My first evening in Azu- in Ryo's house, technically- was a good one. 

I remembered the interior of the house fairly well, so I knew where we were going when Ryo led me past the kitchen and into the hallway that accessed the bedrooms. I was a little surprised at the size of the bedroom he took me into- it was as large as my parents' bedroom in our New York apartment and seemed somewhat out of proportion for such a little house. 

I was even more surprised when Ryo disappeared. Figuratively, of course, but it was kind of disconcerting; I turned around to ask him something and he wasn't there. Unsure of the protocol for moving into someone's house temporarily, I decided to play it safe, and hopefully polite, and stood waiting to see if he'd come back. In the meantime, I looked around. The bed, I noticed right off- and with some relief- was a bed, not a futon. It seemed to be queen-size, but there were no sheets or pillows. There was a night-stand on either side of the bed, each with a lamp on it; there was a four-drawer dresser against the right wall and a closet in the left one. I hesitated a minute longer, then, curious, I went over to the closet and cautiously opened the door. 

As I'd expected, it was full of stuff- clothes, but also paper bags and boxes and a bunch of rather interesting-looking antique stuff. Some of it looked pretty valuable, like it ought to be displayed somewhere- and then I remembered that Sage had taken over the other guest room. This was the stuff that had been moved to make room for his things; I'd probably find the dresser had stuff in it, too. Seemed I'd be living out of my suitcases while I was here, but that was no big deal. It wouldn't be long before Mom came and got me. I was adaptable.

"Here you are," Sage said from behind me, and I started guiltily, turning to see him carrying a pile of sheets, blankets, and a pillow into the room. I hurried over to take some of it off his hands and he thanked me. "Sorry about the stuff in the closet and dresser," he added, putting everything down on the bed.

"No problem, you didn't know you'd be having company. And I guess storage space is a little tight..."

"It is, a bit," Sage admitted, shaking out the first sheet. I caught an end and we started making the bed. "Ryo said you can reorganize it however you want to make room and if you don't have enough space we can improvise, but to be honest, I'm not sure how much improvising we can do." He smiled suddenly. "Then again, if it gets him to clean his room, that'd be no bad thing."

I smiled back; I remembered Ryo's higgledy-piggledy room. "Still?"

"Still."

"Some systems shouldn't be changed, I guess. Anyway, since I won't be around too long, there's no need to go into major rearranging. I can leave most of it in my suitcases; that way I won't have to do a major re-packing when I go, and I won't be as likely to leave little mementos behind." 

"Well- it's not exactly hospitable, but it's sensible," my friend said thoughtfully, tucking in the edge of the blanket. 

"It's not?" I asked, wondering if being sensible bordered on being insulting. Sometimes it seemed like I'd never be done with inadvertently insulting people, displaying my ignorance, and generally being gaijin. The thought made my mood drop a little.

"Not really. Tradition says the guest is supposed to be obliged and- indulged."

"Indulged?" I repeated carefully. I hadn't heard that word before. 

"Hmm. Sort of...spoiled," Sage explained in English.

I snorted, tossing the pillow in the general direction of the bed. "I'm a friend, not a guest, but if you really want to spoil me, I guess you can!" 

"I like friends better myself," Sage agreed rather cryptically. "So. If you're set, I'm going to go out to the kitchen, there are some dishes waiting for me there. But if you need anything..."

I nodded. "I'll yell. Or maybe," I amended as one of his eyebrows lifted, "I'll come get you. Sorta depends what I'm doing, though." Or if White Blaze was in my way. 

"Ah, that's true." Sage paused for a moment, then moved closer and put his arm around my shoulders, something he didn't often do. "It's good to have you here. We've missed you," he said quietly.

"I've missed you guys too," I admitted. "Got used to having you around. Funny. I was just thinking- a couple hours ago, when you two showed up- that maybe I would come spend a weekend or something with you soon."

"We timed this coincidence very carefully," Sage explained, deadpan, then chuckled when I shook my head at him, gave me a pat and let go of me. "We'll probably have supper in three or four hours," he said over his shoulder as he left the room, "so take your time."

"Okay, thanks," I answered a bit absently, making mental plans as I eyed my suitcases and the available room.

Ultimately, I used one of the empty nightstands for most of my books, the other for music, and the bare top of the dresser for a few other things. Then I put all my shirts in one suitcase and all my pants in another, and everything else- socks and so on- went into the third. (Except my laptop, which went beside the music nightstand. I doubted I'd be using the computer much, but there was some stuff on disc that I'd need to study for exams and I did have the batteries for it.) I was zipping up the suitcases and deciding where they'd be most convenient when Ryo suddenly appeared with a set of towels- something I'd forgotten to bring- and a spare blanket. He showed me the rack on the back of the door where I could hang the towels and placed the extra blanket across the foot of the bed.

"It gets colder up here at night than in Toyama," he said seriously. "Let me show you the cupboard." 

I blinked. "The what?"

"Where we keep the blankets and towels and things," he explained. Walking down the hall, he showed me the linen closet, and after that I got a quick tour of the house, gathering up Sage from the kitchen in the process and ending at the back door, which we used to go outside. Seen from the rear, the house was larger than it had looked from the front- the bedroom wing was out of sight from the path- but it still seemed more cabin than house to me, especially when I saw all that forest in every direction. I mentioned that, and then had to spend some time explaining the difference between a house and a cabin. I'm not sure I was very successful, but as Sage said, it didn't really matter all that much; home was home. I agreed, and then we all got sidetracked with other stuff.

Like the creek. They took me there first- past the woodpile and out a couple dozen yards to a nice little stream, just about small enough to hop over. I dipped in a finger (and naturally found that it was very cold) and inquired how pure it was.

"You probably could drink it directly, but we always boiled it first, just to be safe," Ryo startled me by saying. I blinked, thinking of the sinks in the kitchen and bathroom, and the tub.

"You mean this feeds the pipes in the house? It's awful small, the water pressure can't be too good..." I began, and paused as Ryo shook his head.

"No, that's what the buckets and the vat were for," he answered, and looked away. "But we don't do that anymore. Don't use as much firewood as we used to, either."

That threw me for a moment, until I remembered the large metal buckets and vats in the little pantry off the kitchen. Of course, storage. "I see, you do kinda need a backup up here. Like if the pipes freeze or the power goes out for a few days...bet you've got a stockpile of candles, too?"

"Those, and some oil-lamps, they don't flicker so much." Ryo smiled a little. "There's an advantage to having a hunter around, too."

"A...hunter?"

"White Blaze," Ryo explained, which really didn't explain much at all.

"Yeah?"

"Mostly he hunts for himself-"

"So you don't have to buy stuff for him at the grocery," I deduced.

"Right, and we don't have to buy as much for ourselves, either. Meat might as well be made of gold, so Blaze is nice enough to share sometimes," Sage amplified, and I really think my stomach did a one-eighty on me. 

"Oh," I said weakly, and shut my eyes for a moment. Not a good idea; I'd seen quite a few nature programs featuring large cats feeding, and they all leaped vividly to mind at that moment.

"I had a little trouble with the idea myself at first, but after four days straight of only vegetables..." I could practically hear the shrug in Ryo's voice.

"That could get kind of dull, yeah," I agreed, taking a deep breath and opening my eyes. I told myself not to be so silly, I was used to packages of beef and chicken and I'd read often enough about people eating venison and rabbit. In fact, venison was supposed to be much better for you than beef was. The problem was that no one had ever marched me up to a dead cow and told me to chop a few chunks off, and I wasn't sure how I'd react if they did. Substituting 'deer' for 'cow' didn't make the thought any more palatable, pardon the pun. "Well," I concluded doubtfully, "I'll... try. I'm not sure I'll be much use, though."

"You get used to it," Sage assured me. "Now, let's see if what Ryo taught me about the trails around here stuck to my memory or not."

I was glad to turn my mind away from the thought of meat and onto the various trails that ran through the woods. None of them were mapped, but Ryo had explored most of them- and made a few himself- and between them, he and Sage gave me a good idea of what went where. "You could mark 'em, you know," I pointed out after a while. "That would take the guesswork out of it."

Ryo scratched his head. "I guess it would...if the signs didn't get buried in snow or blown over by the wind or have a big old branch land on 'em and break 'em, or just get worn out by the rain and ice-" He laughed as I rolled my eyes. "It's not guesswork for me, and no one else ever comes up here since it's private property. I doubt the squirrels need signs."

"Well, true," I had to admit, laughing, and then I shivered as a gust of wind cut through my clothes. I hadn't mastered wind chill yet. 

"You'll need to work with your orb, won't you?" Sage remarked in his characteristically subtle way. What he really meant was that I had to face down my dislike and fear of the thing and learn to summon my armor properly. 

"Yeah. I'm on it," I asserted as Ryo put a warming arm around my shoulders and guided me back towards the house. "I'm carrying it with me all the time now, and I can feel it giving me energy sometimes."

"Good. Good progress," they both said, almost in unison. "Now all we need is a target for you- you did bring your bow, right?" Sage went on.

"My- oh, man, no, I didn't! It's in the shooting school." I sighed and made a face. "I'll fetch it...actually, you know, if you get right down to it, I could really use a new one. The one I'm using isn't bad, but it's old and it's really for beginners. I need something with more firepower. So to speak," I said to Ryo as we sat down on the steps, and he grinned.

"More power, anyway, unless you're going to want me to light your arrows for you."

"Maybe not, arrows aren't cheap," I laughed. "I'll ask the sensei tomorrow where I can get a better bow, and which ones are good but not too expensive."

"Speaking of sensei," Sage remarked. "Neither of us are doing anything at the dojo this week, because of exams, but once school is out, I'll be having lessons with sensei Jiro again- and you, 'nii-chan?"

Niichan again...what does that mean? I wondered as Ryo said, "I'm not sure yet, probably at least two classes again. You know, teaching the beginner class," he added to me, and I nodded. "Sensei Daisuke will probably tell me Friday."

"You two getting along, then?" I asked, suddenly remembering that we'd been talking about this not long before Mokei-san knocked on the door of the apartment. It was hard to believe that had just been a couple hours ago!

Ryo made a little grimace and shrugged. "Not so well as we used to. He knows I'm not happy with him and I know he's not going to change his mind, so mainly it's just business now. It always was mostly business," he reflected, scowling thoughtfully at the trees. "But now it's different. Colder."

"That's a shame," I remarked. "He's really only cheating himself, being so stubborn." I shrugged, and added on impulse, "And he better not complain about a lack of good students, either. He's the one who decides who gets in or not, so if his students aren't high potential, that's all his own doing."

Ryo nodded. "Yeah, but you can't tell him that. At least his brother knows a good fighter when he sees one. -What?" he asked as Sage started and sat up straighter.

"You reminded me of something I forgot to tell you." He paused a moment, then shrugged and said, "Sensei Jiro knows who I really am, he saw me in competition with the General a few times."

"Oops," I muttered, under Ryo's shocked, "What? When-?"

"Ah, it was right at the beginning," Sage explained rather sheepishly. "Right before he agreed to teach me. I was so glad he agreed that I, well, forgot about it."

"You forgot," Ryo repeated grimly, giving Sage this extremely daunting level stare that I would not have wanted to be on the receiving end of. "Please, tell me how you forget something like that."

"He didn't make a big deal of it, just said he'd seen me fight before, when the General was my trainer, and then said a few things about my technique improving a lot since then. But I still needed a lot of work, so he'd train me," Sage replied, mildly defensive. "Then he started talking about when to meet and where, and I didn't think anything more about it. Maybe I just didn't want to think about the old oni..."

"It was a few weeks ago," I pointed out cautiously as Ryo sighed, his expression softening. 

"Yes, and he hasn't referred to it again. I don't think he told anyone else, he just wanted me to know that he wasn't fooled. Well, obviously he didn't do anything, or someone would have come to do something about it," Sage said persuasively. "I got the feeling he didn't like the General very much, and didn't blame me for not wanting to remain there."

"Well-" Ryo sighed again, apparently conceding defeat. "Well, true. And I know Sensei Daisuke doesn't think much of the General, either. He mentioned it once or twice...he was talking to a class about the difference between great fighters and great reputations, and he mentioned the General as an example of reputation. So... I guess if Jiro doesn't respect him..."

"So it's kind of his way of taking the old man down a peg?" I ventured. "Like, I take this student you say is so poor and make something excellent out of him, and look how easy it was?" Then a completely new thought hit me. "Wait," I said slowly, over whatever reply Ryo was making. "You said Daisuke is mainly the weapons-master and Jiro's more the hand-combat, right? But Jiro said he saw Sage at a competition- a sword competition. Think maybe Daisuke did, too? The odds are for it; Daisuke's a lot more likely to be at a sword-competition than Jiro is."

Ryo drew in a breath with a hiss. "That's... possible," he said softly. "That's very possible. Maybe... yeah, that might explain some things."

"Maybe we should have told him the truth," Sage murmured.

For a minute the only sound was the wind in the branches as the three of us thought about that. 

"Maybe," Ryo admitted at last. "But maybe not. He might be displeased that I lied to him, but I don't think knowing the truth would have changed his mind about training you. And anyway, it's better to tell everyone the same story; then you don't have to remember all the exceptions."

"Yeah, if he had known and someone came around to ask questions, he would've had to either lie himself or go ahead and turn you in- either way, he wouldn't feel too good about it," I remarked. I was getting a feeling that maybe I should have kept my theory to myself, but it was a bit late for that. So I did what I could in supportive damage-control instead.

"That's true, too." Ryo touched my shoulder. "I don't like lying myself, but having someone else lie to protect me would be awful."

I nodded, and shivered again as another, cooler gust of wind rattled the trees. "I'm getting cold, too," Sage said unexpectedly. "And hungry- let's go inside and think about something to eat."

"You can do that; I'd rather eat something to eat, myself," I replied innocently, standing up. "It's a lot more filling." And grinned as Ryo laughed and Sage rolled his eyes in amusement. 

The rest of the evening was less serious. We had a stir-fry for dinner, containing a very tasty meat that I didn't inquire about and tried not to think too much about. After the dishes were done, Ryo started a fire in the fireplace the armor way, which I found fascinating. It was while I was getting a further demonstration of fire called from thin air, by way of Ryo good-naturedly lighting a candle a couple times, that White Blaze returned from wherever he'd disappeared to and took up the spot that all felines take when there's a fire going: right in front of it. He very nearly lay down on top of me, in fact, and I wasn't quite sure what to make of that. Ryo, naturally, was fine with it and promptly used the tiger as his personal cushion, reaching over to scratch and rub around the big cat's ears and jaws and complaining about how sore all the stretching was going to make his arm. After watching for a while, I took my life in my hands- not really, but it felt like it- and reached over to pet the area behind Blaze's right ear. 

That was a nervous moment. Blaze lifted his head and regarded me for a moment, then angled his head so the ear was pointing more or less towards me. I reached out again, remembering to focus on the ear instead of staring into those intelligent blue eyes, and was rewarded when his reaction to my light scratch was to close his eyes and nudge closer to me. 

It was quite an experience. Tiger fur isn't as soft as domestic-cat fur, more coarse and much thicker, but it wasn't rough or spiky. And he was much warmer than the average cat, too. I'd read somewhere that tigers didn't purr, so when I heard the deep grumbling sound, I hesitated, not sure what to make of it. Blaze's eyes slitted open and he reached out a paw- claws sheathed- and pulled my hand back towards his head.

"He thinks you're doing very well for a novice," Sage explained, crouching beside me and rubbing briskly along the tiger's jaws and down behind his ears. The rumble increased and Blaze stretched his neck, then butted Sage with his head. "Scratching's one thing we humans are good for, eh?" 

Blaze unmistakably grunted agreement.

"Just don't go for a belly-scratch unless he invites you to. It's a very vulnerable spot for him," Ryo explained from the big cat's flank. "It's where predators and scavengers usually aim for, so he's defensive about it."

"Ah. Yeah, like how humans go fetal, curling up in a ball to protect their stomachs," I recalled, trying a more assertive scratch that apparently met with much approval. 

I got the hang of it pretty quickly and by the time we were ready to call it a night, Blaze and I were on much friendlier terms. Not friends exactly, and I'm sure he felt we still had a way to go before I was correctly broken in, but I had at least shown myself willing to learn. For my part, I was still a little flummoxed by the notion of human intelligence in a feline body and wasn't quite sure how to treat him, but decided to err on the side of caution and not behave as though he was just a large pet. Even pets, I mused as I watched Ryo banking the fire, usually had a lot more sense than people gave them credit for.

It's funny, but I don't remember much of what we talked about, there in front of the fire. I know we did talk, and I remember laughing occasionally, but the main impression in my mind is simply enjoyment. And fatigue, which probably explains a lot. It had been a long, rather dizzying day and it was very nice to feel comfortable and secure and not alone- nice and a little surreal. Sitting before a fire, talking happily with my friends, petting a tiger instead of sitting alone at my desk, gazing into the computer screen, seeking interaction with strangers in the bedroom of the luxuriously sterile apartment... Given the choice, I knew where I'd be. 

I changed my mind in the morning, though. Getting up early tends to do that to me.