Chapter Two:
Four Points Boys' Home

"Stupid, heartless, inconsiderate, jerk!" Yuya exclaimed, kicking a stone out of her path, "Why does he have to pick on me so much? Is there something on my face that screams, 'I'm immature! Pick on me!'?"

She hated times like these. Times when things were quiet and she had some moments to think to herself. She almost wished Benitora were here to spy on her so that she could punch him and be pulled out of her thoughts in the process. Almost.

Sighing, Yuya continued down the path she was on, wondering if there was a hot spring nearby, or else maybe even just a river. What sort of woman would she be if she couldn't find a decent place to bathe?

Of course, she knew what Kyo would say. He asked her all the time what good she was to the group whether she found a hot spring or not. To him, she was just someone to get in the way. Someone that needed to be fed and taken care of at all times. He thought she was a baby, someone that demanded attention all the time. In short, a burden.

And that was all she'd ever be to him.

Yuya stopped as soon as she saw a large building come into view. What could possibly be out in the middle of nowhere? Deciding to find out, Yuya set the building as her goal to reach, telling herself that she wouldn't give one more thought to Kyo or the others until she got there.

Fifteen minutes later...

Reaching the large doors of the building, Yuya leaned against them to catch her breath, looking up to read the faded sign above the door: 'Four Points Boys' Home'.

Blinking, Yuya didn't want her imagination to run wild at the concept of a building full of boys or young men. She'd had it up to the heavens with men for the time being, and she certainly didn't want to run into any more. Turning to leave, a creaking stopped her as the large doors opened and a man of about forty years stepped out.

He wore a simple gray man's kimono with a black obi about his waist. He probably stood at about 5' 5", with dark hair tied into a top knot. His eyes were warm and gentle, there was a certain invitation sort of quality about them.

"May I help you, Miss...?" He asked, stepping further outside of the building.

"Shiina, Yuya," she said with a shake of her head, "and no thank you. I'll just be on my way now."

"You seem tired," he said, no doubt having already guessed she'd been traveling for quite some time, "and a lady should not be out in these parts without an escort. Are you lost?"

"No, I just needed some time to myself is all, Mr..."

He nodded, "Tamanori, Minase. I am the leader of sorts here. And we all need some time to ourselves sometimes. Some of the boys here feel the same way."

"Oh, I thought that this was an..."

"Orphanage?" He asked, opening the door for her and letting her enter first as she nodded, "Well, it is and it isn't. Some of these boys have no place to go; others were sent here by parents that no longer wanted them. But a few of these boys have parents except, like you, they needed time to themselves, so they found their way here. We accept any and all who wish to come here for teaching."

"And what is it that you teach, exactly?" Yuya asked as they went down a hallway, one side open to look out into a courtyard within the building's walls.

He shrugged, opening a door at the end of the hallway, "We teach an assortment of things: mathematics, reading, writing, and even martial arts, to those that are interested."

"Wow, that's quite a range of subjects." Yuya said, taking in the room that she'd been led into.

It was quite a spacious room with several long tables with benches on either side. A few boys were clearing off the tables while others wiped them down to get he crumbs. They wore simple enough clothes: hakama, gi, and some wore the haori, though it was a bit warm for a haori, in Yuya's opinion.

"Welcome to our dining hall," Mr. Tamanori said, "we've just finished lunch, but I can ask our dear chef if he wouldn't mind making one last meal?"

She shook her head, "Oh no, you don't have to do that for me."

"Nonsense, he'd be delighted. We don't get female visitors very often, and he always outdoes himself when we do." Mr. Tamanori said, heading back to where Yuya guessed the kitchen was.

The kitchen was of good size, about the size of a room in a medium-sized house. A wood-burning stove sat against a wall and a boy who looked to be Benitora's age was rearranging the wood pile nearby while some of the other boys that had cleared the tables left the room.

They bowed to Mr. Tamanori as they passed, "Sensei."

At this, the young boy at the wood pile turned and smiled, bowing in turn to Mr. Tamanori and to Yuya, "Afternoon, Sensei, and Miss."

Tamanori smiled, "Toge-san, this is Shiina, Yuya-san. Yuya-san, this is our greatest cook, Senichi, though we call him Toge-san. Toge, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind making something for Yuya-san to eat?"

The boy known as Toge smiled, "No, not at all. The stove's warm enough, I'm sure I can make something that Yuya-san would like."

"You really don't have to go through the trouble," Yuya said, finding it odd that a boy that looked like Benitora would choose to go by the same sort of nickname, "I can just take a piece of bread if you have any?"

Toge smiled as he pulled a pot from a cupboard, "I don't serve bread and water, Yuya-san. Maybe in a soup, but not plain. This isn't a prison, 'ya know."

"Speaking of this place being a prison," Tamanori began, gesturing for Yuya to sit at a smaller table in the kitchen, "have you seen Shinda-san anywhere?"

"Nope. Haven't seen him since this morning." Toge said, cutting some vegetables into the pot after having added water.

Yuya quirked an eyebrow, "Who's this Shinda, Tamanori-san?"

Tamanori sighed, "He came here with Toge about four years ago, a little after the Battle of Sekigahara. They were both wounded and were taken in by the former head of this home, Kagane-sama. By the time I got here, which was two months after Shinda and Toge made themselves at home, I couldn't believe my eyes. Kagane-sama had turned a blind eye to them both, and when I asked him why, he told me, 'Look well at the one named Shinda and tell me if you want to try and stand in his path'. At that particular time, Toge-san was refusing to let Shinda out of the front doors, and somehow the two started sparring."

"And that's how things usually go around here," Toge smiled, "Sama-sama wants to leave, I won't let him, and then we fight."

"That normally wouldn't have surprised me, for as Toge-san says, it happens all the time; except for the fact that Shinda-san was being completely merciless," Tamanori said, shifting in his seat across from Yuya, "it were as though he didn't care whether or not Toge lived. Finally, I hate to say, but Toge knew his limits and eventually allowed for Shinda-san to pass. It was then that I realized that Shinda-san was not one to be taken lightly, for though he looks young, he has lived through much more than I could imagine at the time. Now, though, I have merely accepted, as Kagane-sama did before me, that there is no way to stop Shinda-san when he truly wants something."

Yuya nodded, "That sounds like someone I know. He threatens to cut down anyone who gets in his way, and it usually isn't an empty threat."

"It sounds like Shinda-sama and your friend would get along great," Toge said, setting a bowl of soup in front of Yuya, "or else they'd probably try to kill each other to see who's stronger."

"I'm gonna agree with the second one."

Toge nodded, "Me too."

Just then, the dining hall door opened and hit against the stone wall, and Yuya didn't have to wait long before she saw someone she didn't think she'd see for a good while entering the kitchen, sword held in his left hand.

"K-Kyo!"