Shinji set the crate by the cedar and blew on his fingers. The morning air bit a little. Ren bounced on his toes like he was waiting for a starting bell, and Hana checked the ground the way she always did, one quick look over the chalk scuffs, the packed dirt, the frost where their feet would slide if they were careless.
"lets start, the same as usual" Shinji said.
Ren nodded and looked at Hana. "I will play fair if you stop drifting to the side every time I blink."
"I drift because you lean forward," Hana said, tying her braid tighter. "If you just stay over your feet, I will stop moving away."
Shinji lifted a hand. "Enough talking. Go."
They squared up. Ren jabbed long to test distance, then again to set a rhythm. Hana met the first with her forearm and parried the second just enough to take the sting out of it. Ren stepped in, shoulder high like he meant to punch over the top, but it was a feint. He dropped his arms and aimed for her ribs. Hana blocked and bumped him off line. His heel slid on the frost. He tried to sweep her leg while he still had speed. She hopped, set her foot, and tapped his collarbone with two fingers.
"Point," she said.
Ren blew out a breath and circled back. "I felt myself tip forward," he said. "I am keeping the shoulder fake, but I will keep my hips still."
"Keep your head between your knees," Shinji said. "If your face gets ahead of you, she will read it."
Ren went again, two quick taps and a half-beat pause. Hana moved to answer, and he slid inside and touched her shoulder seam. He checked himself before he crowded. It was neat and earned. Hana gave a small nod.
"That was better," she said. "Now do it without the pause. If I do not fall for it, you waste time."
"Then I need another way in," he said. "Try dropping your weight and see if I keep mine."
They tied up for a moment, hand-fighting for grips. Ren reached for her waist. Hana fed an underhook through and pressed her head to his jaw so he could not stand tall. He dragged at her elbow. She pulled it across and stepped past his foot. He slid, planted a palm, and bounced back up, smiling without shame.
"I watched the wrong thing," he said. "Your elbow went, and I kept watching your hand."
"Watch my shoulders," Hana said, not unkind. "My hands follow after them. Movement usually starts at the shoulders."
Shinji was pleased to hear them fix each other while they moved. That had taken months.
They moved again. Ren took the bump without leaning and did not reach when nothing was there. Hana gave him the drop and then stepped out of it before he could react. Each got one clean touch, Ren got to her shoulder, and Hana to his ribs. When Shinji called time, both of them were pink-cheeked and sweaty.
Ren bent with his hands on his knees, smiling at the ground. "That felt right," he said. "I could tell when I was about to mess up, and it was easier to stop it."
Hana shook her hands out and rolled her shoulders. "You kept your stance better," she said. "When you did, I had to work for openings. Thank you for not trying to throw me when we were close. My knee is still sore from yesterday."
"I was going to," Ren said, then caught Shinji's look and added, "Next week. When your knee is fine."
Shinji let the quiet sit for a breath and listened to the river. Six months had come and gone just like that. The long rains had flooded the lane and dripped through the roof onto his mat. Then the wind turned a little colder, the puddles sank, and morning frost started tracing white lines on the fences.
He had learned the sounds of this place without meaning to, the loose board by the shed, the hinge that squeaked when the cold set in, the way the stove popped when the last log settled.
"We will continue with stone throwing," he said. "Then we will do the water-walking exercise."
Ren dug in the crate and came up with a round grey rock. "If this hits the middle, I am naming it," he said. "I want the cat to be jealous."
"Please do not name rocks," Hana said. "If you do, you will really become the village fool."
Ren glared at Hana which brought a small smirk to Shinji's face. Shinji stood behind Ren's right shoulder and watched his feet. "Back foot a hand's width farther. Now turn your hips. Do not whip with your arm."
Ren tossed the stone twice to feel it, stepped, and let the throw come from the middle of his body instead of his shoulder. The first throw bit just off center. He grimaced, reset, and tried again. The second tucked close and left a fresh white crescent in the knot.
"Good," Shinji said. "Repeat it."
Hana drew a line with her toe and threw from the same spot every time. Two hit where she wanted. One skated high. She made a small change in her elbow and fixed it on the next throw. Shinji took his turn and put two where he aimed. The third sailed high enough for Ren to cough into his sleeve.
"Must be windy," Shinji said.
"We are surrounded by trees," Ren said.
"Very local wind," Shinji said, and Hana smiled.
After a while their shoulders started to burn, so they headed to the river. Shinji tested a calm patch with his sandal, pushed chakra into his soles, and stepped out. The surface dipped and held. He moved against the current with even steps and kept his eyes on a rock across the flow. He had learned that if he looked down at his feet, he got clumsy. Hana followed, jaw set, breath steady as if she was walking on land. Ren came last. He took careful steps on the water, it looked a little awkward at first but after a few breaths his posture straightened.