Disclaimer: I don't own Houshin Engi. You should realize that by now that I am not cool enough to be Fujiryu.

Chapter one: Visitor

Momo

I was still growing then. "Like a weed," you'd say. And then I'd correct you, "Like a peach tree!" That was our idea of witty banter, I guess. It had only been four years. There was plenty of time to learn how to be witty.

When I first started training under you, you made me eat a whole lot. I wasn't used to having so much food, so I was happy for it. I think you realized that, Shishou-sama.

Then, one day, I was hanging the laundry out to dry. It was a really nice day. The sky was a bright, bright blue, and there were only a few clouds. There was no one else around. I leaned down to get a handful of clothespins from the laundry basket. Standing up, I glimpsed his legs, but I still started when I saw his face, and dropped all the pins.

Oh, Shishou, you would've laughed at me so hard! I thought he was an angel at first, with his halo and his gentle smile, and his blue hair all splayed out. He was hugging this giant ball to his chest. Silly of me not to realize it was a paopei. Then the wind blew, nearly sending a pair of your boxers down into the mortal world, and it blew these flaps on his back. They reminded me of great big wings.

I wanted to ask him what it was like, up there above the sennin world.

"Excuse me, but do you know where Bou-chan is?" he asked, his voice soft and fluid.

"Bou-chan? Oh! You mean Shishou-sama!"

I dropped the dress I was hanging up, and it fell in a damp heap at my feet. I felt rather stupid, but I smiled. Still, his face was kind.

"Shishou-sama…?"

"Fugen?" I heard your voice growing near. "Is that you?"

"Bou-chan!" he called out affectionately. "When did you get married?"

"Married…?" You blustered a little at his teasing, and he laughed good-naturedly. "She's my student!"

"I see. And how do you like teaching so far?"

He walked past me and the two of you settled into a comfortable conversation. I felt a bit of an outsider, and out of place. It was obvious you two had known each other a while, and a while to a sennin is very long to mortals.

Trying not to listen in, I knelt down to pick up the dress and the clothespins, and started picking blades of grass off the former. I considered just washing it again, but laziness prevailed, and I went on with hanging the laundry. While I was in the middle of hanging up the last of it, one of your shirts, you caught my attention again.

"Momo," you called, waving me over. "We're gonna have tea inside now, so we'll train later. Could you make some snacks for us?"

"Ah… sure, Shishou-sama."

I blinked, staring as the two of you, laughing and talking animatedly, walked off. Then, remembering myself, I gathered up the laundry basket and stray clothespins and ran ahead to the house. Inside, I set the basket down in the corner of our room and hurried into the modest little kitchen. After four years, I finally figured out how you liked your tea (strong and slightly sweet; you were especially fond of jasmine) and I brewed it the right way.

When it was ready, I got some of those pretty peach-shaped buns you liked and put them on a tray with the tea set. As I slid the door open with my foot, I could hear your laughter. You were just then coming inside.

Aside from the kitchen, the only other room we had was that one. It was our living room, our dining room, and our bedroom. The worn little table had been pulled to the center of the room at breakfast, and we had left it there. I set the tray down on it as you both sat down.

You were still talking, and curiosity had finally overwhelmed me, so I stayed to pour your tea for you, taking as long as I could.

"You should've seen the old man run when he came to drop her off, Fugen," you went on, amusement in your eyes.

Both you and the strange, beautiful man smiled at me, and I smiled back before taking it as my cue to leave. Your voices faded slightly as I shut the kitchen door, but I could still hear you if I sat close to it. Which I did.

"She seems nice, Bou-chan. How long have you been training her?"

"About four years now… She's a good kid."

"Ah, but she's not so much a child any more, is she?" he laughed. "She'll be a sennyo in her own right before you know it."

You laughed too, a little more softly than usual. I looked down, and saw he was right. I really did grow a lot. The thought made me smile a little.

"So how is your training coming along?" he went on pleasantly.

"She's advanced quite a bit, but there's still a long way to go. Even so, I think she'll be able to handle a paopei soon."

"That's good. You're progressing quickly."

"Oh, and Momo," you said after a while, making me start.

"Y…yes, Shishou-sama?" I asked querulously.

"I know you've been listening to us, so you may as well come sit out here."

Grinning sheepishly, I came into the room and took a seat on a cushion at an empty side of the table. Fugen laughed in his peaceful way, and you in your triumphant "Nyo ho ho ho!"

"I can see why you two have been getting along so well," he beamed.

"Nee," I began, looking up at you hopefully, "Shishou-sama, is it true that I'm almost ready to start using a paopei?"

"Yeah," you said, putting on your villainous face, "so I'm gonna work you twenty times harder from here on in!"

"Kyaa!" I cried, suppressing a laugh. "Shishou-sama is so cruel! Save me, Fugen-san!"

You cackled and stormed around the room like a monster, and I couldn't help but laugh.

Fugen slept over that night. We pushed our two rather flat and ragged secondhand futons together as he slept in the middle. Crickets, somehow able to thrive even on Mount Konron, chirped outside in the night. They sounded so close I half expected to hear them hopping around on the engawa. Fugen and I were lucky it was such a warm night, for you stole all the covers as you tossed and turned in your sleep.

We laughed about it the next morning, to your confusion.

Author's note: Big thanks to my friends for beta reading this for me. If you can't tell, the "you" is Taikoubou. And once again, please, please, PLEASE only criticize if it's constructive. Also, an engawa is the wrap-around porch on a Japanese house.