Ten years went by. Koganei decided to stay and help Isseishi raise Raiha. He had no where to go and had formed a bond with the boy. However, just after Raiha's thirteenth birthday, Koganei fell in love and got married. It was time for him to leave and start a life of his own with his new wife.

"Can I come and visit?" Raiha asked, unsuccessfully masking the hurt he felt. Koganei smiled and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Whenever you want." Koganei promised. "Before I go, I want you to show me how well you've been practicing." He said, handing Raiha a new katana. Raiha's eyes widened as he slid the katana from its sheath.

"I can keep this?"

Koganei grinned. "I don't need it. I have my own." He unsheathed his katana and got into a defensive stance. "Now show me I'm a good teacher."

-~*~- -~*~- -~*~- -~*~- -~*~- -~*~-

"Raiha! I need you to go fishing!"

Raiha stopped his sword swings and ran over to his grandfather.

"Now? I haven't finished practicing yet!" he complained.

"You wouldn't have the strength to perform those moves if you didn't have food to eat!" He yelled, handing Raiha a fishing rod.

"Hai, Jiisan." Raiha replied half-heartedly, putting his sword back in its sheath.

He walked leisurely to the river. Fishing was never a quick task, he might as well take his time getting there.

"Help! Help!'

Raiha ran to the source of the plea and spotted a small, thin girl with long dark hair and eyes, clutching onto a rock as the rough current swayed her body towards an open cavity where the water rushed in. Raiha dropped the fishing rod and on impulse, grabbed the girl's forearms.

"Hold onto me!" He gritted his teeth as he pulled her up, ignoring her small clammy fingers digging into his wrists.

"Wow!" He panted as he fell back. "You're heavier than you look."

The girl, who was on all fours coughing out water, stopped and glared at a tired Raiha.

"NANI?!? It's not because I'm heavy! It's because the current is strong, baka!" She grabbed the nearest thing she could find, which was a rock, and threw it at him.

"Ooooo." He moaned as stars swirled above him.

"Gomen, gomen," he said, holding the big bump on his forehead. "How did you fall into the water anyway?"

"I was trying to catch some fish," she responded.

"A young girl like you should be at home with your mother."

"It's none of your business where I should be! And who are * you * calling young? I'm thirteen!"

{Koganei never told me girls acted like * this *, } Raiha thought, sweating out of nervousness.

"Uh. . . Gomen. . . I, uh, came here to catch some fish too. I'll catch some for you," he offered.

The girl turned around slowly, her anger easing away as she spoke.

"Thank you, but no thank you. I can do it myself." She started to look on the ground for her fishing rod. "Sou ka. . . I dropped it into the river when I fell in."

"Here." Raiha said, holding up a medium sized fish. "You can have this one since you lost your fishing rod."

The girl stared at him, her face showing both outrage and gratitude. She hated a stranger's pity, but her family desperately needed the food.

"Um. . . Arigato." She grumbled, reaching out to accept the fish. "I should get going now."

Raiha nodded and returned to fishing.

-~*~- -~*~- -~*~- -~*~- -~*~- -~*~-

Raiha began to wonder if following the girl was a good idea. His grandfather and Koganei have always taught him to help those in need. Koganei stressed the concept since he was unfortunate as a child. Raiha never pressed him for details, but could tell Koganei had suffered being an orphan until Isseishi took him in. Koganei had often stated he did not wish for other to feel the way he did.

"Oooooo." Raiha once again saw stars swirling above him.

"Why are you following me?" The girl demanded, one hand on her hip, the other still holding the fish he gave her.

"You sound like your family needs help," Raiha answered, rubbing the new bump on his head. The girl drew out a long breath and shook her head in exasperation.

"Obviously you're not from around here. You'll get in trouble if you're seen with me. My, my family isn't liked. They think we're bad luck," she blurted out.

"They?"

"The villagers. Go home and forget you ever met me." She said, turning away.

Raiha didn't know what to say. On one hand he wanted to ask why her family was considered bad luck, on the other hand, he knew the matter was none of his business. Before Raiha had time to reach a decision, the girl was already out of sight.

-~*~- -~*~- -~*~- -~*~- -~*~- -~*~-

"What happened?"

"Huh?" Raiha said, looking up from his dinner.

"What happened?" Isseishi repeated calmly, awaiting a response from his distant grandson. Raiha placed his chopsticks neatly next to his food. His grandfather could always read him like a book.

"Jiisan, when are families considered bad luck?"

"Hmmm. . . usually when something horrible has happened to them or they are poor or they are extremely ill. Why do you ask?"

"I met this girl while I was fishing today. She told me to forget her because her family's considered bad luck. I wanted to help her but. . ."

"But you didn't know how," Isseishi finished for him. "Raiha, I'm glad you want to help people. However, people also need to learn how to deal with their own problems. Koganei and I never intended for you to save every person alive, that's impossible to accomplish. Just help out when you are able to."

"Hai Jiisan, I understand, but I'm sure I can help her. The problem is, I don't know if I'll ever see her again." Raiha said, absently touching the two spots on his head.

{His first crush, no doubt she threw something at him,} Isseishi thought, taking notice of the particular look Raiha had on his face when he mentioned the girl.

"When I first met your grandmother, she dumped a bucket of water over my head. She was a very confusing woman. Sometimes she brought me lunch while I worked, and sometimes she would yell at me for no reason."

"Do they all act like that?"

"Usually. But when they take a liking to you, they tend to act even stranger and hit you more."

"How come?" Raiha asked.

"Men never know. Women are like that."

Raiha yawned and stretched his arms.

"Did you boil water for my bath?"

"Yes. I let it cool while we ate," Isseishi said.

"I plan to sleep right after. Good night, Jiisan."

"Good night, Raiha."

Author’s notes:  Men and women will never understand each other, ever!  I guess it’s just one of those things in life we have to deal with.  Women wonder why guys r so dumb & men wonder why women r so confusing & moody.  This chapter has an example of that.  It also might seem a bit like Kenshin, I always have him on the brain ^_^x  Akuenai’s character represents a country girl who’s led a tough life, that’s why she acts so <cough> bitchy, but independent and caring.  I think Raiha likes a girl with that kinda of attitude.