When they reached Souun they found that Genrou had been correct. The authorities were extremely interested in Yushan, and not only because of the woman that had been immediately whisked off to the doctor's house. Everyone knew that the bandits of Mt. Leikaku were only to be feared by those who might harm the travelers of the mountain, and that they regularly gave money to the poor and destitute. They also knew that the Mt. Kaou bandits had perpetrated just as many crimes as the Mt. Leikaku bandits had prevented, and assured Genrou and Kouji that any of the remaining bandits would be dealt with as well.
For her part, Kai was hanging around the doctor's house waiting to hear the verdict on the woman. The boy, whose name she had discovered was Shuhei, was clinging to her leg as if he was afraid she was going to run off. The doctor stood up from the woman's side and turned to her just as Genrou and Kouji appeared in the doorway.
"She's stable for now," the doctor said. "But her injuries are very serious. Also, she hasn't been able to tell us where she's from. I don't suppose you know?"
"No," Kai said. "When we found her she was already hurt. She was able to ask my name earlier, though. Isn't she able to talk anymore?"
"We'll try again after she's had some time to rest," the doctor said, skirting Kai's question. "You can check on her tomorrow if you like. Until she's able to tell us where she's from or who she is she's going to have to stay here."
"That's okay," Genrou said. "Whatever she needs, we'll pay for." He looked over at Kai and Kouji. "We should get back up and check on the guys." Kouji nodded but Kai looked down at the small boy, who was still holding on to her for dear life. An older woman who had been in the kitchen saw this and came over with a kind smile.
"I'll look after him," the doctor's wife said. "Don't you boys worry about a thing."
"Thank you," Kai said as the doctor's wife took the boy's hand and pulled him free of her leg. Shuhei looked like he was going to cry but Kai knelt down in front of him. "It's okay," she said. "This nice lady is going to take care of you for now. I'll come back and see you though, all right?" He didn't look convinced and she smiled. "My big brother's name was Shuhei too, and he was very brave. I'll bet you can be brave too."
"'Course ya can," Genrou said, putting a hand on his head. "One of these days he's gonna grow up and be stronger'n all of us." This finally made the boy smile and Genrou grinned at him in response. "We'll see ya later, okay kid?" Shuhei nodded and Kai stood up to follow Genrou and Kouji out the door. Once they were outside, the three looked at each other seriously.
"So now what?" Kouji glanced back at the door. "Should we hang around here until morning?"
"Nah, we'll go home for now. I know some of the guys were hurt and I wanna check on 'em." He sighed heavily. "I hope this is the end of it for now. It took 'em years to build up their numbers this time but now their place's gone, it'll be longer."
"Not to mention their leader's gone too," said Kouji. "Before, Keiron just kinda disappeared after-" He stopped suddenly and Kai gave him a curious look. "A-anyway, Yushan's actually been arrested. That'll keep 'em from trying anything like this for a while."
"Let's hope." Kita and Nami came around the corner with Goh leaning on them. His broken leg had been splinted and tied straight. Genrou smiled. "Ya think you're gonna walk up the mountain like that, huh?"
"Of course," Goh said. "Nothin's gonna keep me from goin' home."
"Good idea," Nami said. "Let's get the hell outta here and get some sleep." The others agreed and started slowly up the mountain so Goh wouldn't fall behind. Genrou, who still hadn't been able to fully express how happy he was to see Kai again, contented himself with walking close beside her on their way to the path. He saw Kouji's eyes shift to them briefly, then turn back to the path. There was going to be a lot of explaining to do once everyone had a good rest.
When they made it back up to the fortress there were men to check up on and news to deliver, and Kai was with Genrou and Kouji every step of the way. She had seemed uncertain at first but Kouji had insisted, pushing her forward when she tried to hang back. When she pulled him aside and asked why he was doing it, he had simply told her it was where she was supposed to be.
At long last everyone was squared away and had retired to their rooms for some well-deserved sleep. Kai was about to head to her room too, but Genrou grabbed her arm and pulled her toward his room instead. Kouji had mysteriously disappeared and for once in his life Genrou was relieved. The only person he wanted to see at that moment was Kai, and the moment his door was closed he put his hands on either side of her face and kissed her.
"Been wantin' to do that since I saw ya," he said when he finally let her go. "What happened to ya? I still haven't heard how ya got to Mt. Kaou in the first place."
"They tricked us," Kai said, going over to the bed and sitting down. "We found that woman in the bushes with her little boy and while we were trying to see if she was all right they grabbed us. The last thing I remember is something around my neck, then I guess I passed out." She reached up as if to brush her hair out of her face and Genrou felt his stomach sink. He held up her arms and looked at the raw red circles around her wrists where they had been bound and where she had twisted them to get free. Kai shrugged. "Good thing they weren't tied tighter, huh?"
"I'm sorry," he said, sitting down and shaking his head. "I shoulda got there sooner."
"What are you talking about? I got to you guys first." She pulled her arms away from him gently and smiled cheerfully. "It's all part of the job, remember?" Instead of answering, Genrou put his arms around her and pulled her to his chest, where he held her tightly.
"I don't want anything to happen to ya," he said into her ear. "I just barely met ya." Kai put her arms around him and leaned her head against him.
"Don't worry," she said. "You're stuck with me now. I wouldn't leave if you tried to make me."
"No way am I gonna do that." Something came into his head and he looked past her, then back at her. "I wanna show ya something," Genrou said, standing up from the bed. He took the photograph out of its box and handed it to Kai. It didn't surprise him when she looked at it in disbelief, turning her eyes from it to him, then back. He grinned. "Recognize anyone?"
"This is you?"
"Yeah. Somethin' like 13 years ago. And the rest of those guys are the other Shichiseishi." He pointed at each of the faces in turn. "Hotohori. Nuriko. Tamahome. Chichiri. Chiriko. Mitsukake." Genrou paused, then pointed to the girl in the middle whose clothes were strange and out of place. "And that's Suzaku no Miko. Miaka."
"She looks so young," Kai said, her voice filled with wonder. She looked back up at him with a smile. "So do you. Where did you get this wonderful thing?"
"Miaka," he replied. "She brought something called a 'camera' with her and took these 'pictures' for all of us to have. I've kept it safe all this time." Genrou smiled at the photograph. "You're only the second person I've ever shown it to."
"Kouji Aniki is the other, right?" Genrou nodded and Kai reached over to take his hand. "I feel honored to be in such good company." She tugged him back down until he was sitting beside her. "Will you tell me about them? All the others, I mean?"
"Sure," Genrou said. "Not right now, though. The main thing I wanted to show you was her. Miaka." He sighed deeply. "I was in love with her. Guess it's okay to say that out loud now that she's back in her world and all. Maybe a part of me still is."
"Oh," Kai said, looking at the beaming girl in the picture. "She's very cute."
"She was amazing. Strong and stubborn, but also kind and caring." He chuckled. "She couldn't cook to save her life and she was clumsy as hell. But she saved our world and the world of the Mikos." Genrou leaned his head over until their foreheads were touching. "You're a lot like her, ya know. Tougher, though. And beautiful."
"Genrou-"
"What I'm tryin' to say is that whatever I felt for her, I feel the same way when we're together. Only what I feel for ya is stronger." He brushed Kai's hair away from her face and smiled. "I don't care how many times I've gotta say it, I love ya, Kai. I'm in love with ya and there's nothin' that's gonna stop us from bein' together. I swear."
"I love you too," Kai said. "And I'm not going to let anything separate us." She took his hands and kissed him gently. "Except some sleep. I feel like I've been awake forever."
"Yeah, I know what ya mean. I think I'm gonna sleep for a day at least." Laughing, Kai stood up and nodded her agreement but Genrou raised an eyebrow at her. "Where do ya think you're goin?'"
"To get some sleep. You'll be lucky if you wake me up before dinner tomorrow." Genrou held her hands tighter.
"I want ya to stay here. I don't wanna let ya go, even for a second tonight. The only person who's gonna come in here is Kouji and he, uh, he knows to knock now." Kai blushed and he cleared his throat. "Sorry 'bout lettin' your secret slip. It just sorta happened."
"He had to find out sooner or later, I guess." For a moment, when she looked at the door, Genrou thought Kai was going to tell him no again, but instead she sat beside him again and pulled the leather strip out of her hair so it fell around her shoulders. It had gotten long since she'd come to the mountain and it completely changed her face when it was down. "All right."
"Good."
Genrou stood up and took off his boots while Kai took hers off and set them carefully by the side of the bed. The way she did it seemed delicate and feminine and he wondered if she meant it this way or if it was just the way he was seeing her because he was tired. They didn't say much more after that, and he didn't know how long it took her to get to sleep because he was asleep just a few seconds after his head hit the pillow.
000
Much to both of their surprise, Genrou and Kai woke up before the sun was high. He wondered if the others had woken up too as he watched Kai dress. It struck him once she was fully clothed that she'd pulled back her hair but hadn't bound her breasts. Instead of saying anything directly he waited until he was dressed and turned to her casually.
"Guess we should tell the others," he said, looking at the door. "We can't keep it a secret forever. I mean, Nami and Kouji already know but unless ya want the rest of the guys to think we're a gay couple we should break the news."
"I could've kept it a secret," Kai said, though she was smiling. "If you hadn't gone and told me you liked me."
"It might take me a little while to catch on but I'm bettin' I probably woulda noticed before too long." A knock on the door interrupted him and when the doors stayed shut he knew exactly who was outside. "C'mon in," Genrou called, and Kouji came into the room.
"Uh, good morning," he said, giving them a salute and a grin. "Hope I'm not interruptin' anything. 'Cause if I am-"
"We were just going to see if anyone else was awake," Kai said. "We can all head down together if you want."
"Sure," Kouji said, looking relieved. He glanced down at her, then smiled much more naturally. "Giving up on it, huh?"
"Seems like as good a time as any," replied Kai. "You can still act like I'm a boy if it makes you feel better, though." Kouji laughed.
"Nah. You've proved you're as much of a man as the rest of us. Besides, I was never the one who had a problem with girls." At this, he gave Genrou a pointed look that made the leader scowl at him as Kai raised an eyebrow. "You shoulda heard him. Every time someone mentioned girls at all he would get really loud and say he hated women. Now I can really laugh at him." This made Kai laugh and Kouji grinned at her. Unseen by either of them, Genrou breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't thought Kouji would make too big a deal about it but he had been a little worried about how long it might take him to get used to the idea. I never woulda thought it'd be-
"HEY!" Genrou looked up to discover that Kouji and Kai had already left the room. He ran after them, cursing to himself. Maybe it's too great.
They met up again at the end of the hall and walked to the dining hall together, talking about a trip down the mountain to check on the woman from the night before. It seemed to be understood that work, for that day at least, was cancelled. The halls were empty and Genrou wondered if anyone would even be in the dining room. A moment later he discovered that at least one person was awake.
"Hey, Aniki!" Yuta ran over to Kai, grinning. He didn't seem to have noticed the change in her clothing, as he was much too excited to talk to her. "I'm really glad you're okay, I was really worried. And I think I finally figured it out this morning!"
"You made breakfast?" Kai's eyes widened. "By yourself?"
"Yeah! Everybody seems to be okay so far, so I think it must be good. Come taste it!" He motioned for Kai to follow him and she exchanged a look with Kouji and Genrou as soon as he was gone. They all sighed at the same time and Kouji shook his head.
"I guess we can't put it off forever." He sighed again and went through the doors to the dining hall, leaving Genrou and Kai alone. She smiled a little nervously.
"I guess he's right," she said. "Though I'm starting to wonder if I've lost my mind."
"It'll be fine, trust me. They're good guys." Genrou pushed open the door and motioned for her to go first. When she didn't move, he grinned. "We can go in together. Hey guys," Genrou said, stepping into the dining hall with Kai by his side. She looked like she was about to turn around and leave, so he put an arm around her waist. "Kai's got somethin' important she wants to tell ya," he said, not realizing that he had just said it for her. The rest of the bandits looked at each other and Kai laughed nervously.
"W-well," she said, looking over at Nami so she wouldn't have to see the disappointment in anyone's eyes. "I guess you can figure out what I'm going to tell you, so let's get this over with. I'm a girl. And I don't have any intention of leaving," she said before any of the suddenly murmuring voices could object. "I'll fight anyone who tries to make me."
"None of us'd ever be that stupid," Nami said, the smile in his voice carrying over everyone else's. His words made Kai relax visibly and Genrou wondered suddenly just how long Nami had known about her.
"Here you go, Aniki!" Yuta, who didn't seem to have heard the announcement from the kitchen, came bustling out again with another plate of food and Kai looked at Genrou, then went and sat at her usual place beside Nami. He doubted she would want the kid to change her title, even if he did figure it out before she told him.
"It looks good," Kai said cautiously as Yuta filled her plate. She glanced at the others, who were eating with no apparent ill effects, then at Kouji, who shrugged and took a bite at the same time she did. Much to their combined surprise, it tasted good. Excellent, even. "You really did it, kid. I've got to say I'm impressed."
"Thanks!" Beaming, Yuta sat down in front of his own empty plate and proceeded to fill it. He paused for a second, looked at Kai, flicked his eyes down to her chest, then looked at her again with his mouth hanging open. She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Eat your breakfast, kid."
After everyone had cleaned their plates – a triumph for Yuta's newfound cooking skills – they all got up and headed for the door, chatting as if it were any other day. Genrou, who had intended to call for some sake to celebrate their victory over the Mt. Kaou bandits, was somewhat puzzled by this. When he saw that Kai was following Nami, he stood up and went after them.
"Hey, where's everybody goin?'"
"Work," Nami said, jerking his chin toward the front doors. "Gotta head out there and protect the mountain, right Kashira?" Genrou was speechless for a moment, then put a hand on Nami's shoulder as best he could and nodded.
"Right. Thanks."
"I'll be down in a little while," Kai said to him. "I have to adjust my armor a little first." She grinned up at Nami. "Good thing we found some that has a little give to it."
"You mean, good thing I found it," Nami said, folding his arms over his enormous chest. "I had a feeling something like this might happen."
"Thanks, Aniki," Kai said, and the affection in her voice made Nami roll his eye before he reached down and shoved her.
"Don't start gettin' mushy on me now, brat."
"Of course not. What do you think I am, some kind of girl?" This made Nami laugh loudly and he dropped a hand onto Kai's head, rumpling her hair like she was a kid before walking off, still laughing. Kai scowled at his back and ran her fingers through her hair to smooth it. "He's never going to let me hear the end of this."
"I'll take Goh's place today," Kouji said, getting up from the table while Yuta went about cleaning up after the meal. "Market Day's coming up next week, though. We need to figure out what all we're taking to sell."
"We can look over it later," Genrou said, watching Kai walk down the hall toward her room. "I'm gonna ride over to Mt. Kaou and see if there are any stragglers I need to take down the mountain when we go check on that lady."
"Sounds good." He clapped Genrou on the back. "Good luck."
"Huh? With what?"
"Everything," Kouji said, then grinned and hurried out the door with the others. Deciding he could figure out what his friend was talking about later, Genrou ran after Kai and caught up with her just as she was opening her door.
"We still on to go check on your friends down in town?" As soon as the door closed, Kai unlaced her chest piece and proceeded to adjust it so it was roomier to accommodate her newly-revealed figure.
"Of course," Kai replied, holding it up to herself. "I hope she's doing well. If she has a family, I'm sure they're worried about her." She appeared pleased with the armor and started tying it on again. "There. Much better."
"It looks good on ya," he said. "Ya still look a little like Kashira though. Maybe it's your hair." He grinned. "Let it get longer and you'll really look like him."
"From what I've heard about him, there are worse things." She untied her hair, smoothed it down again, then retied it. "Maybe I'll change it a little. I don't know. I kind of like it like this. Stays out of my way."
"Whatever makes ya happy." Kai smiled at this, then leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
"I've already got that." Her words made Genrou blush like he had years earlier when he'd fallen in love for the first time, and he held a hand out to Kai. She took it and followed him toward the door. He didn't care who was watching them this time, and knew he never would again. Together they stepped out into the sun and Genrou looked up at the peak of Mt. Leikaku.
The rest of the bandits were right. There was work to do.