It was hot and a little muggy as the young man made his way up Mt. Leikaku, picking his way through the rocky paths. The sun beat down on him and he looked up, shielding his eyes, to find it was directly overhead. It meant he'd been walking for hours and a sigh escaped his mouth. He couldn't turn back now, though. This was all part of the test as far as Kai was concerned.

At least he could see the fortress now. It was bigger than he'd expected, and surrounded by an enormous wooden fence. It looked as if it had once been a sprawling, rich man's house, a strange sight in the mountains to be sure. This was what he had come looking for, though, and he felt a second burst of energy hit him. He scrambled up the path, eager to get out of the sun and find out what he had gotten himself into.

No sooner had he arrived at the gate than a muscular man with long, unkempt hair stepped out and looked at the boy almost curiously.

"Hey, kid. What do you think you're doin' up here?"

"I've come to join you," said Kai, thinking there was no reason for him to beat around the bush. This wasn't the man he'd come to see, anyway. He'd save his breath for the man in charge. "I want to see your leader!"

"You do, huh?" The bandit at the gate gave the young man an indulgent look, as if he was about to tell him to run back home to his mother. "What if I just had a couple of my buddies come out here and kick your scrawny ass back down the mountain?" It was just barely a threat but Kai didn't care if he got beaten up. Whatever got him through the gates was fine with him.

"Kick my ass all you like, but do it after I meet your leader."

"Is that so?" A second man, this one with long hair pulled onto the top of his head in a bun and wearing armor made of leather, came out from the gate to join them. "Why don't we play with you a little first?"

"Fine by me." Kai stepped forward to leap at the man in armor, only to step the wrong way on a rock and stumble several steps toward the gate instead. He caught himself before he could fall down but his face burned as the bandits laughed at him. This was not the impression he'd hoped to make. Other bandits were coming out of the fortress, hearing the laughter and wanting to see what was going on.

"What's this about?"

"This kid wants to see Kashira. Thinks he can join us," the long-haired guard said. "He was just showing off some of his impressive skills."

"Go home, kid," a bandit with short hair bleached brown by the sun said. "Before your mama notices you're missing." This sent a spark flying in Kai's chest and he looked from face to face, his jaw set. He wasn't about to leave, even if they all beat him at once.

Before Kai could say anything else or the bandits could do more than laugh at the boy who had climbed a mountain to reach them, a figure came through the crowd with his arms folded across his chest. His hair was an unusual blue-black shade and there was a scar down his cheek.

"What have we got here?" The laughter died off as he looked at Kai appraisingly. "A kid found his way up here?"

"I'm here to join you," Kai said, directing his eyes only toward the newcomer. The others seemed to defer to him, though he already knew this wasn't the leader. "I want to see your leader." He expected more laughter but the bandits looked to the scarred man to see what he would do. Much to Kai's surprise, he motioned for the boy to come with him.

"Come with me." Kai nodded, then followed the man through the gates and into the fortress. The rest of the bandits, surprised by this turn of events, came along behind them like a parade.

The inside of the fortress was far cooler than it had been on the climb up the mountain and Kai thought that even if they kicked him out he had at least had the chance to cool off a little. Not that he wanted them to kick him out, but so far things hadn't gone according to the plan he'd laid out in his head before he started his climb. Behind him, he could hear the bandits muttering to each other about what Kouji was thinking and he looked over the scarred man again, turning his name over in his head as they walked.

Finally they came to a pair of double doors ant Kouji stopped in front of them and cleared his throat. "Excuse me, who is it? It's Kouji, here with an interesting thing to show the leader. Oh, that's good, please come on in." Having finished this odd pronouncement, Kouji pushed open the door and strode inside with Kai close behind.

The room was piled full of chests, vases, rolls of cloth and other things that Kai assumed were all things they'd taken from unwary travelers. Standing near a table, holding up a necklace and examining it with the eye of a jeweler, was the man Kai had been waiting to see.

He was an average sized man, athletic-looking and presumably strong, otherwise he couldn't imagine him being the leader of the bandits. Apart from the way he was dressed, wearing jewelry and tailored clothes instead of whatever he might have stolen, he was different from the others in that he had bright orange hair pulled back in a long ponytail. He tossed the necklace aside and looked first at Kouji, then at Kai.

"What've ya got there?"

"Kid came up the mountain," Kouji said, jerking his thumb at Kai. "Says he wants to see you."

"Is that so?" Genrou looked at the boy, took in his plain brown tunic and pants, the thin shoes he'd somehow made it up the mountain wearing, his short ponytail, and the look of determination on his face. "What's eatin' ya, kid?"

"I want to join you," Kai said, hoping that the leader would hear in his voice just how much he wanted this. "I want to be a bandit." He half-expected to be laughed at again but to his relief, his words were met by a look of interest.

"Is that so?"

"What good do you think a kid like you're gonna be around here?" The largest of the bandits spoke up, a man who looked like a boulder brought to life, complete with a bald head and craggy face with an eyepatch over one eye. "You're barely bigger'n a bottle of booze!"

"I might be small, but I'm fast," the young man said, his hands on his hips. "I can steal something from anyone before they even know I'm there." As if anticipating that they would ask for proof, he pulled out a short-bladed knife that made one of the gate guards feel his hip and find nothing there. The young man smirked and tossed it back to him. "See?"

"That's pretty impressive," said Kouji, looking back at Genrou. He watched, still interested, but didn't say anything. "But what about fighting? Can a kid your size really be useful in a fight?"

By way of a reply, the young man put down his head and took a run at the leader of the bandits. More bandits moved in automatically to protect him and the small figure dodged them easily, pulling back his arm to deliver a punch. His fist flew at the leader's face but Genrou's hand went up so quickly that it was a blur, caught it and squeezed.

"Nice try," he said, grinning. "But I'm faster."

"Urgh," the young man said, ignoring the pain in his hand. He'd wanted to impress them and all he'd done was end up looking like an idiot. He refused to apologize, though. If he showed even the slightest bit of weakness, they'd never let him join. "If you won't take me, I'll see if the Mt. Kaou bandits'll take me instead." It was an empty threat, but they didn't have to know that.

"You've got balls, kid," the leader said, letting go of his hand. "I like it." He extended a hand and smiled, this time a much warmer welcoming one. "I'm Genrou, the leader around here. And this guy," he said, nodding to the one with the scar, "Is Kouji. He's kinda my right-hand guy. Ya need somethin' and I'm not around, ya ask him, got it?"

"Yes, sir." The young man slapped his hand into Genrou's with a grin. "I'm Kai."

"Welcome to the Mt. Leikaku bandits, kid. You'll still have to prove yourself but as of now, you're one of us."

"Thank you, sir." Kai paused for a moment, then corrected himself. "Kashira." Calling him 'leader' was a sign of the respect Kai felt for this man, much more so than a simple 'sir.'

"For now you'll sleep in the storage room," Genrou said. "Don't even think about tryin' to make off with anything from in there," he said, narrowing his eyes. Kai shook his head. He honestly had no intention of doing anything that could jeopardize his place among the bandits and, more importantly, the possible encouragement of the leader. "Now that we've got that taken care of, it's time to eat. I hope you know somethin' about the kitchen, 'cause that's where you're gonna be workin' for now."

"Sorry," Kai said. "I can't cook worth a damn. I'm a fast learner, though."

"Good," Kouji said with a nod. "So get in there and start learning how to serve dinner. We've got hungry men out here."

Kai followed a few of the men to the kitchen and picked up a large plate, then followed the other men to the dining hall where the bandits were sitting along long tables with plates and chopsticks in front of them. Kai sat the large plate down in front of them and backed away to go get another plate. They were heavy and by the time he got them all out of the kitchen, he was looking forward to his bed in the storage room.

While he was struggling to learn the ways of the kitchen, the other bandits took advantage of his eagerness and called out to him to bring things to them, which Kai did with varying degrees of success. Watching him the entire time with a critical eye was Kouji, sat beside Genrou at the head of the table.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Kouji looked at the boy, who was making another trip back to the kitchen. "He's kind of a runt."

"Yeah, but he's got the right attitude." Genrou smirked. "Kinda reminds me of me when I was a kid, though."

"I know," Kouji said, then shook his head when Genrou looked at him in surprise. "I've known you since we had to share a room when you were the smart-ass kid who wouldn't take no for an answer. Why do you think I brought him to see you instead of telling him to get lost?"

"What, you thought you'd let me tell him to get lost?" The two men grinned at each other, then looked at Kai as he came back with several gourds of liquor cradled in one arm and a stack of cups in the other. "Gotta give him credit for bein' fast, though."

"Here you go, Kashira," Kai said, leaning between them to pour some sake out for Genrou and hand it to him as neatly as if he'd been at a table in a teahouse.

"Thanks, kid." Genrou grinned and watched him pour a cup of sake for Kouji as well before heading around the table, still smiling what Genrou knew was a genuine smile. The boy definitely reminded him of himself.

It took so long to get everyone else served that Kai barely had time to eat himself before the others started getting up, leaving behind a litter of plates and cups that he stared at while he finished his dinner. The hall was quiet where it had just been lively and loud and he could hear the chatter and laughter slowly moving away from him. He ate the last of his rice, then went around the table and started picking up the dishes.

They were lighter when they were empty and Kai was able to get most of them in just a couple of trips, dumping them into the wooden basin he assumed was by the door for this purpose. Between trips, he put water to boil so it would be hot enough to wash the dishes by the time he got ready to wash them, making a mental note that he would have to ask where the well was so he could get more water. Once the dishes were collected, Kai stood in front of the basin and stared at them with his hands on his hips, wondering how exactly he was supposed to do them all on his own.

"Well, I am the new guy," he muttered, picking up a rag and tossing it over his shoulder. Somewhere in the fortress there was a guy who was breathing a sigh of relief that he didn't have to do this anymore, he just knew it.

While he scrubbed, Kai found himself grinning at the wall. In spite of the fact that he had just had dinner with a group of bandits that had conditionally accepted him into their fold. If they hadn't accepted him, he probably would have gone back down to the village and started plotting a second attack. But they had accepted him, thanks to Genrou, and even though he knew the hardest part was yet to come he was happy.

By the time he finished with the dishes he was feeling much less enthusiastic but relief washed over him when he stepped out into the hallway. His hands were tight and dry from the hot water and his arms hurt from scrubbing. It hadn't occurred to him just how many men lived in this fortress until he'd had to wash their dishes, but at that moment it felt like at least a thousand.

He was halfway down the hall before he realized that no one had ever told him where the storage room was and he froze in the middle of the floor. It wasn't like he could just go pushing open every door in the fortress, hoping he found the right one.

Even though he knew he'd probably be laughed at again, Kai looked around for someone to tell him where to go but no one was around. Not Kouji, not even the huge bandit with the eyepatch. Lost and tired, he started down the hall in the hopes that a solution would jump out at him. Somewhere in the fortress men were laughing and Kai walked toward the sound, steeling himself for their disdain and teasing.

At the end of the hallway, a set of double doors blocked his way and Kai tried to remember if the storage room had double doors. He assumed the room he'd met Genrou in was the storage room, anyway. It made sense, though, since that was where anything he might want to steal was located. Trusting his memory, Kai pushed open the doors only to find Genrou inside unbuttoning his shirt.

"Hey! Dontcha know how to knock?"

"Sorry!" His face burning brightly, Kai bowed to his waist. "I'm sorry!" He kept his head bowed as he backed out and shut the doors, then leaned back against them with one hand pressed over his face. Dammit. You idiot, he told himself. You should have knocked first. Who just walks into a room without knocking? He probably thinks I'm- Before he could finish his sentence, the door began to open behind him and Kai leapt off it so he wouldn't tumble backward into the room.

"So what's the problem?" Genrou came out of the room wearing the same pants he had been wearing earlier but with a plain white shirt over them. He looked at Kai, who hadn't expected him to suddenly appear.

"Huh?"

"What're ya doin' out here? Ya gotta be after somethin' if you're walkin' into people's rooms without knockin.'" This reminder of Kai's misstep made the boy's face burn hotter and he scratched the back of his head nervously.

"I just, uh, I was-" Kai forced a smile onto his face. "-I was looking for the storage room."

"You're on the completely wrong side of the place for that," Genrou said with a shake of his head. "Weren't ya payin' attention when you came in?"

"Sort of." It wasn't a lie. Kai had been so nervous and excited when he was being led through the fortress that he'd looked at everything and nothing in equal measure, and tried to make sure no one saw him doing either.

"Oh, well. C'mon." Genrou motioned for Kai to follow him, then paused and held up a hand. "Hang on a second." He went back into his room, then returned with a blanket and pillow that he tossed to Kai. "Ya gotta sleep under somethin,' right?"

"Th-thank you," Kai said, looking down at the bedding in surprise. He'd half-expected that he'd just sleep on the floor, maybe pulling one of the coats down from the pile he'd seen in the storage room and hoping no one would get mad at him. Now he was getting not only a blanket from the leader, he was also getting a pillow. Genrou started walking down the hall and Kai hurried after him, tucking the pillow and blanket under his arm.

"When ya come in from the front, ya just walk all the way down and take a left," he said, walking past the room where all the laughter was coming from. "Sounds like some of the guys're drinkin' in there. Ya wanna join 'em?"

"Not now," Kai said, honestly. "I had kind of a long day and I'm looking forward to some sleep. If that's okay with you."

"'S fine with me," Genrou said, giving Kai a half-smirk. "I ain't the boss of ya." He seemed to realize what he'd said and his smile covered the rest of his face. "Well, I mean, I guess I am but ya know what I mean."

"Yeah," Kai said, turning the corner with him. He wasn't sure what to say. Everything he wanted to say seemed so trivial and not at all worthy of discussion with the man who walked beside him. Genrou didn't seem to be bothered at all by the silence and Kai contented himself with the knowledge that he would be able to sleep very soon.

"So ya know where the kitchen is," Genrou said, nodding to his right. "And the hall where we eat's right through there. 'Course ya already know that. There's a room over there that's sorta where we keep all our weapons and stuff when we're not usin' 'em. Ya know how to fight with a weapon?"

"Like a sword? No. I've always just used my fists."

"You're gonna have to get used to havin' a weapon, even if ya don't use it. I'm sure one of the guys will show ya the ropes. Anything particularly interest ya?"

"I kind of think a bow would be cool."

"Long-range weapon, huh? That's gonna take some practice for sure." They walked down a second hallway and Kai looked around. He hadn't expected the place to be so big. The thought that it had been a house came to him again and he was just about to ask Genrou about it when he realized that the leader of the bandits, the one he had fought his way up the mountain to see, was giving him a tour of the fortress like he was a guide. "Over here's where we all get together to go over plans before we do anything big. Most all the guys can fit in there."

"You really don't have to show me around, Kashira. Just tell me where to go and I'll figure it out." Kai tried to smile at Genrou, who gave him a strange look that made Kai tighten his grip on the blanket and pillow.

"What, ya don't like my tour?"

"N-no, it's not that! It's just, I mean, you've got more important things to do than show me where I'm supposed to be sleeping," Kai said.

"Nah, not really. Besides, I remember when I was a kid and didn't know my way around the place either. I wish I woulda had someone to show me around." He looked Kai up and down. "I was probably around your age when I joined up."

"Really?"

"Sure. What're ya, like fifteen?"

"What? No!" Kai was slightly offended. "I just turned twenty last month!"

"Ya sure about that?" Genrou looked at him dubiously. "There ain't no way you're done growin.'" Kai resisted the urge to punch him in the ribs. If there was one thing he hated it was people telling him he looked like a kid.

"I'm telling you, I'm twenty."

"If ya say so," Genrou said with a shrug. "It ain't like there's an age limit to bein' a bandit." They had reached a second set of double doors and he pushed them open. "This' the storage room. Just sleep wherever ya want. Startin' tomorrow you're in trainin' in addition to doin' all the chores, so ya better get a good night's sleep while ya can."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, Kashira." He bowed deeply and Genrou laughed.

"Ya don't have to be so formal," he said. "Go on and get some sleep. I'll get ya started in the mornin.'" With that he turned and closed the doors to the storage room, leaving Kai to look around the room curiously. Genrou's earlier warning was still in his head and he chose a spot furthest away from the pile of loot so they wouldn't think he was trying to steal anything. He dropped his pillow on the floor and took off his shoes, setting them aside carefully. They were beaten up by his walk up the mountain and he wondered how long it would be before he was able to replace them.

Once he laid down on the floor he realized that no matter how tired he was he wouldn't be able to sleep with the lights on, so he got back up and went over to the lamps that hung from brackets on the wall and blew them out. The room was immediately plunged into darkness and he had to feel his way back to his pillow.

With that taken care of, Kai laid on the hard floor, grateful for the pillow that would at least keep his cheek from pressing against hard concrete while he slept. The blanket was pulled up around his chin and in spite of the discomfort his shoulder and back was registering, he was smiling. Genrou's blanket and pillow smelled good, like incense and a bit of sweat, and as he drifted off to sleep, he thought how nice it would be to be this close to Genrou. The thought made him blush and he closed his eyes. Moments later, he was asleep, safe in the fortress in the mountains at last.