Everything felt numb and Kiriai’s teeth were chattering as the training assistant held up a big towel and finally indicated she could step out of the deep pool of freezing cold water. She would have thought it was a torture technique for the new initiates if she hadn’t seen other brawlers pop in after a work-out, strip down to underthings and step into the cold water with barely a wince.

The young man wrapped the towel around her with quick efficiency and put a mug of something hot in her hands and nodded toward the curtained alcoves. “Dry off. Take one of the mesh bags for your wet things. Put on a robe and grab your belongings. You’re off to fixer room five, next hallway to the right and third room on the right. Five minutes.”

She barely had a chance to nod before he scurried off to grab another towel for the next fighter. Trying hard to pretend this was all familiar to her, Kiriai headed to the row of cubicles and hooks to grab her bag, sandals and robe. Arms full, she pulled aside a curtain and stepped into an alcove and followed directions. Goosebumps popped up all over her body and the room-temperature towel felt heated against her cold skin as she rubbed herself dry. The frigid water hadn’t been fun, but Kiriai had to admit that her sore muscles felt soothed and less inflamed than they had earlier. Moments later, she emerged, the cozy softness of the provided robe so luxurious, she barely felt the straps of her own bag or the mesh one she had slung over her shoulder.

Tossing the towel in a bin by the door, she walked out into the hall. There were locker rooms, the pool, and she thought the steam she’d seen escape an opened door indicated a sauna. It was disconcerting to have so many expensive resources there for the taking. It was a dream come true for a fighter. And she hadn’t even seen the private training areas yet.

Is this a good time to update you on your improvements? Yabban asked in her thoughts.

Improvements? I’ve only been doing conditioning stuff. I thought the main game computer keeps track of stuff like stamina and agility, not you. Has that changed?

No. The main computer monitors those statistics and remains inaccessible to me. I still have no answer for the lack of connection. Perhaps we are playing in an isolated section of the game. Hacking is also a possibility. I will inform you as soon as I find new information.

Kiriai didn’t correct her friend. They’d come to an impasse on the issue. Yabban insisted that the main-game AI would eventually make contact and fix everything, but Kiriai didn’t force the truth on Yabban that her game, with all its programming and support, had turned to dust centuries ago in the blast.

Perhaps. But you mentioned improvements? Kiriai prompted as she exited the hallway back into the main training space. She turned and strode along the wall until she came to a hallway to her right. The faint smell of healing herbs confirmed she had the right place.

Yes. Congratulations, you have unlocked and learned the fighting principle Solid Foundation.

Kiriai stopped walking and frowned. What kind of principle is that?

Your ability to hold your position against outside forces. Surely you remember the trainers hitting you from all sides?

Kiriai snorted and started walking again. Of course I do. But that’s a basic principle. Surely I’ve used it and unlocked it before now.

You may have accidentally used a version, but to unlock a principle, you must focus on and execute the most fundamental form of it. Cheer up, though. At least it’s already leveled up to Learned with all the work you just did. Yabban’s words stopped for a second and Kiriai felt a sense of satisfaction along their link, or was it glee? I think this training will be very beneficial to your fighting skills.

Kiriai groaned as she reached the correct door with the number five carved in strong, black relief into the rich cherry wood.

I think you just enjoy watching me suffer and even more so when it’s focusing on the basics like you keep insisting I do.

No pain, no gain, said Yabban with just a touch of pleasure.

Kiriai laughed. Now that’s a wise saying I can agree with. And I need to improve as fast as possible. If this is what I have to do to get there, then pain it is. Kiriai stretched and let out a soft groan before knocking on the door. The sooner the fixer helped her heal, the better. She’d rather have Isha’s fixing help, but any help after the first day of training would be more than welcome.

The door slid open and Kiriai stared, surprised.

“Get in here already,” Mikata said as she grabbed Kiriai and pulled her forward into the room.

Kiriai yelped as Mikata’s hand hit a mass of bruises that had collected along her forearm today.

“Sorry,” her friend said, immediately letting go. Mikata reached behind Kiriai, slid the door shut and engaged the ornate latch.

Kiriai barely noticed as her emotions threatened to overwhelm her at the full room. Tomi and Eigo sat together in a lounge against the left wall, though Tomi took almost all the space on the medium-sized sofa. A second couch held Aibo and Shisen, whose hand on the younger girl’s knee looked to be the only thing keeping Aibo from leaping up when she spotted Kiriai

To Kiriai’s right stood a padded table with Isha nearby, obvious concern etched onto her face. She’d arrayed herbs and poultice supplies on the counter behind her. A pot of tea steamed on the small cast-iron stove in the corner and filled the room with a familiar aroma.

It was almost too much. Kiriai sucked in a sharp breath and ordered her eyes to stop watering. She’d just seen them all yesterday. There was no need to get so emotional.

“Looks like they cooled you down, which will help with all the damage I’m sure they did to you today. Get over here so I can finish fixing you up for another round tomorrow.” The touch of command in Isha’s words helped. Kiriai gave her a grateful look and strode across to the fixer’s table. She began to pull off her robe and suddenly remembered her audience.

“Quit dawdling, Eigo, and bring that byobu over here,” Isha said.

He jumped up and grabbed one of the standing screens along the wall and slid it across the floor until it stood between the fixer table and the sitting area. Kiriai gave him a quick nod of thanks before he slipped back behind the screen, leaving her and Isha shielded from view.

“Up on the bed, child. Let me see what they did to you.”

Isha helped Kiriai out of her robe as she lay face down on the table. A sharp intake of breath made Kiriai wince.

“Ancestors,” said Isha in a soft voice. “I’ll never understand why you do this to yourself. If I didn’t know how much you love it, I would never stand for it.”

Something inside Kiriai relaxed at the familiar love and outrage she heard in Isha’s voice. Kiriai let herself sink into the padded table as she felt a cool sheet drape over her back and legs.

“Can we talk now?” Tomi’s deep voice asked from the other side of the byobu, making Kiriai’s smile widen.

“Go ahead. Kiriai might be happy for the distraction while I work on her. She only has an hour here before she’s expected at dinner and then back at her barracks for lights out.”

“All right,” said Tomi, “before you ask, no, it isn’t normal for your entire crew to join you in your fixer appointment. But even though we’ve only been here a day, I decided we needed a planning and information meeting.” A touch of humor entered his voice as he continued. “I cleared it with a clerk who thought it was a great idea to offer emotional support to our new brawler who was so far from home.”

Kiriai chuckled and would have shaken her head if she could. Tomi was a master of sweet-talking his way into almost anything, and his skill had come in handy. Her thoughts sobered. All of Jitaku might depend on that skill now.

Tomi’s next words echoed her thoughts. “Today Shisen and I have been making contacts in the offices and households of the top officials of the other three hoods. It’s not looking good. We have powerful enemies and no idea who they are. In addition, I just received the results from Jitaku’s battles yesterday against Raibaru. We won one and lost four, which gives Raibaru ownership of forty-five percent of our territory, the most they’ve controlled in the last five years. We are only a handful of losses from having Jitaku’s fate become the responsibility of Chief Kosui and his brawlers.”

Silence greeted his words, and suddenly Kiriai’s bumps and bruises didn’t seem so important anymore.