The hardest part of a rainy day is getting out of a warm bed, Ryoga thought. Without opening his eyes, he pulled the covers over his head and nuzzled deep into his pillow. He sleepily tried to recall where he had pitched his tent, and wondered how far he might be from the Tendo Dojo and his beloved Akane. It didn't really matter, though. Somehow or another, he always found his way back there. Back to her. With a deep sigh, Ryoga flung his covers aside and opened his eyes to face the day. With a start, he realized that he wasn't in his tent. Slowly he began to remember the events from the day before... and the night before. He looked down at the bandage on his hand and allowed himself to blush a little at the memory of Lum's gentle fingers working over his own. It took him a moment to notice the six little pairs of eyes gawking at him quietly through the open door of his room.
Instinctively, Ryoga took a defensive stance, but quickly relaxed when he realized that they were only the children of the house. There was a long stare-down between them before the kids all leaped forward at once and began tugging on Ryoga from all sides. "Can you really turn into a piggy?" "Does it hurt?" "Are you magic?" "Can you play with us?" "Are you gonna live here?" "How come you have fangs?" There was nothing more that poor Ryoga wanted to do than jump through the window and run away into the woods. "Children! That is enough! Behave yourselves and go finish your breakfast." Mikham ordered. The children all groaned with frustration and filed out of the room. "Please excuse the little ones. We told them your story so as not to alarm them with your presence, and they just couldn't wait to meet you." the old man chuckled. Ryoga lowered his head, slightly embarrassed. Mikham stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder. "Get dressed and join us for breakfast, won't you?" he invited kindly. Ryoga awkwardly bowed his thanks as Mikham excused himself.
The low chatter from the table and the steady din of the rain against the windows covered the sound of his footsteps through the house. He could escape if he wanted to. Well, no. He wanted to, no question. But his sense of honor wouldn't let him. He owed a small amount of time at least to the folks of this home. They had given him shelter, after all. If he left now, it would be highly disrespectful. Ryoga had been raised better than that. He swallowed his discomfort and approached the table.
"Ooh! The piggy man! I'm Tadoma! You can sit by me!" one of the three little boys cried as he scooted over to make room. Ryoga winced at being called "piggy man". It stung of the same kind of irritable jabber that Ranma always seemed to have an abundant stock of. The boy hadn't meant anything by it, so Ryoga worked a smile up to the surface and took a place beside him at the table. After breakfast, Lum cleared the table and Mikham helped the children into raincoats. Ryoga wasn't quite sure of what to do with himself. Everyone seemed to have a task set to them. "If you would like to relax a little, feel free to watch some television, young man. Or if you are itching for something to do, you may assist an old man in gathering firewood for the day." Mikham said. Ryoga wanted to appear useful, so he grabbed his umbrella and walked outside, behind the children.
"We'll be going to a cave close by. That's where we leave our wood for the house. We run on a wood stove for everything this far out, you know. Heat and hot water are maintained by keeping it well stocked with food for the fire nonji that lives in there. That way it will stay warm even if there is no one to tend it. With the windmills for electricity, we are completely self sustained." Mikham explained as they walked through the rain. The children laughed and splashed in all the puddles that they could find. Ryoga kept well clear of the spray and nodded his approval. "To be completely independent is very impressive. Many people take a hard day's work for granted, but there is nothing quite so satisfying as knowing that you can take care of yourself and create your own luxuries." he said. Mikham smiled slightly. "You speak as someone who has spent a long time being independent. How long have you been on your own, my boy?" Mikham asked. Ryoga's eyes widened a little. He didn't mean to give the wrong impression. "My parents are productive and kind. I would be welcome back at my home anytime, but I... just feel compelled to make my own way. To become everything I need to be for..." for Akane he almost said. But Ryoga just trailed off. Mikham patted him on the back. "I do not see you as any kind of person that would disrespect your parents. I only meant that you seem as though you spend an awful lot of time alone. That's not necessarily a bad thing. The world needs all types for humanity to grow. But there is nothing wrong with a little company now and again, wouldn't you agree?" All the wrinkles in Mikham's face turned down in a sorrowful frown when Ryoga didn't answer. Maybe he had been too personal.
Ryoga just stared into the distance, past the rain and thought of Akane's company. He remembered how his thoughts had betrayed him the night before when he had been with Lum. How could he claim to be a man of honor when his heart could be swayed so easily? It wasn't like anything had happened, but just the idea that it could have was enough to upset him. Make him doubt his own integrity. After a moment, Ryoga noticed the change in the old man's face and felt a little guilty. "I apologize. I was lost in thought, Mikham-San .I find your company enjoyable." he assured the old man. Mikham smiled again and waved off to the left. "Here we are. Okay, children! Take what you can carry!" he called.
The kids all stopped what they were doing immediately and crept quietly into the cave, as though they were trying to make sure that something didn't wake up. One of the girls saw Ryoga walking confidently though the mouth of the cave and blushed in awe of his bravery. "Kima, look! He's not afraid of the monsters!" "Hush, Chi! You're gonna make the bad things come out!" another little girl shushed her. Ryoga raised an eyebrow. "What bad things?" he asked the blushing girl. She turned even redder as Ryoga got closer. "Um, well... There's a family of nonji here. They sleep during the day in the back of the cave. The baby lives in our furnace room, and the mama and papa don't like that. They think it's a slave." she answered. "But it's the runt of the litter, so they don't care too much that it's gone. As long as we leave the big ones alone and we don't hurt the little one they leave us alone. It was gettin' kicked around out here. We actually saved it." Tadoma said. "I see. Well, why do you keep your wood here then?" Ryoga asked. "Because we built a small wall further back to keep the draft away from the nonji as a peace offering, and as long as we don't intrude to far into the cave, we are free to use it as wood storage." Mikham explained. "It's beneficial for all of us. It stays warm in here because of he nonji, so the wood dries out faster, and we kept a family war from happening by taking the youngest into our care."
Ryoga noted that it was a great deal warmer in the cave than the weather outside would naturally allow it to be. And even though it was raining heavily, there was no trace of humidity. It was unusual. Ryoga smiled to himself when he saw the older children attempting to show off their strength to one another by carrying three pieces of wood rather than one small one in each hand like the younger ones were doing. He saw a large, uncut tree trunk against one wall and decided to show off a little himself. "Ha ha ha! That's too big to fit in the fireplace!" Nami laughed and tugged on the sleeves of two of the boys. "It's too big to carry. You're gonna hurt yourself." "Shut up, Cho! He can do it!" "You shut up, Ping! It's too big!" The two boys started wrestling on the ground. Ryoga ignored them and centered himself while Mikham tried to break up the fight. "Bakusai Tenketsu!" Ryoga cried. His index finger hit the perfect point on the tree trunk and it burst into a hundred or more manageable pieces of firewood. Everyone stared motionless as Ryoga held out his arms and waited for half of them to clatter neatly into his steady hands. He shifted all of it to one arm and used the other to hold his heavy umbrella up over his head. If he ran quickly, the wood wouldn't get too wet. "This enough?" he asked. Mikham nodded and urged the kids to head back towards the house so as not to wake the cave dwellers with their excited squealing.
Ryoga sped through the woods back through the way they had come. Lum was waiting by the outdoor entrance of the furnace room. She was surprised to find that Ryoga was approaching by himself, but quickly put on a bemused expression. "Grandstanding a little, are we?" she asked. Ryoga blushed. Lum just smiled benignly. "Thank you for your help, Ryoga. Let's get it set up, hmm?" Lum opened the door and helped Ryoga stack wood along the walls. He saw a pair of pale yellow eyes peeking out from a dark corner behind the furnace. "Is that...?" he started. "That is Kirbin, our nonji friend. He lives here where it's warm and safe. He eats firewood and keeps our home heated with his spirit. Kirbin is wise and kind." Lum answered. She bowed respectfully and led Ryoga out so Kirbin could eat in peace.
Ryoga had a lot of questions, but he thought it best it keep them to himself for now. He wasn't exactly sure where he stood with Lum after the evening that they had had. Perhaps it was water under the bridge, or maybe she was still angry. Either way, Ryoga didn't want to press his luck. He shared his umbrella as they walked back up to the main entrance of the house. The children were heading back in with Mikham by the time they got back around. It seemed that the gentle rain was giving way to an angrier storm. You couldn't see a thing past the front porch. All the kids spread themselves on the floor with their toys and played quietly, warming themselves with Lum's delicious hot chocolate. Ryoga sipped some himself and waited to see what was next to do. With the rain raging on, outside chores were put on a standby, and it seemed like everything within the house was in order. He decided to excuse himself to meditate for a while. He desperately wanted to clear his mind of his awkward loneliness. Hours passed by, but it was the only way not to let himself be overrun by his thoughts. Thoughts of becoming stronger than Ranma; thoughts of being lost and searching for his Akane; thoughts of Lum's fierce personality and soft hands...
