Hello! CNJ here. In response to a review I got, yes it is in modern times (see sedatives and other technical devices) and i wanna thank everyone who gave me a review. Thankyou! Throws underwear at reviwers

The spoon hit the wall; the soup that had been sitting in it was spattered across the floor and walls. San screamed at Ashitaka again, her throat feeling raw.

She had one hand free of the shackles that still bound her to the bed. Ashitaka was trying to feed her as she wouldn't do it herself, but to absolutely no avail. He had a growing bruise on his cheek from where she'd punched him earlier in the morning while he was trying to speak to her.

This is going to be difficult…but I think I can do it…he thought as he wiped the soup off of his face.

He looked up at San, to see her looking at him with a questionable expression on her face, as if she were saying what now?

"Listen, can you understand me?" he asked her, rather abruptly.

She blinked steadily at him, her gaze fairly blank. He took her hand and looked at her. Imitating something he'd seen on a film a while ago, he brought her hand to his chest.

"A-shi-ta-ka," he said, enunciating each syllable carefully. He took her hand again and placed it on her chest, between her breasts and said carefully "San."

She blinked carefully as he let go of her hand, before looking at it carefully. She flipped her hand over, and then looked back at Ashitaka. She raised her hand, and hesitantly placed it on his chest.

"Ashi-taka," she said slowly, before taking her hand and putting it on her own chest. "San," she whispered.

Yes! thought Ashitaka. That was until San pointed at the bowl of soup, and asked "Ashitaka?"

The last of the soup dripped off of his nose as Ashitaka sighed. He wasn't getting very far. After Ashitaka tried to tell San that the soup didn't share the same name, she got confused, then angry, then distressed which lead to her throwing the bowl of soup onto Ashitaka, folding her arms and turned away from him.

The research team noticed that her behaviour was steadily becoming more human, but she was still finding it difficult to maintain eye contact with anyone, or pick up too many new words. She knew her name, 'Ashitaka', 'Moro' and, for some reason, 'carrot'.

For Ashitaka it was nearing the end of the school holidays, and he would have to get back to the regular routine of school. He spent most of his days with San, trying to break through her shell of intolerance towards other humans, or her inability to understand.

She didn't communicate to anyone other than Ashitaka, and if anyone tried to talk to her, she would turn as far away as she could from them. When Ashitaka spoke to her, he would address her and make her look at him.

They discovered this was the only way to get her to communicate, but no one else dared to try, because the moment they made eye contact with her, she felt intimidated and would begin to snarl and growl at them.

Two weeks after she was brought to the centre, San was beginning to string words into sentences. They were rather primitive, but it was an improvement.

"San?" Ashitaka asked, looking at her directly. "I'm going away for a while, okay? But I'll be back soon. Is that okay with you?" he asked her gently. He spoke slowly to her, posing questions so as he could get her opinion, see what she wanted.

"Is…Ashitaka going to…leave San?" she asked, in her broken dialect. She brought one of her hands, which had both been released from the shackles, to his face and placed her hand on his nose. She did this quite often, especially when she was upset.

"Only for a little while each day. I'll come and visit you in the evening. Is that okay?" he asked again.

"Why can't San…go…to Ashitaka?" she asked, stumbling over her words.

"San can't go with Ashitaka because there are a lot of people there, who you don't know. And you could get lost," he explained. He gently corrected her phrasing, by emphasising the word she had gotten wrong.

She growled harshly at him and swung out her hand to hit him in the arm. He caught her fist just before she hit him.

"If San wants to come to school with Ashitaka," he said calmly, "She has to learn not to hit."

San looked confused.