"Time to get up," said a voice that Kai didn't recognize. He shifted on the hard floor and kept his eyes closed, only to feel a boot poking him in the shoulder. "Hey, c'mon. You've slept long enough." This still didn't produce the desired result so Genrou flipped him over onto his back. This woke Kai up completely and he sat up.

"Kashira! I'm sorry! I just-"

"Yeah, yeah. Ya had a rough day. It's gonna be another one, ya better get used to it." He watched Kai scramble off the floor and looked him up and down. "Hope ya didn't want anything to eat, it's all gone."

"Oh damn! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Kai bowed as low as he could. "I'm sorry!"

"Ya say that a lot," Genrou said dispassionately. "It's no big deal. Ya gotta start trainin' today, though, so ya might wanna get a move on tomorrow morning so you don't get left out. Come with me. Leave that," he said as Kai leaned over to pick up his pillow. "Just get it later."

"Yes, Kashira."

"Let's get down to business," he said, taking Kai down the hallway. "We ain't your normal kinda bandits. Most of the stuff we take goes to the people in the village down the mountain. We keep whatever it takes to keep ourselves fed and taken care of." He grinned at him. "Okay, maybe a little more'n that. Anyway, that's what we're about. Ya get it?"

"Yeah. It sounds good."

"I'm glad ya think of it like that." They were in front of the door he had said led to the room that held the weapons and he pushed it open. Kai looked around, fascinated. There were swords and naginata, shields and knives on the wall and in racks. "Here," Genrou said, picking up a bow from the wall and handing it to him. "Ya said ya wanted to learn to use a bow, here's one. It's yours now so take care of it." Kai looked down at the bow, then nodded vigorously.

"Yes, sir! Thank you," he said, running his hand over the smooth wood. It felt good, smooth and cool, and he looked up at Genrou. "Thank you."

"I was thinkin' about it and it's probably the best thing someone your size can use," Genrou said with a shrug. "Ya probably couldn't even lift a sword with those little arms." His teasing had no effect on Kai, who was still enthralled with his new weapon. "You're gonna need these too," he said, picking up a quiver of arrows.

"Thank you," Kai repeated again, slinging the quiver over his shoulder. "I can't wait to learn."

"Yeah, I had a feelin' ya were gonna be eager once ya got up. Let's go outside." With a nod, Kai followed him out of the storage room and down the hall. "Best way for ya to learn is tryin' it out yourself but I'll give ya some pointers."

They went out to the back of the fortress where there was a large, open space. Trees surrounded it and Genrou pointed to one of them that had circles painted down its length.

"Target practice," he said by way of explanation. "We'll get ya some apples or somethin' so you can practice shootin' moving targets, but ya gotta learn the basics first. Unless ya already know the basics."

"Uh," Kai said, holding up the bow and pulling back the string. "You hold it like this, right?"

"At least ya know which direction is up," he sighed, taking the bow from him. "Like this." Genrou took an arrow from the quiver on his back and fired it smoothly. The arrow flew straight and sure, embedding itself in the center of one of the painted targets. Genrou handed the bow back to him and pointed at the tree. "Go ahead and try to hit the target."

"All right." Kai took out an arrow and put it on the string, then pulled it back, aiming as best he knew how and letting go. The arrow wobbled as it flew, then fell short of its target by several feet. He looked up at Genrou apologetically and saw that the leader had his hand over his face.

"Practice," he said. "Just...keep practicing." He turned and walked toward the fortress, muttering in a voice that wasn't quite under his breath. "What the hell am I gonna do with this kid?"

Kai blushed at this, stringing another arrow as he did. Of course Genrou was going to doubt his skills, he didn't have any. Still, he decided that he was going to do it and let a second arrow fly. It didn't get much farther than the first and he sighed as he strung another arrow.

He was pulling the arrows out of the ground when Genrou came back over to him with one of the other bandits in tow.

"Okay," Genrou said, leading Kai over to the enormous bandit who had disparaged his size the day before. "This is Nami," he said, gesturing toward the wall of muscle. "From now on you're gonna hang around with him and he'll show ya the ropes."

"What? How come I get stuck with the kid?"

"'Cause he's the smallest one around here. Might as well give him to the biggest." He looked at Kai. "You're gonna be sleepin' in his room startin' tonight too. Can't have ya in the storage room forever, y'know."

"Uh, no, it's okay," Kai said, holding up his hands in front of his chest. "You don't have to do that, Kashira. I'm totally fine with sleeping in the storage room." Genrou shook his head and folded his arms over his chest.

"Nope. You're gonna sleep in the same room, so get used to the idea." He turned back to the fortress and waved over his shoulder. "I've gotta go check on a couple of things. You two get to know each other, okay?"

Kai looked up at Nami, who narrowed his one eye at the boy, sizing him up. They stood in silence for a little while before Kai cleared his throat.

"Uh," he said, searching for something to say. He held up the bow and pointed at it. "You have any experience with one of these?"

"Nope. I use a sword."

"Oh." This was the only thing Kai could think of to talk about and he looked up at the fortress. Nami heaved a sigh that could have shifted the mountain, then pointed at the door.

"C'mon. I'll show you where you sleep." Kai nodded and followed him into the fortress, walking in his shadow and staring at his back. They went down the hall and turned away from Genrou's room, going instead into a side hall and stopping in front of a door. Kai couldn't help looking toward the leader's room, judging its distance away from the place where he'd be sleeping. "Here's my room," Nami said, getting Kai's attention. "I mean our room, I guess."

"Right," Kai said with a nod.

"You sleep on the floor."

"Right."

"Go get your blankets," Nami said, pointing at the door. Kai nodded and went back into the hall. This time he went straight to the storage room with only one wrong turn, picked up his pillow and blanket, and hurried back to his new room. Nami looked at them disdainfully. "That's all you got, huh?" He examined Kai's dully colored clothes and worn shoes. "You should look through the storage room for somethin' else to wear. You look like you crawled up a mountain."

"That's probably a good idea," Kai said, lifting up one foot then the other. "You think that's okay? I don't want anyone thinking I'm stealing."

"Don't worry about it. How d'you think most of us get our clothes?" This hadn't even occurred to Kai and he nodded. "Good. You go do that and we'll go around the fortress, I'll show you where everything is. Meet me back outside."

"Thank you, Aniki." He didn't think it was a good idea to mention that Genrou had already showed him all through the fortress. Besides, he hadn't had a good look at the outside yet. He bowed quickly to Nami, then ran back down to the storage room.

There wasn't much of a selection for someone as small and slender as Kai, but he managed to piece together a dark gray pair of pants and light gray shirt with green trim. He tied it around his waist with an equally green sash, then used some strips of leather to bind the legs of his pants to his shins. Another piece of leather served as a way to keep his hair back after running his hands through it, and as soon as he tied it he ran back outside to where Nami was standing with Genrou.

"This' Goh," he said, motioning to another man who was also holding a bow. "He's our best archer and he's gonna give you some lessons after Nami shows ya around."

"Thank you," Kai said with another bow.

"Some manners ya got," Goh said. "Don't worry, we'll beat that outta ya." He grinned at Kai, who didn't seem worried in the least. "You come find me when you're ready to learn how to shoot. I'll get ya up to speed." Kai nodded and Nami led him off again.

"The wall goes all the way around the fortress," Nami said, walking Kai around the wooden wall. "There're a few places that need reinforcing and we're gonna be doin' that pretty soon." He smirked at Kai. "Don't worry, we'll find something a runt like you can do."

"I'm looking forward to it," Kai said, not rising to the bait. He had known when he started up the mountain that he was going to be the butt of lots of jokes about his height, but he looked even smaller compared to Nami. "Whatever you want me to do, Aniki."

"Don't expect to be sleepin' in every day like you did this morning. You're on the floor when I wake up, I'm gonna step on you." Kai looked up at him, trying to gauge his weight from his height and not liking what he came up with. The last thing he wanted was for this man to step on him and he resolved to sleep next to the wall. "Back here's the well," Nami went on. "You're gonna be drawing the water we use for stuff."

"All right," Kai said, not knowing exactly how else to respond. He felt like saying yes over and over would make him sound stupid but he also didn't want Nami to think he wasn't listening.

"You've landed yourself a great job," Nami said, breaking into his thoughts. "You get to clean up the fortress, do our laundry, load up the wagons, and maybe when you're done with all that we'll let you start learning the ropes." He looked back at Kai, who nodded. "Not what you were expectin' when you signed up, huh?"

"It's not the first time I've had to do stuff like this," Kai said truthfully. "At least you don't expect me to cook for you. I burn everything."

"You're gonna have to learn. You're the one-man odd job crew around here now, so take it seriously." They had come back to the fortress by this point and Nami pointed to Goh, who was sitting by the target tree. "Get on over there and be his problem for a little while," he said. "Don't be late servin' dinner, though. And don't let someone else be responsible for the water tonight."

"I won't, Aniki." Kai went over to the tree and Goh stood up, dusting off the legs of his pants as he did. While he was being shown around, Kai had forgotten that he was still holding his new bow and when Goh pointed at it he was almost surprised.

"Okay, ya already got a weapon, we just need to get ya to be able to use it." He led Kai a little ways from the tree and pointed at the targets. "We're gonna stand close to start with so ya can actually hit the tree. Kashira tells me you couldn't do it earlier."

"It's my first time," Kai said defensively, hoping immediately after he'd said it that Goh didn't take offense to it. It would be pretty pathetic to get kicked out of the fortress on his first real day. "I just need some practice."

"Right. So let's practice holding the bow first."

"Yes, sir."

As they practiced, it became evident that Kai wasn't going to be shooting arrows for a while. When he'd told Genrou he used his fists, it was stretching the truth almost to the point of breaking. He was almost as inexperienced with fighting as he was with the bow but he somehow knew that if they'd called his bluff when he first arrived he would have at least been able to make enough of an impact to impress them. For someone his size, anyway. As far as combat was concerned, Kai's only strength was his speed.

"That's enough for right now," Goh said as Kai brought back a handful of arrows again. He was rubbing his forehead the same way Genrou had and the boy blushed fiercely. A sudden burst of fear that they were going to kick him out of the group hit him and he shook his head.

"N-no, Aniki, I can try some more!"

"Don't ya have dinner to make or something?" He looked at Kai and sighed. "Ya did okay for your first day. It's gonna take practice is all. We'll do it again tomorrow when you're done with your chores, okay?"

"All right." Disappointed but heartened by Goh's words, Kai dropped his arrows back into his quiver and went toward the fortress to put them in his room. He walked directly to Nami's room and carefully set his weapon against the wall with his bedding, then went toward the kitchen to start learning how to cook.

As it turned out, Kai wasn't any better at cooking than he was at archery and he spent most of dinner apologizing to the other bandits as he served them. Most of them didn't seem too upset about the quality of the food, though Kai couldn't help wondering how much of that was pity for the new guy.

Once he was finished with his chores, Kai went outside with a lantern and tied it up on the branch of the target tree, then moved back to the line in the dirt that Goh had made for him. He had been encouraged that afternoon when he'd finally managed to get an arrow stuck in the tree, though it was nowhere near the target.

I have to do this, he thought, lining up a shot. I can't call myself a man if I can't even help defend the mountain. He pulled back the bowstring and was about to fire when he heard a voice coming from the fortress.

"What're ya up to out there in the middle of the night?" Kai looked over his shoulder and saw Genrou leaning out the window to call to him. "Dontcha have chores or somethin' to do?" He looked half-amused and Kai shook his head.

"I've already washed the dishes, cleaned out the tubs, and drawn some fresh water. I thought I would get a little more practice in." As if punctuating his sentence, Kai let an arrow fly, wobble and hit the roots of the tree.

"Looks like ya need all the practice ya can get." Kai bit back the words he wanted to say, afraid that it would make Genrou angry with him. He wanted to say that he was working as hard as he knew how but it sounded so much like whining that he forced himself to be quiet. "Ain't ya got anything to say about it?" It was as if he'd read Kai's mind and he took another arrow out of the quiver.

"I'd rather spend my time practicing," Kai said honestly. In response to this, Genrou vaulted over the windowsill and landed silently on the ground below. He went over to where Kai was standing and put his hands on his hips.

"Is that so?" Genrou was grinning, revealing a hint of his fangs. "At least ya got the right attitude. Lemme help ya out a little."

"Help me?"

"Here." Genrou put an arm around Kai so he could help him get the proper form. He put a hand on Kai's and helped him draw back the string. His added strength made it go back more smoothly and Kai found himself blushing when his back pressed against Genrou's chest. He wasn't sure whether it was his imagination or not, but he thought he could feel the leader's heart beating. Genrou let go of the bow string but Kai, distracted, didn't and the arrow plopped to the ground. Genrou scowled at him. "Ya sure you're serious about this?"

"I-I am!" Kai's cheeks were on fire and he bent down to pick up the arrow, hitting Genrou in the stomach with the end of his bow as he did.

"Oof!"

"Oh! Sorry!" Kai stood back up, then bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry, Kashira!" He didn't know if his cheeks could get any redder but it certainly felt like they had. He bowed again, keeping his eyes on the ground, only to feel something hard and flat smack him on top of the head.

"Enough with the bowin,'" he said, his voice more than just tinged with irritation. "Ya think I'm gonna kick ya outta here for bein' clumsy? I ain't that much of an asshole."

Kai wanted to tell him that he wasn't an asshole at all, that he was sorry for hitting him, and that he would very much like for him to continue giving him lessons, but it was all pushed out of his mind by his curiosity about what Genrou had hit him on the head with.

"Your problem's that you ain't strong enough to shoot yet. The string's so tight you're gonna need more arm strength to get it back to where ya can make it go further." Genrou took the bow from Kai's hand and sent five arrows at the tree in quick succession. Every one of them hit the center of their mark and he looked over at Kai. "See?"

"Yeah," Kai said, impressed. Not only was he fast and strong, he was also an excellent archer. Kai wondered what other things he was good at. Genrou went to the tree to collect his arrows, then looked thoughtfully at the tree. He kept his eyes on the ground as he walked back to where Kai was standing, then stopped and scratched a mark in the ground with the toe of his boot.

"C'mere." He motioned for Kai to join him and the boy hurried over. "Shoot from there."

"Okay." Kai took his bow back and put an arrow on the string. Holding his breath, he let go of the string and to his surprise the arrow hit the tree. It wasn't in one of the target circles but it still made it and he resisted the urge to jump up and down.

"There. Ain't that better?"

"Yes, much," Kai said, taking out another arrow. "Thank you, Kashira."

"No problem. Just work on hittin' the targets and ya can move the line back when ya get stronger." He clapped Kai on the shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll get stronger fast doin' all our chores. That's how it was with me."

"Really?" This was interesting to Kai, who suddenly felt a relief wash over him. He didn't know if he'd ever be as skilled as Genrou, but the possibility of improving to even a quarter of his level made him happy. It rekindled the fire of hope that had been in his chest when he first arrived.

"Yup. Ya gotta crawl before ya can run," Genrou said, still grinning. "I knew a guy who'd say that all the time. Just keep practicin' and you'll do fine." He looked up at the moon and judged its position in the sky. "Why dontcha get to bed," he said. "It's gettin' late."

Kai nodded his agreement, fetched his arrow, and followed Genrou into the fortress. They walked together through the hallways and Genrou stopped in front of the leader's room. Kai couldn't help wondering what it was like inside – he had only gotten a second's look when he'd opened the door by mistake – but before he could get a glimpse, Genrou pointed down the hall.

"Your room's down the hall a little," he said. When Kai looked at him in surprise, he shrugged. "I figured you'd probably get lost again without some help."

"Thanks," Kai said, blushing again. It seemed to be a running theme and he started down the hall. He realized too late that he wanted to wish the leader a good night, but when he turned around Genrou had already disappeared into his room.

Nami was already in bed when Kai pushed open the door but the lantern was still burning. As quietly as possible, Kai laid out his blanket and pillow alongside the bed and crawled underneath them after blowing out the lamp. The enormous bandit was breathing quietly and Kai sighed deeply, flopping over onto his back and staring at the darkness that he knew was the ceiling. His mind kept returning to the feeling of Genrou's arms around him and he grinned to himself.

"Go to sleep, kid," Nami said, as if Kai had spoken. The boy rolled over and pulled the covers up to his chin.

"Yes sir, Aniki."

"That's gonna get old real fast," sighed Nami, more to himself than to Kai. "How come I've gotta be stuck with a kid like you? Maybe my karma's outta whack or somethin' from bein' a bandit." He continued to mutter to himself about talking Genrou out of this while Kai, tired out from his practice and chores started to drift off. "You listenin' to me, kid?" The only answer he got was a small snore and he groaned. "Great. Just great."