---------------------------Ryo was standing next to the window, with the wind blowing in some of the rain. The rain was lighter now. Thoughts had been flying throughout his head, mostly about why Izumi treated him so well. He could leave, right at that instant, yet something held him back. Never, since he left his parents, had Ryo been treated like this.The thoughts that flowed through his mind slowly changed from Izumi, who was lying on the bed, to his mother, who he had lost at an early age. Ryo’s father worked Ryo hard so he could be strong, but after losing his mother, Ryo had fallen apart. He hated his father, and loathed him every time he gave Ryo jobs to do, yet on the other hand, Ryo’s mother was the only reason why he lived when he was younger. His father let his work and the work of Ryo get in the way of taking care of Ryo’s mother. This was Ryo’s first taste of humanity since he killed his father.His feet moved slowly, bringing him to the corner of the room. Ryo had sat down, staring out the open window. Although his slumber was very shallow, Ryo slept for a while, until Izumi had awoken him. She had gotten up suddenly, which aroused Ryo. If you slept too heavily, someone could kill you in the night.Izumi stood at the window, which now had only rays of light coming in. Ryo knew she was looking for him. “The rain is gone.” She turned around, and looked relieved to see Ryo sitting there.“That it is.” She walked over to Ryo, and kneeled down next to him. Ryo was still thinking about his mother. “Is your arm feeling better?”Ryo moved his arm around to check whether it hurt or not. “It does not hurt as much anymore.” He was still looking into her face, just as beautiful as when they had passed each other for the first time.“So, you decided to stay?” The words reached Ryo’s ears softly, and almost too faint to hear.“Do not take it the wrong way, if I left now, many people would want to kill me, and I would not be able to defend myself well.” That was not his true intention.Izumi was smiling at him, “Well then, if you refuse to rest in your bed, then come, let me introduce you to some people.” Ryo watched her stand up, and she stuck out her hand. He was hesitant for a second but willingly took her help.They walked around the building, with her showing him different rooms, but he had not been paying much attention to it all. “You probably have never been in a house the size of this one before, right?”Not thinking about the question, Ryo answered straight forwardly. “I have, to kill the people who lived in it.” He quickly realized that was not a good thing to say.“Let that be our little secret, okay?” Ryo nodded. He knew that no one should know about that, or this better life would no longer be an option for him. “I want to introduce you to the head of my guards, and a dear friend.” Izumi slid open the doors to what appeared to be an office inside. “Ah, Lady Izumi!” A man was sitting next to the window as Ryo and Izumi walked in. “I heard you outside the door.” The man inspected Ryo, yet Ryo did not know why. “So it seems you are up and about then?” “Yes. My name is Ryo.” Ryo was set back by the man's attitude. He did not seem to be acting noble. Upon closer inspection of his attire, Ryo could tell he was a guard.“Ah, nice to meet you Ryo, I am Daisuke. So, Izumi thinks you might need a job, interested in working for me?”“I… I do not know if I am staying yet.” Thoughts of his mother returned again.Izumi seemed anxious to bring Ryo somewhere else. “Ok, Ryo, there is one more person I want you to meet. Maybe he will come back later, Daisuke.” Daisuke nodded to Izumi, and she led Ryo out of the room.They reached another hallway when Izumi suddenly stopped in front of Ryo and faced him. She looked worried, and Ryo could not tell why. “Is there something wrong?”“Ryo, please make sure you act courteously to Katashi and refer to me as “Lady Izumi” and call Katashi “Lord Katashi” ok?”Ryo quickly realized that this person was not like Daisuke. This was a person of great importance. “Yes, Lady Izumi.” Izumi just smiled at him. They continued to walk down the hallway and stopped at another door. Izumi slid the door open, just like before.As the door slid open, Ryo saw Katashi. He was sitting up straight with his hands on his desk. His eyes scanned Ryo. This man was instantly intimidating, even to Ryo.“Lord Katashi, I am sorry if I am barging in suddenly, but I thought you would like to meet our guest, Ryo.”“Ah yes, please, come in Lady Izumi.” Katashi seemed to be smiling, but seemed to be more of a formal smile rather than a smile for happiness, “So, Ryo was it?”“Yes, my name is Ryo. It is nice to meet you, Lord Katashi.” Even if Izumi had said nothing to Ryo, just the presence of this man would have demanded a formal tone.“Are you well enough to be walking? Lady Izumi had said you would be in bed for a while,” Katashi’s eyes looked over to Izumi, “or was that not the truth?”Ryo spoke out quickly. “No, my Lord, it was the truth, I just do not like to be in bed for that long, and I am sorry for the inconvenience, Lord Katashi.”“Oh, no apologies, please, for you have done nothing wrong.”“My Lord, if you do not want me to stay here, that is fine by me, but if you do not mind, I would wish to stay here.” Not realizing that he had admitted what he refused to earlier, Ryo saw the smile on Izumi's face. So did Katashi.“Very well then, I shall permit you to stay in this house, as long as you do work in some way or form.” Katashi seemed to be a little less intimidating than when Ryo had first walked in.“Yes, my Lord, I have decided to put my only skill, my sword, into Daisuke's guards.” Ryo looked over at Izumi, who was still smiling. More thoughts of his mother flooded his brain. Izumi had the same smile.“Yes, if that is what you plan on doing, you must go see Daisuke about that now.” Katashi cleared his throat, and both Izumi and Ryo stood up, bowed, and left the room.“Do you remember where Diasuke’s office was located?”“Yes, but I do not understand how I am going to help in your guard with this.” Ryo raised his arm into the air.“Well, regardless, Katashi has made his decision, and told you to go see Daisuke right now, and if I know Katashi well enough, he will be asking Daisuke when you talked to him.”“Ok, I will go talk to him now.” Ryo bowed to Izumi and walked away. As he walked down the hall, many people walked by him, nodding and saying hi. This was something Ryo was not used to. Something was bothering Ryo, but he could not figure it out. Once he found the door to Daisuke’s office, he opened the door and stepped inside.“Well, it seems you have decided to stay with us, Ryo.” Daisuke now sat at his desk, looking over some papers.“Yes, I have, but I have a quick question.”“Hmm?”“Why is it that there are this many rooms, and a lot of people, here?”“Oh, I see Lady Izumi did not discuss this with you, eh? The West Wing, where we are now, is also a public building. Izumi’s parents put a lot of money into this village, when they were alive, and they donated this part of the building for many purposes, such as a town hall and a conference room.”“Conference room?”“Yeah, the men who are more prestige in this town all gather up and discuss what needs to be done in the town, something like this in Japan is a rare sight.”“Thank you, for explaining that to me, but there is still one problem.” Ryo raised his arm, just like before.“Ah, do not worry about that, I have already seen your skill in battle, and I can help you train your arm back to strength.”“Thank you, Lord Daisuke.”“Ok, if you are going to be under me, there is one rule you have to learn, do not refer to me as Lord Daisuke, Daisuke will do fine.”