a parting gift: a headache. If there was ever a time to keep her distance it would be now. Her headache came as a blessing and a burden. Instead of waiting to see what he would do next and having to think on her toes, she was able to see what was going to happen in the next 30 seconds. Her head throbbed and she felt light headed when the vision ended but she willed herself to power through it and heal later.

He charged at her, unsheathing his one of swords in the process. Instead of using her arms and hands to block his attacks, she created barriers that deflected his every move and caused his sword to thrown to the side, which was what they wanted to happen. Just like she envisioned, Hanzo unsheathed his other sword and charged at her again. She removed the shields around her, telekinetically controlled the sword and threw it yards away. Again, Hanzo's arms went limp and he had little to no upper body strength. He groaned when she conjured blue ropes and bound him with them. She waited for him to concede the fight but received a cheeky grin in return. The ropes soon glowed and tightened around him. The small electric shock they sent through his body made him drop his act and admit defeat.

"I'm glad I changed my outfit." She said to herself while healing Hanzo's wounds. Like Kenshi, he felt warm and then cool seconds later. He silently agreed the tank top and shorts she wore earlier would not have made it. There were a few rips and tears on her shirt and pants but that was nothing a quick spell couldn't fix. She removed her hair from it's bun and ran her fingers through it. In the middle of combing her hair she looked and caught him watching her. "How did I do on my first day sensei?" She grinned.

"You did well. A lot better than I expected." He began. Maya punched his arm before he continued. "I know what we will work on during your training. You're comfortable with mid to long range combat, it allows you to have more space to defend yourself. Physical confrontation is not your strong suit and like you said, you would rather avoid it at all costs. You panicked when you were out of your comfort zone but it also triggered something in you, and you used it to your advantage. With time and more training, I'm sure you will be able to over come those weaknesses."

"How long do you think it will take?" She sighed. The sooner she can improve, the better. In a few months they will be traveling and don't know what they will face. She didn't want them to carry all of her slack. Being the weak link was not an option.

"Not long. You're a very intelligent woman and already know how to apply what you've learned quickly."

"Well, I don't know about you two but I am tired!" Kenshi yawned and stretched. Hanzo and Maya scoffed in unison at Kenshi's act. "Your magic does wonders but I know something else that can ease our tired and sore bones. When was the last time you two went to a hot spring?"

That ends chapter 6! Be prepared for some hot springs antics! Thanks for reading! :)