The living quarters and fortress were much larger than she'd expected. Certainly bigger than their fortress on Mt. Leikaku, and there was a strange energy around it that made her skin crawl. Every footfall seemed to echo down the hall and Kai walked as lightly as possible, trying to be silent. She kept close to the wall, moving behind the pillars one at a time.
Even though she knew she should be worrying only about getting out alive and bringing a rescue party, her mind was consumed with thoughts of Nami, Goh, and Kita, as well as the injured woman and her child. If Yushan came back and saw that she was gone, he might not just sound the alarm, he might go as far as to kill her friends and the innocents he'd used to trap them.
As if thinking about him had summoned him somehow, Yushan's voice came down the hall toward her. Kai jumped behind a large vase and crouched down behind it, pressing her back to the wall and holding her breath.
"I honestly don't know why I've kept them alive this far," he said. "Their Genrou will come whether they're breathing or not, and he won't live long enough to find out if they're dead in any case." Though she couldn't see them, she imagined Yushan walking with more than one lackey by the way he was talking.
"So let's kill 'em," another man said. "One less thing to worry about."
"Not that little one," a third man said, proving Kai right. "I kinda like him. I wouldn't mind havin' him for later, if you know what I mean. Unless you want him."
"No, I'm not into little boys. By all means, take him. He's a little mouthy, though. You're going to want to break him of that."
"Don't worry," the man said with a leer in his voice. "I think I can beat it outta him."
Don't hold your breath, Kai thought as he waited for their voices to disappear. She peeked out from behind the vase and saw their backs going through the door that she assumed led deeper into the stronghold. As soon as it closed, she bounced up and ran the other way to duck out the front door.
She was a little disoriented when she stepped outside. It had been midday when they were kidnapped and now it was dark. Kai found it hard to believe that half a day had passed when it had felt like just an hour or two in the prison. Footsteps came toward her through the darkness and she hid behind a tree to see who it was. It seemed to be just another bandit and she waited for him to pass before resuming her escape.
The wall surrounding their stronghold was much like the one around Mt. Leikaku's fortress, so she had no trouble climbing up it and jumping down onto the ground below. She assumed there would be guards at the front gate too, so she slipped into the bushes off the side of the path and moved as quietly behind them as she could, hoping she wouldn't run into any traps.
It occurred to her then that she had no idea which way she was going. She'd never been to Mt. Kaou before and all she knew was that it was to the west of Mt. Leikaku. Or was it the east? I should have paid more attention. Kai found a good-sized tree and climbed up it, taking in the position of the moon and looking for the shape of the other mountain. When she found it, she jumped back into the bushes and started toward home.
She wasn't running long before she heard more voices and stopped so they wouldn't hear her. The bushes were a little too dense for them to see her clearly, especially in the dark, so she knelt down and listened. If she was lucky, they would pass quickly.
On the other side of the bushes, Genrou led the rest of the bandits up the path to the Mt. Kaou stronghold. They had their plan, and as soon as they made it within sight of the place they were planning to split up and attack. He knew a surprise attack was too much to ask for but they would do the best they could.
"Remember," he said to the men around him. "We can't go halfway on this but we also don't wanna do anything that's gonna make 'em kill the hostages. I'm gonna go first and tell them I'll talk to Yushan. The rest of ya be as quiet as possible until Kouji gives the signal that he's found 'em. Then we'll bust down their front door."
He had barely finished speaking when the bushes near his elbow parted and someone burst out. Instinctively, Genrou raised the tessen but relaxed slightly when he saw it was Kai. His first thought was that he wanted to put his arms around her and never let her out of his sight again, but knew he couldn't do it in front of the others so he contented himself with putting a hand on her shoulder.
"You're safe," he said, hoping she understood how relieved he was. "Where're the others?"
"In the cell underground," Kai said, glancing at the other bandits. Only Kouji was looking at her strangely and Genrou gave him a look. "Goh's hurt and I don't know how much longer they'll be safe down there, especially if they've found out I'm gone."
"We gotta get in there and get 'em out," Genrou said, looking up at the fortress. "You've made it a lot easier now, since ya already know how to get there. Where's your bow?"
"They took our weapons," said Kai, shaking her head. "Even my knife."
"Sorry," Kouji said. "You, uh, you should probably head back to Mt. Leikaku. Let us take care of things here." Both Genrou and Kai looked at him in surprise, and for a second Genrou was tempted to agree with him, but he knew Kai wouldn't even consider retreating. It was one of the things he loved about her.
"Not a chance," Kai said. "I'll find my bow. I'll just need someone to cover me until I do."
"If you're sure," Kouji said, looking uncertainly at her. Then he pulled her sword off his back where it had been strapped with his and tossed it to her. "Thought you might want this."
"Thanks." Catching the sword in one hand, Kai grinned at him. "Guess this means I'm really one of you now."
"You already were, idiot." Kouji slapped her on the back. "Now let's get in there."
"Change of plans," Genrou said, motioning for the rest of the bandits to gather around him. "Kouji's gonna lead ya up the front walk. We'll still have the archers and a few men behind the stronghold," he said, motioning to the ones he had already assigned before they left Mt. Leikaku. "Kai's gonna go get the others and I'll head up to take on Yushan. This'll be over tonight." They nodded as one, then followed their leader the rest of the way up the mountain.
As Genrou had suspected, they were waiting for him. He hadn't even had a chance to send the archers around the back before ten men were rushing toward them, swords raised and ready to fight. There was no choice but to fight and he gave the signal for the men to meet them in the shadow of the Mt. Kaou stronghold. In the rear, he grabbed Kai's arms and held her in front of him.
"Do ya think ya can make it through all these guys and get back to the prison?"
"Of course," she replied, smiling confidently at him. "I don't have to sneak around now, getting around them will be a piece of cake. You can count on me."
"Good man," Genrou said with a smile, before he realized what he'd said. "Er, woman."
"I know what you meant." No one was watching so Kai put her hands on his arms. "There are two travelers down there with the guys, a woman and a little boy."
"Bring 'em out, we'll take care of 'em." He fought a strong urge to kiss her and instead released her arms. "Be careful in there."
"Don't worry about me," Kai said, giving him a thumbs-up before running toward the stronghold gates. He didn't have time to watch her go before one of the opposing bandits turned his attention to her. Kai dodged him easily, sidestepping his grasp and leaving him with a handful of air. To make sure he didn't follow her, Genrou pulled his tessen off his back.
"Lekka Shin'en!" He sent a trail of fire as vivid as his hair after her and the bandits that would have tried to intercept her stepped away to avoid it. It was the only way he was able to protect her for the moment and he knew all he could do was trust her.
With her back to him and her gaze focused on the stronghold, Kai felt a warmth at her back but didn't stop to look. She'd heard Genrou yell something but she couldn't understand it. It didn't matter to her, she could always ask him later.
No longer worried that anyone was going to stop her and bolstered by the fact that she had her sword with her, Kai retraced her steps to the cells. This time when she headed for the stairs she saw a storage room off to the side and paused to look in it. Laying on the floor were the weapons that had been taken from them and a chair where she assumed a guard had been sitting. Her stomach dropped when she thought that he might have gone down to check on the prisoners and found her missing, so she grabbed her knife, left the other weapons where they were and ran down the stairs to the prison.
Much to her relief, the gate was still closed and the other bandits tied up as she'd left them. Kai pushed the gate open and went over to Nami. He smirked at her as she knelt beside him and started to cut apart the rope.
"That was faster than I expected, brat. I'm impressed."
"You keep talking like that and I might die of shock," Kai said, pulling the rope away from his hands and moving on to Goh and Kita. Before she cut their ropes, she looked at Goh's leg. She was no doctor, but she knew a broken leg when she saw one. "Do you think you can walk?"
"I'll be fine," Goh said. "As soon as we get outta here I'll be good as new." Kai doubted this highly but cut him and Kita loose just the same. She went over to the woman and child in the corner. The woman was very still and for a brief, terrifying moment Kai thought she was dead. Then her hand moved toward Kai and brushed her foot.
"Hold on," Kai said, taking her hand. "Do you think you'll be able to stand?"
"No," the woman murmured. Tears shimmered at the corners of her eyes and Kai shook her head firmly.
"Don't worry, we'll get you out of here. I promise." She looked over her shoulder at Nami, who seemed to have sensed that she needed him and was coming to join them. Kita was helping Goh hobble along toward the stairs and Kai forced a smile for the woman. "Then we'll get you to that doctor." The woman whispered something else and Kai got closer so she could hear it, then smiled for real. "It's Kai." Nami leaned down and scooped up the woman effortlessly, leaving Kai to take the hand of her son and follow behind them.
"Mama be okay?"
"She is now," Kai said, looking back at the now-empty cell. "Let's get going."
Outside, Genrou had picked up a sword and was hacking his way through the Mt. Kaou bandits in his search for Yushan. They were no match for him and he didn't even fight some of them, just shoved them aside for the others to deal with. He knew the only way this was going to end for good was if he found their leader and took care of him for good.
He reached the door to the stronghold just in time for it to open and let Nami out, carrying one of the most injured women Genrou had ever seen in his arms. He was followed by Kai, who was holding a little boy's hand, and Kita, who was supporting Goh. Seeing all four of them safe lifted a weight from his chest and he smiled with relief.
"Guess we shoulda brought the wagon," Genrou said, looking from the woman to Goh. "Ah well, we'll get ya to the doc somehow. Put her somewhere safe, okay?" Nami nodded his agreement and bypassed the fighting crowd with Kai close behind in the path he created.
The prisoners taken care of, Genrou went into the stronghold in search of Yushan. He suspected that the rival leader was the kind of man who would let his subordinates do all the fighting while he sat back and watched. The only question was whether he was watching now and where he might be.
More than ten years later, Genrou still remembered where Keiron's room had been and headed for it. It had been the finest, most opulent room in the entire place and he couldn't help wondering if it had been restored to its former glory by its new inhabitant. A shiver ran down his spine as he remembered the last time he'd been in that gold-covered room but it wasn't enough to stop him from taking the steps two at a time to reach the door on the second floor.
"Wait for me," a voice behind Genrou said and he whipped his head around to see Kai coming up after him.
"Get back outside," he said, keeping his voice low. "There's no need for ya to be up here!"
"The hell there isn't," Kai said. "That bastard took my necklace and I told him I'd be coming after it." She took her sword out of its scabbard on her back and held it in front of her. "Let's go."
"I'll get it back for ya," Genrou said, stepping into her path. Instead of backing away, Kai stubbornly moved around him and up to the door. "Dammit, Kai!" Rather than answering, she shoved open the door and went inside.
"Yushan!" He heard her call out before he made it through the door and hurried after her to find her standing alone in the room, which was every bit as splendid as he remembered, though this time every surface wasn't covered in gold. "Where are you?"
"No need to shout," Yushan said, stepping out from behind a screen in the corner and clapping. "Well, well, well. You got out after all! I have to say I'm impressed. Can I take this to mean that the rest of your friends are out as well?"
"Damn right they are."
"Excellent. Well, I say that but you've really caused me some trouble. It doesn't matter, though. We'll get them in the end." He turned his attention to Genrou. "And you must be the Genrou I've heard so much about. So good to finally meet you."
"Skip the small talk," Genrou said. "I'm here to fight ya, just like ya wanted."
"Fight you?" Raising his eyebrows, Yushan sighed. "You don't understand. I don't just want to fight you, I want to wipe every last one of the Mt. Leikaku bandits off the face of the earth." He raised his arms. "I want to own both mountains and use the road to make myself as rich as royalty. Is that such a bad thing?"
"'Course it is! We're supposed to protect the mountain and the travelers!"
"I think you may be confused about how bandits operate," Yushan said. "And besides, aren't you getting a little old to still be so idealistic?" His words infuriated Genrou and he seemed to know it. "I suppose it goes without saying that I couldn't convince you to join us?"
"Not a chance," Genrou said, flinging his arm out. "I'd never sink that low! If I hafta beat ya to a pulp to get ya off this mountain, I'll do it but my guys and I will never be like you." He held up the sword. "It don't matter how fancy ya talk, either. I'll kick your ass and send ya back to town cryin'."
"I find that highly unlikely. And not very fair," Yushan said. "I'm not even armed."
"It don't matter to me. Ya wanna fight like men, I'll give ya a fight." Genrou laid down his sword and Yushan looked at Kai, who didn't move hers an inch. "Go on," he said to her. "Get outta here and help the guys down on the ground."
"I'm not going anywhere." Kai shook her head and glared at Yushan. "Not until I get my necklace back."
"Is that all?" Reaching into his pocket, Yushan held up the necklace and looked at it. "It really is lovely piece, I'm kind of sorry to lose it. I suppose I can always take it off your body later, though." He held it out to Kai, his eyes flicking over Genrou as he did. "You Mt. Leikaku folks really do like your jewelry, don't you?"
"Shut up," Kai said. She stepped forward and snatched the necklace out of his grasp. For a moment Genrou breathed a sigh of relief. Now that she had it back she could go down and fight with the others. He wasn't overly excited about the idea of her in battle but he knew that he couldn't keep her from it any more than he could keep Kouji or Nami from it. It didn't matter who she had been before, fighting was in her blood now. She looked triumphantly back at him and he cracked the smallest smile, wishing he could tell her what he was really thinking.
It happened so quickly he almost didn't see it. While they were focused on each other for the brief second, Yushan's hand darted out and grabbed Kai's wrist. He jerked her toward him and in her surprise, her sword fell out of her hand and clattered on the floor. Just as quickly, he brought out a knife and held it to her throat, holding her in front of him like a shield.
"Did I not mention the knife? How thoughtless of me." Yushan pressed the blade harder into Kai's skin. "Surrender to me. Give me everything Mt. Leikaku owns and agree to leave the mountain forever or I kill the boy."
"Let he-him go," Genrou said, pulling back the word just before it left his mouth completely. The last thing he wanted was for Yushan to know that the kid he was holding was a girl. "This ain't about him."
"Of course it is. I saw the way you two looked at each other. You won't let anything happen to this boy." He smirked. "Though I suppose I should have guessed someone as flashy as you would be into boys."
"Just kill him," Kai said, her fingers digging into Yushan's arm. The long sleeve of his jacket kept her from sinking her nails in but not from lack of trying. "Don't worry about me."
"Don't be silly," Yushan said. "Even if he wanted to he couldn't kill me without his sword." He turned his attention to Genrou. "And don't even think about picking it back up."
Yushan was right. There was no way he could kill him with his bare hands but he wasn't completely unarmed. However, it had been a long time since he had used the tessen to aim his fire precisely. When he was fighting with the Shichiseishi he had been able to concentrate the flames wherever he wanted and probably could have made them go around Kai to set Yushan on fire. Now she was directly in front of him and he wasn't willing to chance it.
What am I supposed to do? It was less of a thought than it was a question to a leader who could no longer answer, and he looked from Yushan to Kai. How am I supposed to save her and keep the rest of my guys from gettin' killed too?
"Your only choice is to surrender," Yushan said as if he was reading Genrou's mind. "I'll even be willing to send your boyfriend off the mountain with you. You may not be the king of the mountain anymore but at least you won't have to visit his grave."
Before Genrou had a chance to answer, Kai took the opportunity he'd given her by loosening his grip for just a moment. She ducked out of his arms, snatched the hairpin from behind her ponytail and stabbed it into the arm holding the knife. Yushan screamed and dropped the blade, which clattered on the floor. While he reached for it to pull it out, Kai delivered a kick to his jaw that sent him staggering backward. Genrou took the opportunity to open his tessen.
"I didn't wanna do this," he said to Yushan. "But ya left me no choice. It'll take another ten years to rebuild this place again." His arm moved back, hesitated for a moment, then swept the tessen down in a wide arc. "Lekka Shin'en!"
At Genrou's words, a wave of fire burst forth from the metal pleats of the fan. In a flash Kai leapt out of the way of the flames, only to be surprised when the fire parted and went around Yushan. It singed his clothes and hair along the way but the tapestry on the wall was its real target. Amazed by the power of the tessen, Kai backed away from the burning cloth that Yushan was trying to put out until she was by Genrou's side.
"He didn't hurt ya, did he?" Genrou looked at her and she shook her head. "Let's get outta here. The whole place is gonna go up pretty soon." He nodded toward the wall, where pieces of the tapestry had fallen to the ground and lit several smaller fires. They grew even as Kai watched, the flames spreading around the room like wildfire. The door was blocked within seconds and Genrou pointed to the window. "Go on, get outta here. Ya jumped from the teahouse window, this'll be a cinch."
"I'm not leaving you," Kai said, grabbing his arm. "If you aren't going, neither am I."
"Who said I wasn't goin'?" Genrou shook off her hand and grabbed Yushan by the back of his jacket. "C'mon, ya bastard. I ain't gonna let ya die that easy."
Once she saw that Genrou was really going to be coming after her, Kai jumped over the side of the fortress and landed on the soft earth below as the fire overhead began crawling out of Yushan's window and creeping up the side of the stronghold. The fighting on the ground stopped as the Mt. Kaou bandits suddenly realized that their home was about to go up in flames and, amazingly, a number of them ran into the building.
"Hey! Stay out of there!" Kai ran over into the crowd of bandits, none of whom paid any attention to her. "Hey!"
"Let 'em go," Kouji said, putting a hand on her arm. He seemed to realize what he was doing a second after they made contact and hesitated. "Uh, sorry." It took Kai a moment to realize that somehow he had found out her secret but when she did, she sighed.
"Let's just pretend you don't know anything about it for now."
"That's-that's a good idea." Kouji pointed up at the window where Genrou was shoving a singed and bleeding Yushan out into the fresh air. "I can't believe he's actually saving that bastard. No, wait. Actually, I can."
"Guess that takes care of stuff here," Genrou said, dragging Yushan over to them. "Don't suppose ya brought any rope with ya."
"Actually," Kita said, coming toward them with a length of rope in his hand, "I saved this after Kai cut us loose. Figured we could use it for something."
"Nice job. I'll let ya have the honor of tyin' him up." To Kouji he said "I know it's late but I wanna take the woman and her kid down to town and get 'em to a doctor. While we're there we can drop this off." He nodded to Yushan. "I'm sure they'll have plenty to say to you about how she got hurt so bad and how Kyohei got killed." It didn't surprise him that Yushan didn't have anything to say about this. For the time being it seemed like he'd decided keeping his mouth shut was the best thing he could do.
With the Mt. Kaou leader squared away and his bandits either badly injured or otherwise incapacitated, Genrou's thoughts turned to his own men. Most of them seemed to be fine, though there were a few minor injuries here and there. He went over to the path down the mountain where the woman and her child were hidden in the same bushes Kai had been hiding in when they arrived. Goh was there too, his leg starting to swell.
"All right," Genrou said. "Anybody injured can either come with us or head back to the fortress to clean up. We're takin' care of these guys." Nodding, Nami picked up the woman while Kita and Kouji got on either side of Goh to help him walk. Genrou looked at Kai, who was picking up the little boy and balancing him on her hip.
"Don't worry," she told him. "You and your Mama are going to be all right." In response, the boy put his face against her arm and hugged her tightly. She smiled gently and Genrou saw Kouji looking at her and shaking his head. He supposed they couldn't hide it much longer, but that didn't matter for now. All that mattered was that she and the others were safe, and would be for a long time.
With the moon high in the sky, the Mt. Leikaku bandits made their way home with the burning stronghold behind them. The night was, at the same time, both over and just beginning.