Nami was only half-asleep when he heard the creak of the door opening and he rolled over in bed just in time to see Kai coming through it with a towel tossed over his shoulder. He frowned at the boy as he got closer, noticing his hair was wet just before the door closed and the room was plunged back into darkness. He could still hear the boy's footsteps and followed them with his eyes.

"Where've you been?"

"Nowhere," Kai said, tossing the towel aside and laying out the double layer of blankets that served as his bed. He'd gotten good at doing this in the dark but it had long since stopped impressing Nami. Kai laid down on them and pulled the blanket Genrou had given him up to his shoulders. "Just outside."

"Why's your hair wet, then?"

"Fine," Kai sighed. "I was taking a bath."

"In the middle of the night?"

"I realized I hadn't had one in a while when I started getting ready to go to sleep," he said. "I thought I'd get clean before I got my bed all dirty."

"Hmph." Nami rolled back over. He had serious doubts about the truth of the kid's story but figured that there was probably a good reason for it. There were other guys who didn't like to bathe with the others because they had things they wanted to hide or that would result in serious teasing among men, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. An unfortunate birthmark, maybe, or an even more unfortunate endowment. Given Kai's small stature, he had a feeling it was the latter. "You'd better get some sleep," he added into the silence. "I'm gonna put you through some serious training tomorrow."

"I'm looking forward to it," Kai said, his voice smiling. "At least I can keep my hands on it now." Nami couldn't help thinking this was true, but he didn't want to give the kid false hope. His current level was only slightly higher than it had been but as he had said, at least he wasn't flinging it around. He still couldn't hold his own in a fight, though. "Did you learn fast?"

"Great, here we go again," sighed Nami. "Can't you ever just go to bed?"

"I don't usually fall asleep right away."

"So you've gotta talk to me?" Kai was silent on this and Nami sighed again, heavily. "I already knew a little when I came here. Brought my own sword and everything. I had to learn more, though and I worked hard." He paused, then looked at where he knew Kai should be. "You're working hard too," he said grudgingly. "You're just not very strong yet."

"It feels like I'm never going to be strong," Kai said, and the uncertainty in his voice made Nami feel a little guilty about his last words. "I want Kashira to be proud of me, is all. I don't want him to think he made a mistake by letting me stay here."

"Is that all?" Nami laughed. "You don't gotta worry about that. He accepts pretty much anyone that doesn't have anywhere else to go. Even little thieves with skinny arms."

"My arms aren't that skinny," Kai said defensively, which only made Nami laugh more. "They aren't! Neither are my legs," he added. His skinny legs had been the target of that afternoon's practice session and Kai was getting a little tired of being told how small he was.

"You'll build 'em up sooner or later. Just stop being so sensitive about it. Otherwise the other guys are gonna keep teasing you. They'll get tired of it eventually." He failed to mention that it would probably take years but didn't feel it was the right time to burst Kai's bubble. "Now would you just go to sleep?"

"Yeah." Kai's blankets rustled and Nami was almost asleep when he heard "Thank you, Aniki" in a very small voice and he smiled, thinking maybe the kid wasn't so bad after all.

000

Kai was sitting on the porch of the living quarters, watching the other men train. A leather waterskin was sitting beside him and he could feel sweat trickling down his back but he felt good. He had moved back from the tree a little and was still able to hit it, though he still had trouble getting the arrows into the targets most times. Nami's words rang in his ears, though, and gave him strength. He was just about to go back to the line in the dirt when Genrou's voice came from behind him.

"Good job out there," he said, and his praise made Kai's chest expand. "It's about time we taught ya how to actually work around here."

"Actually work? What do you think I've been doing, having a party?" He stood up, picking up the waterskin as he did.

"That ain't what I meant," Genrou said, folding his arms over his chest. "I'm talkin' about gettin' ya started workin' on the road and traps and stuff like that. You're at least good enough with that sword that you won't kill yourself or Nami." He looked at Kai. "That's who you're gonna be workin' with most of the time." Privately, Kai thought that Nami was going to be less than thrilled with this turn of events but he kept his mouth shut. "Until you're ready, though, I'm gonna teach ya what to do."

"Yes sir, Kashira!" Kai slung his arrows over his back so enthusiastically that Genrou had to take a step back to avoid getting hit by them. "Sorry about that," he apologized.

"Sometimes I wonder how ya manage to stay standin.'" He turned and walked into the fortress and Kai followed him eagerly. Genrou's back, clad in a deep maroon with green accents on the sleeves made him feel completely at ease and he smiled. "We're gonna be walkin' a lot so I hope you're ready." He looked back at Kai, who nodded. "All right, then, let's get goin.'"

They walked together out of the fortress gates and onto one of the footpaths that led down to the road. It was the same one Kai had walked up to get to the top of the mountain and he felt a surge of affection for it, just as he did every time. He decided not to mention it to Genrou.

"First things first," he said, looking back at Kai. "Ya better keep up with me. Don't tell me you're already tired."

"No, I'm fine."

"Good." Genrou paused and waited for Kai to catch up with him and pointed to a path that forked off and went deeper into the mountain. "We'll go that way later but I want to show ya the actual places where we work first." They walked a little further down and he pointed to a place where the road narrowed. "It ain't often that people come up this far but just in case they're feelin' bold we put a couple of guys here. Usually if they're this far up they ain't up to any good so the guys here are usually strong ones." He raised an eyebrow at Kai. "Ya got a long way to go before you're up here."

"I understand."

"You'll be down on the main road," Genrou went on. "Most of the people who come through down there are regular travelers. Our usual toll is 5 mon unless we think they're up to somethin,' then we'll either take a bigger toll or take 'em for everything they've got. That means we've gotta know about most of the people who travel this road and trust what we get from the mountain."

"Yes, Kashira." Kai was trying to digest all this information and he was starting to feel like he should write it down when Genrou turned to him.

"Somethin' wrong? You're pretty quiet today."

"No, n-nothing," Kai said, holding up his hands. He didn't want to tell Genrou that he was dwelling on the fortress and how safe he felt for fear the leader would laugh at him, and he was having a nice time just walking with him so he didn't want to spoil it by making jokes. "So how do we tell who's up to something?"

"You'll hear people say stuff around town when we're down there, or you'll notice somethin' shifty about them when you ask for their toll. Most of the time the crooks'll try to get away with somethin' by tellin' ya they don't have any money. And like I said, you can kinda get a feelin' about what they're up to from the mountain. It may not make sense to ya now but you'll get it later."

"Hmm." Kai looked around the path and closed his eyes for a second, trying to feel the mountain's intention. There was nothing but the feeling of calm he'd felt when he first walked out of the fortress and he wondered if this was part of it. He didn't realize it but he had stopped walking and Genrou had continued on.

"There's a little restaurant we kinda run at the foot of the mountain," he was saying to the air by his side. "Ya get a little better at cookin,' we might get ya in there. We get some of our information by listenin' to what goes on there." He realized that Kai was suddenly not with him again and turned irritably. "What're ya doin' back there now?"

"Sorry!" Snapping out of his trance, Kai ran to catch up with Genrou. "I was just-" He paused, trying to decide if what he was about to say made him sound stupid. "-listening to the mountain," he finished lamely. To his relief, Genrou grinned.

"Don't worry, you'll get better at it," he said, reading Kai's mind.

"How long did it take you?"

"I ain't really a good example." Undeterred, Kai looked at him and he sighed. "I started feelin' it pretty much right away. But most guys it takes a while. Like I said, ya shouldn't worry about it."

Easy for you to say, Kai thought. I want to feel the same things you do. He watched Genrou continue to talk but didn't hear much of it. More interesting was the way his lips moved and the grin that always seemed to be on the edges of them. Kai hoped he would never stop smiling, even if it wasn't directed at him.

They reached the main road just in time to see a middle-aged man come up it, looking around nervously. No doubt he had heard rumors about bandits in the mountains and was hoping he wouldn't come across any. Genrou pointed him out, then strolled toward him casually and Kai followed, his attention no longer wandering.

"Hey there," Genrou said in a conversational tone of voice. "I got a feelin' that you're not used to travelin' through these mountains."

"N-no, I'm not," the man said, still walking. "B-but I'm just crossing them to get from Kou to Souun, that's all."

"Oh, you're from Kou? That's where I'm from," Genrou said, putting his arm around the man's shoulders. "Tell ya what, ya pay us the 5 mon toll for comin' through our mountain and we'll make sure ya get to Souun safely. How's that?"

"Toll?" The man looked from Genrou to Kai and his face turned white. "Don't tell me you're the Mt. Leikaku bandits!"

"You got it," Genrou said, grinning. "So like I said, pay up and we'll take care of ya."

"Of course," the man said, rummaging through his pockets for the money. "It's a small price to pay." Something occurred to him and he looked at the two bandits again. "What about the other bandits? The ones from Mt. Kaou?"

"Don't worry about 'em," Genrou said with a shake of his head that made his earrings sparkle in the sun. "My guys'll make sure they don't touch ya." The man dropped several coins into Genrou's hand and he pointed the traveler down the road. "Thanks. Now ya just take the left fork right up there and it'll go right past some more of my guys. They ask, tell 'em Genrou sent ya and they'll get ya where you're goin.'"

"Thank you," the traveler said, bowing first to Genrou, then to Kai. "Thank you so much!" He hurried down the road and Genrou dropped the money into a leather pouch.

"See? Easy as that. Think ya can handle it?"

"Sure," Kai said. "Are the Mt. Kaou bandits really that bad?"

"Gettin' that way," Genrou said. "They got a new leader, Yushan, that's gettin' all kinds of guys together and rilin' 'em up. It's why we've got guys hangin' out near the path to Mt. Kaou. Last thing we want is people gettin' lost and taken for all their cash by those assholes." He gave Kai a dubious look. "Didn't ya say if we didn't take ya you'd go over there? How're ya plannin' to do that if ya don't know anything about 'em?"

"I was just bluffing," Kai admitted with a grin. "You took me, though, didn't you?"

"That ain't why I took ya," Genrou said. "I did it because you've got potential. Plus ya looked like ya didn't have anywhere else to go." As true as this was, Kai wasn't sure he had wanted to know that Genrou basically took him in out of pity. There was nothing he could say to this that wouldn't sound like whining, so he went in a completely different direction instead.

"Are you really from Kou?"

"What, ya think I'd lie?" Kai blinked at him and he put a hand over his eyes. "Yeah, that's where I'm from. Ever been there?" Kai shook his head and Genrou shrugged. "You ain't missin' much. C'mon, we're goin' back up the mountain."

"Already?" Kai looked up at the sky. The sun was still high in the sky, though it had slipped a little toward the west. "Don't I get to collect any tolls?"

"Before we can let ya collect tolls and stuff, there's other things ya gotta learn," Genrou said, motioning for Kai to come with him. They walked back up a small path to what looked like a miniature shrine. In front of it was an offering of rice and incense that had burned out.

"What's that?"

"I'm gettin' to it! Have some patience, will ya?" Not wanting the leader to think he was going to be the kind of guy who just backed down all the time, he nodded and motioned for Genrou to continue. This earned him a scowl from Genrou, and he folded his arms across his chest before he went on. "This' one of the shrines to the god of Mt. Leikaku," Genrou said, motioning to the little shrine. "Ya gotta remember to pay tribute after ya finish your work. Don't wanna piss off the mountain," he said as Kai bent down to look at the shrine a little more clearly. "Ya gotta keep 'em clean, too. Our old leader was real big on-hey!" Kai was reaching out to touch the roof of the shrine and Genrou smacked him on the back of the head with the same flat, metal thing he'd hit him with before.

"Ow! Hey! What was that for?" Kai rubbed his head and straightened to look at Genrou, trying to see what had hit him.

"Don't go touchin' the shrines without permission, ya idiot!"

"How am I supposed to clean them if I can't touch them?"

"Ya can clean 'em without manhandlin' 'em!" Sensing that the boy was going for the shrine again, Genrou grabbed Kai by the back of the shirt. "Can't ya-"

"Sorry!" Kai jerked out of Genrou's grasp and backed away from him. "I'll be more careful, Kashira!" Genrou looked at him in surprise and Kai tugged his shirt down so it was smooth. "Sorry, I just don't like being grabbed from behind."

"No need to be sorry for that," Genrou said. "It's a good trait in a bandit, matter of fact." When he pointed at the shrine again, all the irritation had disappeared from his voice. "Anyway, ya pray to it like any other shrine." He clasped his hands together and Kai did the same. They both closed their eyes. "God of Mt. Leikaku, we worked hard today too," he said, and even with his eyes closed Kai could hear the smile in his voice. It made his chest warm and he inched a little closer to Genrou, who clapped him on the shoulder. "Good job, kid."

"What? But I didn't do anything," Kai said, confused. Genrou started walking back toward the fortress and Kai hurried after him.

"You will tomorrow. For now all ya gotta do is listen and learn. And for Suzaku's sake, figure out how to swing that sword a little more accurately, will ya?" The fact that Genrou had been keeping an eye on him made Kai's face flush with embarrassment and he nodded. "Maybe you'd do better with a knife or somethin' like that." This last thing was said mostly to himself and Kai smiled.

They made it back up to the fortress and Kai realized that all the men were out of the yard. He looked around curiously and Genrou grinned. "Everybody's out on the mountain now. I'm gonna go find Kouji and join 'em. You keep practicin.'"

"I can help too," Kai said quickly. "I can find Nami."

"Don't ya have laundry to do or somethin'?" In the excitement of learning that he would be going out into the mountain to work, Kai had almost forgotten that the laundry and chores were still his jobs and he suppressed a sigh with great effort.

"Right," he said, thinking to himself that as if he finished the chores quickly he could at least practice a little with his bow before he had to make dinner. Genrou walked toward the gates of the fortress, leaving Kai to watch after him until he was gone before turning around and going in to start on the laundry.