The next day I wanted to get a feel for whether or not Kumiko would have any interest in or talent for martial arts, so I took her out to the training room. Given Kimiko's reaction, I wasn't all that hopeful. Regardless, I started the usual novice introduction. About an hour later later I called Jane.

  "Same as when we started with Kimiko. Come over as soon as you can please."

  "I figured you'd want me Mama, so I've already changed. Be right there."

  Once Jane arrived I explained to Kumiko that Jane would be my assistant instructor and that we needed her to see what she'd learned so far.

  "Understanding I am. Demonstrating I will be."

  Jane whispered to me, "Was that just some sort of garbled Star Wars quote?"

  "I think so honey. Let it slide and watch."

  "Go ahead Kumiko. Just show Jane onee-san what I taught you. Don't worry about speed or accuracy right now. You've just started, so concentrate on the general outline of the forms, OK?"

  "By your command."

  Oh gods above, now it's Battlestar Galactica...

  Kumiko started and we watched. 10 minutes later I held up my hand. "That's enough for now Kumiko. I think that Jane knows what to do next. Go ahead and shower and change, then we'll meet you for lunch in a bit, OK?"

  "Yes Okaa-san, I shall see you at lunch then." Kumiko bowed to both of us, turned, and walked carefully out of the room.

  When I turned back to Jane, she had squatted down and had a look of anguish on her face. "What are we going to do Mama? I can't teach her! What are we going to tell her that she won't misinterpret?"

  I took her by her shoulders and shook her. "What we're going to do is what we always do with a new student and concentrate on teaching her the basic forms. That and, above all else, about the responsibility one has to the art and the ethics behind that responsibility. But for now it's going to be you doing it at least half the time, like it or not. She needs to see you as an authority figure too and not just me. Otherwise she may not listen to you if a dangerous situation comes up.

  "Don't worry Jane. At least not too much. I'm going to get on the phone and make a call. Who knows, I might even be alive after I make it. I don't think Master Oh will really hurt me when I tell him that I need two hours of private instruction tomorrow, no matter what his plans are.

  "Once he sees Kumiko I don't think he'll be nearly as upset. I'm pretty sure that he'll agree that if we don't get her trained, and soon, we're going to be in a world of hurt. It's a wonder that she didn't kill any of those kids bullying her at the orphanage. She learned those 5 beginning forms perfectly in an hour. I saw nothing to correct after the first 3 run-throughs."

  I chuckled, but there was no humor in it. "Of course that's not the problem. Now and then you get students who can learn the forms the first time they see them. The problem is the intensity she radiates. She has the greatest natural talent for mayhem that I've ever seen. Keeping her, what shall I call it, ah...'joy in violence' I suppose, under control will be the problem.

  "I'm going to go make that call. If we're lucky, we'll be gone no more than two days, though probably just one. If I'm wrong, we'll be back in a few hours, after Master Oh 'chastises' me for my presumption."

  I walked down the hall and almost tripped over Kumiko. She did have the decency to at least pretend to be embarrassed to have been caught eavesdropping. Then she stood up straight and bowed to me.

  "I am ready to accept whatever punishment you deem appropriate, but I had to know. The first two of the children who attacked me once I had reached eight years of age later reported to the Sister in charge that they had fallen down the stairs and that was why their arms were broken.

  "I think that Sister Joseph was a bit suspicious when the injuries occurred 3 days apart and because of the bruises covering their bodies, but the boys swore that they had tripped. I suspect that it was because they were too embarrassed to admit that it was me who picked them up and threw them down the stairs.

  "After that I was more careful, but I was unsure of what I was doing. It is good to know that this can be trained so that one can control what one does. I do not wish, ever, to have this beast inside me, that enjoys causing pain, wrest control away from me. If it ever does, I fear for those around me when it happens."

  She bowed her head then and said, "I am ready for my punishment."

  "All right, if that is what you wish." I walked toward her and she flinched, but stood still. Then I knelt down and hugged her.

  "You silly goose. I'm not going to hit you. You may get some bruises from me when we're training, but that won't be punishment. Your punishment will be an extra hour of typing drills."

  "Now, go tell your sister that you and I are going to Seattle tomorrow and that she and Jane will be finding her a Parkour teacher."

  "Scoot!" And so she did.

  -------------

  We reached Master Oh's studio at 09:55. We unpacked and went to the door to wait. He arrived at exactly 09:59 every day. While we waited, Kumiko looked askance at my duffel bag for about the 10th time since we left. She'd caught me making sandwiches last night and had asked, probably...possibly innocently, what army I was planning to feed the next day.

  I'd ignored her and continued making sandwiches. While she watched me packing up at 05:30 this morning she'd kept looking back and forth from the fridge to my bag. I must admit that she showed great restraint. She didn't say a word for over an hour after we'd left.

  "Okaa-san, why are we bringing so much food? Does your Master Oh require an offering, or are you needing to feed him to calm his temper?"

  "Sweeting, there's no way I can explain. You'll just need to experience it. It's sort of like your 'voice'. If someone can't hear you, it really can't be explained in a meaningful way."

  Her only response was a dubious "hmmmm". That didn't keep her from continuing with the meaningful glances at the bag all the way up.

  Master Oh arrived. He totally ignored us, walked past us, then opened the door and went inside. Not good. He must be really ticked.

  Never forget. No matter how calm a person usually is, there's always something that's a hot button. For Master Oh, it was his schedule. He liked to plan EVERYTHING. My throwing a wrench into the works like this was not something I could get away with twice.

  The look he gave me when we followed him in told me that I might not get away with it even once.

  I'd changed at a nearby gas station. Kumiko didn't have a gi yet, so she was just wearing sweats.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  I bowed to Master Oh. Kumiko followed suit, but bowed much more deeply.

  Master Oh's expression softened, about a millimeter. All he said was: "Proceed."

  "OK Kumiko, start with what I showed you. Do each exercise three times. Then do them in sequence twice."

  I was standing so I was, apparently, watching Kumiko, but I'd positioned myself where I could see Master Oh clearly out of the corner of my eye.

  Yes, of course he knew I was watching him. He'd have known if I'd been a block away behind his back.

  After she finished, he walked over to Kumiko. "Do the third exercise again, but at 1/2 speed. Stop when I tell you."

  He ran her through several of the exercises, occasionally stopping her to make small corrections of form. When she'd finished he stared at the floor for a while. Then he dismissed Kumiko.

  "You need to cool down and drink something. You can become dehydrated quite easily without knowing it when practicing the art."

  Kumiko bowed again. She headed toward the back of the room, but I'd learned my lesson.

  "Kumiko, go on out to the car to get your drink. There are plenty in the cooler behind the seat."

  She gave me a grumpy look, but went outside as directed. There was no way I was going to let her eavesdrop again, thank you very much.

  Master Oh still looked moderately irritated. "All right, she's an exceptional student. But I don't see why you felt it necessary to destroy my schedule for the day. Would you care to explain yourself."

  "Master, given her skills, how long would you say she has been training?"

  Got a full glare for that one, since I hadn't answered him. It hurts when he glares at you!

  "Please Master. I would not ask this idly."

  "Very well, but I'd better hear a VERY convincing explaination, and very soon!"

  "She is how old?"

  "Nine years old Master."

  "Given her age, and how the better students progress, she has probably been practicing the art for 2-3 years. And this is relevant, why?"

  "Master. She learned what you saw in an hour. I began teaching her only yesterday morning. She has never been exposed to the art before."

  You should be proud of me. I didn't show even a tiny hint of a smile as I saw Master Oh lose it for the first time ever. I'd never have believed that he was even capable of looking astonished.

  Then the glare came back. "I'd ask if you were pulling my leg, but you have never shown any interest in, much less an aptitude for pranks. Bring her back in."

  I did. We faced him and bowed again.

  Hey, buttering up someone who really deserves your respect is never a bad thing when they're pissed.

  "Master Knight has explained to me that yesterday was the first time you were exposed to the art. Is that correct?"

  "Yes sir, Master Oh."

  He flinched that time. Covered it up pretty well too.

  "Mama, I could tell that he would be able to hear me when he walked past us. There's no reason to pretend that I cannot speak."

  "Kumi-chan. It would be more polite to tell me of things like that, privately, before you talk to people, especially people that you don't know very well. It's not likely that everyone who can hear you will take it as well as Master Oh has. You'll frighten some people, and others will get angry. EIther way it wouldn't be very good, would it? Besides, I about had a fit myself."

  Yes, I could have explained it to her later, but I felt that I owed it to Master Oh to give him some time to recover.

  "Master Oh, Kumiko and her sister Kimiko cannot speak at all except in this way. At this point in time, only three people can hear her, you being the third. They were not treated...ah...very well...in the past because of the presumption that they were retarded as well as mute."

  "I see. Kumiko. Are you rested now?"

  "Yes sir, Master Oh."

  "You can drop the 'sir'. I don't require that degree of formality."

  "Now, I want you to do all the exercises together at 1/2 speed, then as you first did, then as fast as you can."

  "Begin!"

  When Kumiko finished, we both turned to Master Oh and bowed again. He no longer looked angry. He looked troubled. He never looks troubled. I didn't even know that he could.

  "Master Knight says that you learned that in an hour. Is that correct?"

  "No Master Oh. That is not correct."

  The glare came back as he turned toward me, rather menacingly in fact.

  "It was 57 minutes. I see that Okaa-san is a bit inaccurate when measuring time." This time SHE glared at me.

  Oh ye gods, preserve me if they should ever BOTH be angry at me at the same time.

  Kumiko paused and tipped her head a bit to the side, crossed her arms, then raised her right hand to her chin and rested it on the thumb and forefinger before adding, "Though in truth I must admit that it somehow seemed not so much that I was learning the techniques as it was that I was remembering them."

  She spread her hands and shrugged her shoulder slightly. "It pains me to admit that I cannot arrive at a satisfactory conclusion when I attempt to ascertain why I feel that way."

  I pointed at the car again. She went again, reluctantly.

  Master Oh straightened and bowed to me. "You have my deepest and most abject apology. I let my irritation cloud not only my judgment of your decision but also my vision. There is no excuse for my not seeing it the first time.

  "That child could become one of the most dangerous people in the world if she is not trained in ALL aspects of the art. And the physical side is the least important of them. Never in my life have I seen such ferocity in a student. Even now, if she were to lose her temper, she could easily kill someone.

  "You will start her on mediation immediately, along with the philosophy of the art. It will be up to you to decide how to integrate this into her training. She must have perfect control of her temper as soon as possible."

  After saying that, he had the grace to look embarrassed. "What a foolish thing to say, is it not? To say that a child of her age must find the degree of discipline that few adults ever attain." His eyes clouded. "Even so, she must."

  "Agreed Master. She has already broken the arms of two boys who tried to bully her, back in Japan."

  I held up my hand. "Fortunately, she told me that she had already decided that she needed some sort of training as she was afraid of hurting someone permanently if she lost control of herself.

  "I strongly suspect that she will welcome the disciplines. She seemed to be truly troubled by her ability to inflict damage on others when she meant merely to stop their attacks."

  He let out the breath he'd been holding. "That's a relief, to be sure. Very well, bring her back in so we can talk."

  She returned, again and stood respectfully.

  "All right child. One of the first things you must do as my student is to accept that you must always be truthful. A child sent away, twice, so grown-ups can talk should look a LOT more upset than you do.

  "Just how far away can you be and still hear what people are saying about you?"

  "I am not entirely sure. If it's to me or about me, at least 20 meters Master Oh." She managed to look quite chagrined as she said it, and then looked to me with an apologetic smile on her face.

  Master Oh had his mildly stern face on. "And you heard everything we said?"

  "I only met Okaa-san two days ago. It is not so easy to get to know, and trust, someone that quickly. I am sorry that I did not tell you sooner, but given what has happened in the past, I have learned to protect myself however I could."

  Time for hugs and petting. Then, "Don't worry about it honey. We'll get ourselves sorted out. We all just need to be a bit patient.

  "So, now that you've decided that you got away with your attempt to not answer Master Oh's question, go ahead and answer it. Right now will be fine."

  She gave me the typical "how in the world did you figure that out" look that kids have so often. They don't seem to be able to wrap their brains about the idea that their parents might have tried the same thing on their parents.

  "I...uh...heard everything." She looked moderately miserable. I decided that a few more minutes of misery would do her some good, so I said nothing.

  Master Oh crossed his arms and pulled out the next level of stern; "You will not do that again, do you understand? If you want to know something, you will ask."

  "Yes Master Oh, I promise."

  "Very well. You will come here for 4 hours once a month for training beyond that which Master Knight will give you. You will be diligent when you practice. I will know immediately if you are not. Do you believe me?"

  "Oh, yes Master. I most certainly do!" Oh great, budding hero worship in the mix too.

  "And you Karla. You will not just be watching. You will need to improve your skills as an instructor. You don't think that you're without the need to improve, do you?"

  "NO! Not at all Master. I have a great deal to learn yet!"

  "Good. Then we are in agreement."

  "Now we will finish our training for this month. As soon as I make a call to free up another two hours, both of you will join me on the mat. We have a great deal to learn and not much time."

  We stopped at precisely 1:50 p.m. I said nothing, just pulled out the food and passed out sandwiches. I had my usual 5 and 2 quarts of tea.

  Kumiko managed to surprise me by scarfing down 2 1/2 sandwiches and almost a full quart of tea.

  Master Oh, maddeningly, had one sandwich and one quart of tea.

  He works harder than the rest of us and never seems to eat much, but he still has enough stamina for two.

  After that we said our goodbyes and headed back south.