The rain came unexpectedly, soaking Konan's majestic Leikaku Mountain and everything on it. The bandit camp – more of a fortress, really – that was nestled in the topmost peak was no exception and before long the rain had become so hard that even the guards at the front gate had come inside to see if it would pass.

By midnight the rain had lightened up a bit but the guards who were responsible for the watch still didn't want to go out. They reasoned that if anyone wanted to attack their fortress, they would surely do it when the weather was better. For one thing, getting horses to move up a mountain in this weather would be next to impossible. The guards stayed inside but alert, the majority of the bandits had either gone to sleep or passed out, and the rain rushed through the rocks to form pools in whatever flat spaces it could find.

A bolt of lightning tore through the night sky and the bandit leader who called himself Genrou sat up in bed, a second bolt sending jagged light over everything in his room. He pressed a hand to his forehead, frowning into his palm as if he had a headache.

It had been a while since he'd dreamed of her.

He got out of bed, his muscles unwilling to be still in the wake of his dream. He had to move. The complex character on his right forearm burned red in the darkness as he went to the window and looked out. It was still raining. Genrou pushed aside the curtain for a better look out at the mountain and the glow from his arm caught his eye. He gripped his forearm with his left hand for a moment, then turned his head away as if in disgust.

Gotta get outta here, he thought. I can't stay here right now.

Without lighting a lamp, Genrou picked up the clothes he had worn the day before and put them on, winding a long strip of cloth around his forearm until it covered the glowing red character completely. Once he was dressed, he slid back the door to his room and stepped out into a long hallway. He was a little surprised by how quiet it was but wasn't about to complain. Anyone he might run into would either want to know where he was going or to try and go with him, and Genrou didn't much feel like making small talk.

If it was just drinking he wanted to do, he could easily do it at the fortress where bottles and jugs of liquor were stockpiled. This was a deeper need, to be on his own but at the same time not alone. It made his head hurt to think about it so he pushed the memories deeper into his mind and concentrated on the task at hand; getting out of the fortress on his own.

The guards were still inside, watching the gate and the rain from just inside the main building, and Genrou walked up to them. There was no getting around them, he would have to at least let them know where he was going so they could let him out.

"'ey, Kashira," one of the men said, straightening up. "You goin' somewhere in all this?"

"Yeah," Genrou said, trying to act nonchalant. "Just goin' down into town for a couple of hours. I'll be back before even get the bars back on the gate."

"I gotcha," the second guard said with a knowing leer. "Don't you worry about a thing, we've got it all taken care of right here."

"Thanks." They ducked out into the rain and opened the gate while Genrou ran back around to the stable and saddled a horse. He was relieved that they hadn't asked too many questions but supposed that there wasn't a man in the fortress who didn't need to visit town from time to time. It was a part of living with a large number of men, everyone knowing everyone else's business.

After riding past the guards, Genrou made his way down the mountain on a horse that obviously wished it was back in the stable, a hood pulled up over his head to protect him from the rain.

As he rode into the town at the foot of the mountain, the sky opened again and a fresh sheet of rain fell over him. Cursing, Genrou hurried his horse to the teahouse and dismounted, then hurried under the curved roof of the teahouse. The door opened immediately as he pulled the hood back from his flame-red hair and a handsome woman smiled out at him.

"Good evening," she said, bowing pleasantly. "I didn't expect anyone to come so late, and in this weather. Please, come in and get dry."

"Thanks," Genrou said. As if she had been summoned, a young woman came forward with a towel and handed it to him. "Thanks," he said again, taking it from her.

"Would you care for some warm sake?"

"That'd be great," Genrou said. The girl nodded and disappeared while the handsome woman led him to a room with a small table behind a sliding paper door. She motioned for him to sit and he did, taking off his wet cloak and coat. "Ya got someplace I can hang this up?"

"Shika will take it and hang it by the fire when she comes back with your sake. As for your company this evening, you'll be pleased to know that Mei is available to spend some time with you."

"That's great," Genrou said, his mind elsewhere. He was only going through the motions talking to the woman, saying the usual things in his usual voice and she didn't seem to notice anything different about him. The door slid open and instead of Mei, the girl she had called Shika came back in with a sake bottle and dish.

"Your sake," she said, setting it in front of him, then kneeling beside the table. "May I pour you-"

"Gen-chan!" A sexy female voice preceded a curvaceous woman who looked like she was on the young side of twenty-five, and she swept in and put an arm around Genrou. "What are you doing here so late? And in this weather!" Not waiting for him to answer, Mei swept the sake the girl had been about to pour into her hand and pressed the dish into his hand. "Shika, would you be a dear and take his wet coat and hang it up to dry?

"Yes, of course." Shika took the coat and hood from him and hurried to the door, eyes on the ground as if she was embarrassed to look at him. Genrou wondered how she was ever going to make it as a courtesan if she couldn't even look a man in the eye.

"You're so tense!" He hadn't even realized it until she said something, but Mei was rubbing his shoulders in the gentle but firm way he liked. "Lots of stress, huh?"

"Somethin' like that, yeah." Genrou answered her the same way he did the older woman, hoping he sounded normal enough to not arouse any suspicion. He didn't really feel much like talking.

Mei, on the other hand, seemed to want to talk all night. It reminded him of her and he found himself smiling against his will. Yes, she had always been so vibrant and full of life. Irritatingly optimistic sometimes, but it came with the territory of being the priestess of Suzaku, the Miko. Even when he felt like giving up, just seeing her smile was enough to make him want to go on.

Her face stayed in the front of his mind now, the way she laughed and how she had felt in his arms that one time by the river. Mei's fingers kneaded his tense muscles but in his mind it was someone else touching him, talking to him, smiling at him.

She was gone now. Back to her own world and safe now for good. By now she and Taka had welcomed their child, and for all he knew they could have another on the way. He didn't begrudge her that, her or Taka. Their happiness was his happiness. Most of the time anyway. Still, there were times when he woke up at night where all he wanted was for things to have gone a little differently. For her to have met him first. For him to have saved her.

Her.

Miaka...