Hi guys! As promised, here's your weekly update!

Oh, and there's a REALLY IMPORTANT announcement at the bottom. Please take the time to read it and take action. Hehe. Thanks!

"Training? For what?" I asked.

"Apparently, your abilities need improvement," Kurama replied.

I stared. "What are you talking about?"

Kurama frowned and looked at me ridiculously. Seeing I was still confused, he groaned, running a hand down his face. "Your abilities, in other words, are your powers. Just take mine for example." He took out a tiny seed from his hair, "As a forest kitsune, I could kill and heal using even the smallest seed you could ever imagine, as well as manipulate all kinds of plants." With a flick of his hand, the seed turned into a flower, which latched on my shoulder and crept up to my hair, stopping just beside one of the ears on top of my head like a hairclip. "Those are just some of my abilities."

Ooh, he's so cool, I thought. Getting to really see what he does is much better than just reading about it. I touched the flower on my head and smiled. "Nice. Then what type of kistune am I?"

He looked at me like I just sprouted a new head. "Water."

"Ooh…" I stared at the fountain beside us dreamily. I looked back at him to ask some more questions, but he's looking at me like I just said something stupid. "What's wrong?" I said.

"I don't know if that's a trick question, or—though it's impossible—you seriously don't know that yourself?" he poked my cheek playfully. "Unless you banged your head real hard that you forgot everything."

Oops. I did say something stupid.

Should I tell him I had amnesia? Or should I just play along? But that would be lying, right? But then telling him I've got amnesia would be lying as well, since there isn't anything to remember at all. Ugh. I also doubt that it would be believable.

I pushed his hand away from my face. "O-of course it's a trick question." I chuckled nervously. I tried changing the subject,"But wait, how did you know that?"

Kurama sighed impatiently. "I don't know if I've already told you this before, but I'll repeat it for your sake, just in case. Even right before you were sold to me, I've been watching you from afar, observing each and every move you make—especially when you use your powers."

I felt my whole face heat up. Youko Kurama... watching me? I wonder how the 'me' in this dream used the abilities of a water kitsune.

"However, I admit I wasn't impressed that much," he continued.

I sweat dropped. So much for flattery.

"Anyway, I figured it must be because you haven't reached you full potential," he chuckled at my disappointed stare. "You've still got a lot to learn, and I'm here to train you. I know you're capable of honing your abilities at a fast rate though. Otherwise, I wouldn't have taken you in. So, what type of water kistune are you?"

I was horrified. There are still types of water kitsune? How many are there all in all? I gulped. "I-I don't know…"

"Don't be silly."

"I really don't know, Kurama... s-sorry."

He face palmed. "Oh, this is too much." He heaved a big sigh before turning to me again. "Fine, let's just find that out ourselves. In the meantime, just show me what you can do," he gestured towards the fountain.

Now I know why I should've stuck with the amnesia excuse. I turned towards the huge fountain. What can I possibly do with it? My gaze drifted towards the fox, and then to the fountain, and then back at him.

Kurama tapped his foot impatiently. "Now, don't be shy. Just do something with the water."

"Like what?"

"Whatever you're capable of. Make it float out of the fountain, form some shapes with it, freeze it, stop its flow, anything. Honestly Yana, I'm serious here."

I pondered over his suggestions as I stared at the fountain once again. Will I be able to do even just one? I took a deep breath and focused on the water coming out from the mouth of the little fox statue on top of the fountain. Maybe I could make it float somehow.

But as they always say, you cannot always do things perfectly on the first try. I was only able to lift a small amount of water. And then it fell back on the pool of water.

I heard Kurama stifle a laugh. Hmph. Let's just see who's gonna laugh later.

I squealed with joy so loud that I frightened the nearby birds away.

"Did you see that?" my hands shot up to Kurama's arms. "Did you just see that?"

His expression remained serious. "That you were able to lift a small ball of water after sixteen tries? Yes, I've seen it."

"Aww come on, aren't you at least happy at my progress?" I smiled.

"You weren't even able to make it float for more than a minute," he stated matter-of-factly. "That isn't called progress. It's too slow for someone who is almost past their teenage years. It's something basic, yet you haven't even mastered it yet."

My eye twitched. He didn't have to rub it in. Besides, if I could manage to lift up water at that amount in less than a day, maybe I wasn't much of a beginner in the first place. It means that the mother I have in this dream must have done a pretty good job of honing the powers Kurama says I have.

"But, surely if I try again I could do better, right?"

"Hmph," he crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't disappoint me this time. Go."

Once again, I was able to get a small ball of water to float. Sixty seconds. I have to hold it up that long. I started counting in my head.

"Higher, Yana. Make it float higher," I heard Kurama say after twenty seconds.

Unthinkingly, I raised my head a little as I attempted to follow what he said. In response, the water did go higher. I smiled. Maybe if I move my body I'd be able to control the water more effectively.

I tried raising my left hand, and sure enough the water went up even more. This is fun, I tried swaying my hand from left to right, back and forth, as I watched the floating ball of water move along the direction of my hand. But then…

"Yana-sama!"

Shirosagi's call wrenched me out of focus, causing me to drop the liquid spectacle back into the pool of water in a huge splash. Leaving a certain silver fox beside me soaking wet…

"Oops," I almost laughed if it wasn't for Kurama's glare.

"YANA!" he lunged at me all of a sudden, but I was lucky enough to have run away.

But I guess I spoke too soon.

I felt my feet slip under me as vines suddenly caught and held me upside down in front of Kurama. I had to hold the skirt of my dress to keep what's underneath hidden .

"Gah! Put me down you perverted fox!" I exclaimed as I struggled to break free. The vines' grip on my ankles are really painful. "It's not my fault that I got surprised! I didn't do it on purpose, trust me! I won't do anything like that to you! Now please put me down, Kurama!"

He smirked. "Your wish is my command."

And I was dropped into the huge fountain.

As I pushed myself up to the surface, I heard the fox speak, "Bunnies, get her out of the water and then—"

I interrupted him from speaking when I tackled him down. I mean, tried to tackle him down. Kurama was just too fast for me and instead I ended up as the one pinned to the ground.

"It'll take you years before you could sneak up on me, Yana-chan," he smirked. I have to admit, he looks really sexy with his wet look. Oh wait. I did NOT just think that. I blushed as he leaned in close, "Besides, you should save your energy for later."

"Later?" I gulped.

"Let's just say we'll move on to the more interesting part of your training."

After lunch, Kurama led me to a huge room. It was so bright in there, what with the three massive lights on the high ceiling. At the far left of the room, different kinds of weapons are fastened to the wall by metal holders and glass cases. There was no other furniture, except for the two chairs at one corner and a table where a case of bottled water is placed. The cement walls are painted white. For ventilation, there are three windows all in all, one for each wall. Except for the wall where the entrance is, though.

"This is a battle arena," Kurama closed the metal door behind us.

My eyes widened. "Don't tell me…"

He smiled. "It is important for you to learn how to fight off anyone who poses any danger or threat. Also, it would give my comrades a reason to respect you even more." He walked over to the middle of the room, "Now, let's start by training without weapons first."

I panicked as I followed suit. I never once thought that I need to fight... physically. I much prefer verbal fights. I'm not actually the violent type. I mean, I've only fought off different kinds of creatures in video games and enjoyed watching action movies, but in real life I think I couldn't even hurt a fly.

Either way, I have no choice. Besides, he's here to train me, not kill me. I hope.

"I'll attack first," Kurama said as he stepped back to create distance between us. He stopped a few meters away. "The training will end once you hit me."

My heart was beating wildly. If he offers a deal like that, then that means it's hard to land even just one hit on him. "Kurama…" I hesitated. My mind was telling me I should bail out on this one, but unfortunately my tongue has other ideas. "Go easy on me, please?"

He smiled. "Don't worry; I'll be careful not to give you any serious injuries."

If that was something to comfort me, then it sure didn't work.

Kurama ran towards me to make the first attack. As he got close, he raised his hand to chest level as he prepared to lunge at me. I dodged, but then his other hand hit me by the waist. I jumped back, clutching my side. I didn't know it could hurt a lot.

He straightened up. "Oh come on, Yana. Are you chickening out already? I haven't even started yet," Kurama smirked.

I frowned as I tried to stand straight. "Then what do you call that?"

He ignored my remark. "I'll let you do the next attack."

I took in a deep breath before running towards him. I tried to land a punch at him, but he just gracefully dodged each attempt. Alas, he caught both of my fists and pushed me far away from him. I almost hit one of the walls because of the force.

Dusting myself off, I went to attack again, this time aiming to kick him to stop his movement. Wearing a dress put me at a slight disadvantage, since I have to be careful not to kick too high. But like before, my attempts were all in vain once he caught my leg mid-air and sent me flying towards a wall. This time, I really did hit the wall.

Kurama rarely attacked for the rest of the training, but when he does attack, he'd always hit me on the spot and make me feel like he's crushed my insides from the pain. Meanwhile, I also have to watch out when I attack, because once he catches an arm or a leg, I'd either be lying flat on my back on the floor or thrown into a wall.

He let me take a break after an hour. I was surprised, because I seriously thought it has been three hours already.

Anyway, I took this time to think of my next strategy. Attacking head on was not a great idea after all, so maybe I'd just have to sneak up on him. But judging from my attempt at the courtyard earlier, I might not be close enough to succeeding at that at all.

Maybe if I distract him a little… I thought as I drank from the bottled water Kurama gave me. I just hope he's not a mind reader.

Once we resumed, I continued attacking head on to buy some time. After a few failed attempts at punching and kicking, I finally took a chance at feigning an attack.

This time I used both my arms to try to hit him on his chest, but like before, he caught both arms in mid-air. Not wanting to waste any second, I kicked him in the gut.

He yelped and jumped away in an instant, stopping at quite a distance from me as he crouched in pain. I mean, I hit him there… it must have hurt, right?

I was trying to catch my breath as I tried to process what had just happened. I fell on my knees from exhaustion, clutching at my chest as I smiled at my triumph. Alas, I could finally rest now.

I looked up and saw Kurama staring with a smirk on his face, but the pain was still evident in his eyes. It made me feel guilty. "Congratulations, Yana," he spoke in a surprisingly clear tone. "Training's over for today." He laughed lightly, "I have to commend you for that though. I was actually expecting I'd just have to end the training, whether you've hit me or not, because of the potion's time limit."

I was too tired to retort or fire an insult back. "Well, expect the unexpected."

He chuckled as he stood up and held out his hand to pull me up to my feet. "Let's just clean ourselves up and get ready for dinner. You still have five hours left until the potion wears off."

"You could either be an ocean or river kitsune," Kurama pointed out. He had brought in a huge book from his private library into my bedroom, insisting that I should learn about the types of water kitsune before I could go to sleep.

"Seriously Kurama, can't that wait until tomorrow?"

"No, it can't. It would just take too much of our time. We still have to train," he started flipping through the pages.

Kurosagi and Shirosagi have brought us something to drink to keep us awake. Mine was hot chocolate (topped with marshmallows), while Kurama opted for tea. I took a sip from my mug as I watched him stop and scan a page. "So what did you find?" I set my mug beside me. I managed to convince him that sitting on the floor would be much more comfortable.

He pushed the book towards me. "Read the whole page," he pointed.

Apparently, there are a lot of elemental types of kitsune. I happen to belong to the water kitsune clan, which consists of the ocean and river kitsune. Together, they comprise the tsunamido.

Ocean kitsune could be described as the natural warriors. They control water in a more violent scale. They are able to cause strong storms, initiate floods, create tsunamis, and even summon creatures from the ocean depths. Also, ocean kitsune are quite moody—they could be calm and easy to get along with at one point, but could be really out of control the next.

On the other hand, river kitsune are the much calmer version of them. However, they aren't to be underestimated, since they could also get destructive once they get mad. Able to create water through rains and small torrents, river kitsune could also control creatures living in shallow waters. They are also more adept in healing. Most river kitsune could even bring plants and other creatures back to life.

As I finished reading, I looked up at the fox. Kurama was still sitting up straight as he leaned back against the wall, his eyes already closed.

How ironic. He fell asleep faster than me, the one who spent nearly two hours trying to pathetically hit him. Did dodging my attacks make him that tired?

I giggled. It's possible, though I highly doubt it. Closing the book, I put it aside and finished my cup of hot chocolate.

And then I watched the fox as he took a peaceful slumber. Like before, he doesn't really snore or talk in his sleep.

I gazed at him even more. He really looks like the guy I just met... I wish I could remember his name.

As my eyelids started to droop, I leaned closer and kissed Youko Kurama's cheek. "Thanks a lot for today," I whispered, even though I know he couldn't hear me. "Goodnight."

ANNOUNCEMENT TIME!

Okay, so I've set up a poll in my profile regarding what type of water kitsune Yana would be. I just can't decide, so why not let the readers have their say for once? xD Once I get enough responses, I'd be able to go on with the story. The result would greatly affect the whole story, so choose wisely guys! Haha. I'm so excited.

Oh, before I forget, the only ones allowed to vote on polls are those who have accounts on this site. As for those who don't have an account, you could leave your response to the poll in your review. Anonymous reviews are accepted anyway...

And speaking of reviews, please also don't forget to leave one! Haha. Tell me what you think of this chapter, and if there are things I need to improve on. I just really, really, really appreciate every single one of your responses. They encourage and inspire me. Thanks so much.

So, what are you waiting for guys? READ, REVIEW, and VOTE!

See you next week! :D

EDIT: Poll closed! I've got the enough responses I need for the next chapter. Thanks for all those who voted and gave me their opinions. :D As for those who have just read this after the poll is closed, you could still review, of course! Haha. Tell me what you think of this chapter. Thanks! I really appreciate what you guys have to say.