"Hey Kai!" Genrou put an an arm around Kai's neck and she stumbled forward, the arrow she had been aiming falling from her bow. "Today's a special occasion!"
"A what?" She blushed both from dropping the arrow and the warmth of his arm. Genrou grinned at her.
"I've been watchin' ya shoot and it looks like you're all healed up. This calls for a celebration!" He let go of her and waved to Kouji. "Hey, Kouji! Whaddaya think about goin' down to town and havin' a guys' night?"
"Sure, I'm up for it," Kouji said. "Gonna make the new kid a man, huh?"
"After everything he's been through, what else would ya expect from a thoughtful, distinguished gentleman such as myself?" Kai picked up her arrow, thinking that this was a terrible idea and wondering how they would take it if she said she didn't want to go out on the town. "We'll go to the teahouse down the way. Hell, I'll even introduce you to Mei."
"Mei?"
"She's a great girl. If ya need to relax, she's the one to see." Kai had no intention of relaxing in the way Genrou was insinuating and she searched desperately for an excuse. She lined the arrow up on her bow again, only to have it fall again when Genrou slapped her on the back. "It's settled, then! We're goin' out on the town tonight!"
"But I-"
"No buts! It's on me tonight, kid. All ya hafta do is sit back and enjoy yourself."
Kai knelt down to pick up her arrow, staying close to the ground longer than was absolutely necessary in the hopes that Genrou and Kouji would go back into the fortress and leave her alone so she could come up with an excuse not to go. To her dismay, they had decided that the yard was a good place to talk over their plans and she sighed heavily. She put the arrow on her bowstring one more time, and this time she was able to shoot it directly into the center of one of the targets.
"Nice shot!" Genrou gave her a thumbs-up and turned to Kouji. "Told ya he was gettin' good. Anyway, go on and keep practicin' and we'll head down the mountain before it gets too dark."
"If you say so," she replied unenthusiastically, looking back at the targets as he went back to the porch. Instead of shooting another arrow, she went to the tree and pulled out the ones she'd already shot and poked at the tips. With all the practicing she'd done, the points were getting a little dull and she decided to quit for the day and spend a little time putting the edge back on them. When she turned around, Nami was standing behind her.
"Bad luck, kid."
"What are you talking about? I nailed those targets." She knew exactly what Nami was talking about but had decided that ignoring the situation was the best way to deal with it, at least until they dragged her along for the ride later that night.
"Don't worry about it, I'll come with you," Nami said, following her back up to the fortress. "Unless you figure out a way to get out of it."
"I don't see how I can if they've got their hearts set on taking me out," she sighed, pushing open the door. "Unless I can find a way to get hit with another arrow before dark." Kai looked at Nami hopefully. "You don't know how to shoot a bow, do you?"
"Nope. Sorry." Kai opened her mouth again and he shook his head. "I'm not gonna stab you, either. If you wanna get out of this, it's up to you to figure something out."
"Great."
000
Unfortunately for Kai, she hadn't been able to come up with either a good excuse or an accident before the sun went down which meant that she found herself stuck in a group of bandits that included Kouji, Genrou, and Nami, walking down the path to town. She was grateful to Nami for coming along. According to him, teahouses weren't really his thing but he had agreed to come along to try and head off any uncomfortable situations.
Her mind was working overtime as they walked and she looked for a hole to step in or some loose rocks, anything to keep them from reaching town. For once in her clumsy life there was nothing to trip her up and she looked at Genrou's back, wondering why he couldn't just take no for an answer. He seemed to sense her lack of enthusiasm and looked over his shoulder to find that she was lagging behind the group.
"C'mon, Kai! Don't wanna get left behind, do ya?" Kai resisted the urge to tell him that was exactly what she was trying to do and gave him a smile that she hoped didn't look as sick as she felt.
They reached town quicker than usual, which was usually how things went when she was dreading something. The merchants were closing up shop and the streets were emptying for the night so the bandits were able to walk in their group together. Everyone but Kai and Nami were laughing and talking about how much they were going to drink and she decided that the best plan might be to drink until she passed out.
"Almost there," Genrou said, grinning over at Kai. He had dragged her to the front of the group when she looked like she was going to be left behind and she looked in the direction he was pointing. "That's the place." As soon as she saw the teahouse he indicated, her breath caught in her throat.
"We can't go to that teahouse," Kai said, stepping in front of Genrou and Kouji. She tried not to let the panic she was feeling creep around the edges of her words. They stared at her and she forced a look of bravado onto her face. "I'm not allowed."
"You're not allowed?"
"Yeah, I got a little too drunk and got into a fight with one of the other guys. Took three of 'em to get me off the guy." Kai punched a fist into her hand and grinned. "So they told me not to show my face in there anymore." To his relief, Genrou started laughing right away, throwing back his head with his arms folded over his chest.
"There's never a dull moment with you around, is there?" He motioned to the other men to follow him further down the street to another teahouse. "Come on, we'll hit one of the other places then. After all, we're celebratin' ya tonight, right?"
"Uh, right." They walked past the teahouse and Kai exhaled as soon as they were on the other side of it. One crisis had been averted, at least. Nami shook his head and Kai punched him in the arm. It was like being hit with a small broken rock and he resisted the urge to put a hand on her shoulder and shove her off the street altogether.
One of the other bandits suggested a teahouse at the end of the street and Kai agreed reluctantly, since she couldn't claim to have been banned from all of them. Now that she'd said it, though, she was starting to regret it. Now they'd really expect her to be the life of the party, something that she had hoped to avoid.
"Hey there," Genrou said as they walked through the door. "Got room for a party of ten? We're lookin' for your best booze and your prettiest girls!" A well-dressed woman greeted them and showed them to a large room with short tables arranged into a square.
"Please, have a seat. I'll send some of the ladies in to serve you. We serve some of the finest food in Souun as well." She didn't have to tell them twice, and Kai was fairly hungry. The thought of a meal she hadn't had to prepare was a pleasant one, even if the rest of the night was going to be spent trying to put off the inevitable.
Much as she hated to admit it, the service was excellent at the teahouse. The bandits had no sooner sat down at the tables than a number of pretty girls came in with trays containing bottles of sake and cups. A girl with long hair pulled up into a fancy arrangement knelt beside Kai and poured her a drink.
"Here you go," she said demurely. Kai took the cup gratefully, her eyes skating over the girl's bare shoulders and the necklace hovering over the very slight amount of cleavage she showed. She was very pretty and the smile Kai gave her was genuine. "Can I get you anything else, sir?"
"Ah, no. Thank you, miss."
"Karin," the girl supplied. "And if there's anything I can do for you, anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask me." Kai nodded and Karin touched her shoulder lightly. "You won't be needing this here, will you?" She was referring to the bow on Kai's back, something she had forgotten she was even carrying. Kai shook her head and Karin gently took it and her arrows, leaning them against the wall. Out of the corner of her eye, Kai could see Genrou giving her a thumbs up and a wink, and she downed the rest of her drink in one gulp. Immediately, Karin refilled it.
Food was brought out, along with more liquor, but Kai wasn't able to do more than pick at it. One of the other girls, a sweet-faced girl whose name Kai hadn't caught, was leaning on Genrou while one who could have been her twin talked to Kouji. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy at the girl's attentions. She'd never be able to touch him and talk to him like that, and the knowledge made her gulp down another drink.
Between Kai's desire to keep her mind off Genrou and the courtesan and her half-baked plan to drink until she passed out to avoid being treated to the full services of the teahouse, she had no problem with Karin's excellent service, even if the girl did keep brushing against her and touching her arm.
"Is everything all right, sir?" Karin smiled at Kai, who nodded. "You're awfully quiet."
"I'm fine," Kai said, trying to return her smile. The more she drank, the easier it became. "Thank you for all your help."
"It's my pleasure." Seeing that Kai's cup was empty, Karin reached across her for the sake. "You'll have to forgive me, I haven't even asked your name."
"It's Kai," she said, holding out her cup for more. Karin filled it and Kai downed it at once. The heat that blossomed in her stomach spread to the rest of her body and when she turned to the girl her vision was a little blurred.
"That's a really nice name," Karin said. She moved to pour Kai another drink and found that the bottle was empty. "Oh my," she said with a laugh. "You certainly can drink, Kai. Let me just go get another bottle for you."
"Take your time," Kai said. She leaned back on her hands and looked over at Nami. Despite his earlier protests, he seemed to be enjoying himself as well. He hadn't even glanced over at her for some time. Almost against her will, she turned her attention to Genrou. The courtesan was snuggled up to his side in a way that Kai was sort of glad Karin wasn't doing to her. It was hard for her to look at, though, especially since Genrou seemed to be enjoying it. He put his arm around her and Kai looked away, her eyes burning.
She wanted to leave, and this last thing was more than she could bear. Kai looked at the other bandits, who were even drunker than she was, then stood up and went out to the hall. She could hear Genrou and Kouji laughing and sighed heavily, wondering if they would even miss her. Not giving herself time to think about this too hard, Kai opened the window and looked out. It wasn't too far up. A young woman was coming down the hall toward her and she made up her mind in that instance. Her head light from the sake, she vaulted over the windowsill and landed on the ground lightly below.
Her first few steps after standing up were a little shaky but she recovered quickly. Looking back at the teahouse made her a little uncomfortable and she started down the path back to the mountain quickly, just in case anyone came looking for her. Kai left behind the boisterous laughter of her fellow bandits and made her way through town, wondering if Nami would make excuses for her.
Everything was going smoothly until she got to the road and saw two men walking toward the path to Mt. Kaou. Even drunk, Kai knew that the last thing she needed was to get into a fight with two men twice her size when there was no one around to help. Not to mention they both had swords and likely knew how to use them far more effectively than she could, even if she'd had hers. All she had at the moment was her knife and-
"Dammit," she hissed to herself. Her bow was back at the teahouse. There was no going back for it now. Her best bet was to wait until they were gone, then move as quickly as possible up through the trees to the fortress. Kai slid down against the tree until she was sitting on the ground. She tipped her head back and looked at the sky through the leaves.
There were so many stars in the sky. She remembered picking the constellations out with her father when she was little and being amazed at how many he knew. He'd showed her where to find the constellations of Suzaku and she searched for them then, even though her head was spinning.
Let's see, there's Hotohori, Chiriko, Mitsukake, Tamahome, Nuriko, Chichiri and... She closed her eyes and frowned a little. Wasn't there one more? The darkness behind her eyelids was deeper than the night around her and she sighed. Maybe she'd remember it once she sobered up. Kai began to drift off then, her mind occupied with the last constellation. Why can't I remember?
000
It was cooler than Genrou had expected when he stepped out of the teahouse, Kai's bow in his hand. He looked up and down the street and saw no one but other drunken men walking in and out of teahouses. Where the hell did that idiot go?
He'd seen Kai leave the table but figured he was just going to the bathroom or something since he'd really been putting away the liquor. The next time his eyes had wandered up the table, meaning to ask the boy the name of the girl who had been serving him, he'd realized Kai had disappeared altogether. Even more concerning was the fact that he'd left without his bow, which just proved that he was in no state to be wandering the streets by himself.
Cursing to himself, Genrou walked back toward town. The streets were empty and there was no sign of Kai, which could only mean that he was on his way back to the fortress. This thought did not fill him with comfort and he walked faster. The mountains were a dangerous place at night for a short, skinny kid who might or might not even have his knife on him.
When he reached the path that led into Mt. Leikaku, Genrou decided to cut through the trees in order to get there faster. He emerged into a clearing where, to his surprise, someone was sitting against a tree. His responsibility to the travelers through the mountains fought with his desire to find Kai before he got into trouble, but the struggle lasted only a few seconds before he realized that the person on the ground was the one he was searching for.
His first thought was that Kai had been hurt and fear gripped him as he moved closer. There didn't seem to be blood on his clothes, at least not that he could see in the moonlight, and he could see Kai's chest rising and falling slightly. Relief washed over him as he realized that the boy was only sleeping, and he went over to him.
"What're ya doin' out here?" There was no answer from Kai, whose chin was touching his chest. Genrou put his foot on Kai's outstretched leg and kicked him lightly. "Hey. Wake up."
"Huh?" Kai's head came up and he looked around, confused. "Kashira?" It seemed to take him a second to register that Genrou was standing in front of him but when he did he sprang to his feet. "Kashira! I'm sorry, I'll get right on breakfast!"
"Breakfast? In the middle of the night?"
"Huh?" Kai looked around, seemed to realize where he was, and blushed with a fierceness that had nothing to do with the sake he had drank. "Oh. Right. I'm sorry, I guess I just kinda-"
"Passed out," Genrou finished for him with a sigh. "In the bushes. On a road leading into the mountains. In the middle of the night." Every word he said made Kai turn redder and he shook his head. He hadn't wanted to embarrass the boy. Well, maybe just a little. "Ya shouldn't be out here," Genrou said, handing Kai his bow. "Especially without your weapon. What the hell were ya thinkin' leavin' the teahouse when you're still drunk? Ya could have run into some of those bastards from Mt. Kaou."
"There were some of 'em on the road before," Kai mumbled, putting the bow on his back. "That's why I was sittin' over here. I guess I just nodded off."
"I can see that." He looked carefully at Kai. The boy was obviously still drunk, he could tell that much from his red cheeks, and for a moment he thought about dragging Kai back to the teahouse so he'd at least have a place to sleep it off. If he sent him up into the mountains, he'd probably break his leg falling into a hole.
"If they're gone, I can go back up to the fortress," Kai said. Then, as if he'd read Genrou's mind, he smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt myself."
"When ya say it like that, I almost believe ya." He turned his back on Kai and motioned for the boy to follow him. "C'mon, I'll walk with ya back up to the fortress."
"I don't need help," Kai said predictably. "You should go on back to the teahouse and finish havin' guys' night."
"Eh, I'm kinda over it," replied Genrou. It wasn't much of an exaggeration. "Maybe I'm just gettin' too old for it." He started up the road but didn't hear Kai's footsteps behind him so he stopped and looked back. Kai was still standing by the tree, looking as if he was lost. "Ya comin' or what?" Something occurred to him and he went back and put a hand on Kai's shoulder. "Gonna throw up?"
"No, I'm fine."
"It's okay if ya do. I saw ya puttin' away a lotta booze back there." He grinned. "It was kinda impressive for someone your size."
"I'm not that small," Kai said, pushing his hand off his shoulder. "Why is that all anyone can ever say about me?" He took a few steps forward that looked more like staggering and for some reason Genrou found this, along with his irritation, amusing. "It's like, I'm so sorry for being so damn short. Sorry I can't keep growing. Like I'm excited to be the smallest guy 'round here!" Kai was wobbling toward the road and Genrou went after him, trying to hold in his laughter. "It's like-whoa!" A rock the size of a loaf of bread was laying in the road and with a look of surprise as he tripped over it, Kai pitched forward and Genrou ran to catch him before he fell.
"Told ya you'd hurt yourself." Grinning even though he knew it would annoy Kai, Genrou put an arm around the boy's waist. "C'mon before ya pass out and I hafta drag ya up the mountain. Just let me know if you're gonna puke so I can get ya away from my shirt. I just washed this."
"You mean I just washed it."
"Guess ya did, now that I think about it." Relenting a little, Kai put his arm around Genrou's shoulders as best he could and let the leader prop him up. "How'd ya even make it this far from the teahouse without fallin' down?"
"I was fine 'til I sat down."
"Uh-huh."
Genrou walked Kai up the mountain with his arm around his waist the entire time, the boy wobbling a little but for the most part a lot steadier than he had been when he first stood back up. There was something nice about having his arm around him, though. He was small enough that it was almost like having his arm around a girl.
Once they were back up at the fortress, Genrou steered Kai through the gates with a wave to the bandits stationed at the entrance. Kai was starting to stumble again and he figured the best thing for him was to get to bed. He helped him to Nami's and his room and let go of him only when Kai was beside the bed. He plopped onto it and lay back as Genrou shook his head, hands on his hips.
"Get some sleep," Genrou said, even though he knew Kai was probably going to be asleep before he left the room. "This doesn't get ya outta makin' breakfast in the mornin.'" Kai didn't answer and he went to the door. Something occurred to him and he turned back. "Hey, Kai?" There was a sort of mutter from the bed and Genrou looked at his shape from the light that came through the door. "Why'd ya leave?"
"Hmm?"
"The teahouse. What made ya leave?"
"Mmm." There was a rustling, then a small snore came from the boy's direction and he couldn't help smiling. There was no point in asking him when he was drunk and he wasn't about to wake him up just to get an answer to his question. The best thing he could do was let him sleep it off and try to remember to ask him in the morning.
In the hallway, Genrou stopped on the way to his room. Part of him was considering going back down the mountain to finish what he'd started, but he looked back at Kai's room and found that he really didn't want to after all. Even though it didn't look like the kid was going to wake up anytime soon, he didn't want to leave him alone.
That's stupid, Genrou told himself. It ain't like he'd come lookin' for ya if he woke up. There was always the remote possibility that he would, though, so Genrou went the rest of the way down the hall to the leader's room and went inside to get undressed. The night hadn't gone quite the way he'd planned but for some reason he felt like it had turned out okay after all.
000
"Outta my bed, brat."
"Huh?" Kai opened her eyes and saw Nami towering over her. She sat up and looked around. "Oh, I guess I must have fallen asleep when I got back." With a yawn, she slid off the bed and dragged her blankets over from the wall. Not bothering to put them in any kind of order, she kicked off her boots and crawled on the messy pile, tugging her favorite blanket over her.
"How'd you even get back here in one piece?" Nami started taking off his armor and Kai frowned for a moment, then blushed as it all came back to her. How she'd fallen asleep by the road and Genrou had come looking for her, and how he'd put his arm around her to help her home. She curled tighter under the blanket, unable to decide if she was humiliated or overjoyed.
"Kashira helped me," she said, smiling in the darkness. "He came looking for me and helped me back up the path."
"Good thing someone did. You were drinking like you were trying to forget a woman or something." He stopped and thought about this. "Maybe not a woman. I'll bet you were trying to pass out so you wouldn't have to make some kind of excuse to the girl who was trying to get you in bed."
"That's stupid," Kai said, blushing. She couldn't believe her plan had been quite so obvious. "Why else would I jump out a window?"
"I can't tell if you're brilliant or stupid sometimes." Nami walked past her and got into bed. "So when did this thing with Kashira start?"
"What?" Kai's head snapped toward Nami. She clutched her blanket and tried to smile as if he had asked the silliest of questions. "Wh-what are you talking about? There's nothing going on between Kashira and I."
"But you wish there was," Nami said. Kai didn't say anything and she could hear him smirking at her. "Don't even try to pretend you don't know what I'm talking about either. Maybe no one else around here has a clue but I spend too much time with you not to know."
"I don't think you understand," Kai said. "It's just that I admire him so much-"
"That you can't stop staring at him?" There was still too much liquor coursing through Kai's system to come up with a good comeback for this so she rolled away from Nami. "I thought something was weird with you lately. The way you were looking at him at the teahouse was a dead giveaway. You probably shouldn't get that drunk again unless you're planning to let everyone in the place know your dark secret. Both of them."
"I need to go to the bathroom," Kai said, wanting more to escape than anything else. Her head was still spinning, however, and in the dark she got completely turned around. "Oof!" There was a clatter and splash as the basin fell off the table and onto her feet. Fortunately – or unfortunately – almost all the water ended up on her rather than the floor. "Dammit!"
"Just light the lantern, you drunk."
"I don't need the lantern." Kai leaned over to pick up the basin and bumped her head on the basin. "Ow," she said, rubbing her forehead. Nami sighed deeply, then got up and lit the lantern for her. Kai was standing by the table with the basin in one hand and her hand pressed to her forehead with the other. She was still wearing the same clothes she had been when they went into town, but they were soaked with water and sticking to her.
"That's actually kind of impressive," Nami said, giving Kai and the puddle a wide berth. In the corner, draped over a changing screen Kai had found in the storage room, were several towels and he pulled one of them down. "Here, catch." He tossed the towel at Kai and it hit her in the face. He shook his head. "I'm amazed someone as clumsy as you was ever able to save Kashira's life in the first place."
"You're the one who threw that, Aniki." Kai dropped the towel on the floor and put the basin back, keeping an eye on the table in case it tried something again.
"I told you to catch it." With a shrug, Nami watched her clean up the water, then drape the towel over the screen and trade it for another to dry herself off. She was wetter than she thought and ducked behind the screen to change into something else. "And you'd better get a whole lot better at hiding it, unless you want someone else to figure it out," he added. Kai knew exactly what he was talking about and as she stripped off her shirt and adjusted the strips of cloth that kept her breasts bound into the shape of a boy's chest, she decided that the next time the guys went into town, she would come up with some sort of excuse.
But he came looking for you, a little voice in the back of her mind said. That makes everything worth it, doesn't it? Kai considered this, then remembered how she'd almost run into the Mt. Kaou bandits drunk and without her weapon. Things could have gone very badly very quickly and it was this that she was thinking about when she came around the side of the screen and blew out the lantern. Maybe drinking isn't for me after all.