3. Not Yet

Hanabira opened her eyes to find that it was still raining.

Her gaze then fell on a sleeping Torakichi.

She lightly gasped upon seeing that his face was covered in tears.

"Oh." Torakichi let out a pained sound.

Hanabira quickly stood up before covering him in one of the blankets she slept on.

This awoke Torakichi and he looked at her with a pained expression.

"Mmm?" He sounded as Hanabira sat next to him. She reached to him, but she hesitated halfway.

"For you to offer comfort to this old man… thank you." Torakichi said, prompting Hanabira to gently rub his back.

Torakichi nodded before wiping his face.

"The rain hasn't stopped." He said.

"Indeed."

"Chūshin weeps for her people."

"Chūshin is a woman?" Hanabira asked.

"I assume she is. For if this land were a man, this feeling of grief and sorrow would quickly become an all consuming rage." Torakichi said with gnashed teeth.

He took several deep breaths, calming himself in the process.

Some time passed and Hanabira found herself sighing repeatedly prompting Torakichi's eyebrow to rise.

"What?"

"I wonder if my husband is safe."

"He said that he was going to Chōten. I assume that due to the direness of the situation, both great generals are there. Young Yorokobi should be safe under their watchful gazes." Torakichi said.

"I hope so."

The rain eventually lessened and the monring sun's light gently bathed the still wet forest floor.

Torakichi and Hanabira packed their things before Torakichi wrapped the stone child on his back again.

He then placed his weapons on his waist and glanced at the bronze dragon shrine.

He clasped his hands together before bowing deeply.

He then exited the cave before continuing his journey south with Hanabira, who stopped as she heard something behind her. She quickly turned around to find the silhouette of what looked like a woman off in the distance.

"Are you alright?" Torakichi asked, but just as he did, the silhouette disappeared.

"Y- yes." Hanabira said before following Torakichi further into the forest.

A cold wind whistled by, but it did little to slow the two down.

"When you fought the man back in Kama, you both knew why the previous war started. Could you tell me why?" Hanabira asked.

"Mmm… it's hard to pick a specific reason, but the one who incited all of this was general Kotai Tsuchi of the Kuroppoi province. I'm sure you've heard of how the south drastically changed under his rule. He introduced all manner of new technologies and schools of thought that some doubted any of his inventions were truly his. It is said that he grew dissatisfied with the way Chūshin was ruled and so he proposed a drastic shift in power. He wanted to trade places with general Kasai Netsu in Chōten and rule over Chūshin with his supposed higher intellect. Two of the three other generals strongly rejected his proposal while general Jinsoku Kūchū to the west maintained his neutral stance." Torakichi said as he helped Hanabira climb up a large mound.

"I'm not sure whether it was frustration or perhaps even rage that led him to launching a full scale war on the northern provinces, but he did it anyway and for five long years did the war rage on. Five years of endless warfare. I think that general Tsuchi wants to try and take the capital again."

"Wasn't he replaced by general Ishi Hōfuna after he was executed?" Hanabira asked.

"He was, but I can't help but feel as though Chūshin will know no peace until either his will is enacted or the last of his servants are killed." Torakichi said before hearing something.

"Ah…"

"What is it?"

"Water. Come." Torakichi said with a newfound spring to each of his steps.

He then came to a rapid halt before stopping Hanabira with his arm.

Hanabira leaned to the side to find that far below, far down a bushy path, was an outpost, only it was in flames.

Countless tents burnt as soldiers walked over countless corpses.

Beyond the outpost, was the Kawaita river, but it was at least five hundred or so meters away.

Torakichi grabbed Hanabira's hand before rushing to the west.

The two sped deeper into the forest, but it wasn't long before Torakichi spotted a peculiar sight.

He stopped, along with Hanabira as their gazes fell on a woman washing clothes in front of a small house.

Torakichi placed his hand on his katana's hilt as he slowly approached the woman to find that she had extremely long hair.

"Hello!" Torakichi called, startling the woman.

"Oh. Hello, mister!" The woman said with a wave.

"Are you alone out here?" Torakichi asked, but just as he spoke, a man walked out of the little house.

"What's this?" The man asked as he approached.

"I was just greeting these two strangers." The woman said.

"Oh? Good afternoon. You both look exhausted, you could rest here for a bit, if you like." The man said, but all Torakichi and Hanabira did was exchange perplexed glances.

"Err… although I'd like to accept your kind offer, I must ask. Are you not aware of the situation Chūshin is in?" Torakichi asked, prompting the woman to nervously stand.

"W- what's going on?" The man asked.

"The southerners have invaded again. They're probably headed straight for Chōten as we speak." Torakichi said, prompting the woman to gasp.

"My goodness… do you know when their armies will reach the border?"

"They're already here." Torakichi said.

He then watched as the expressions of the two before him twisted with dread.

"So… what do we do now?" The man asked.

"That's a difficult question to answer. I suggest that you head west. Far west. I can't guarantee you'll find safety, but it's the best advice I can offer at this point." Torakichi said as the man looked at the two weapons that sat at his waist.

"I see... W- where will you go?" The man asked.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot say." Torakichi said with a raised hand.

"A- alright. Will you be taking a moment to rest? Our offer still stands." The man said.

Torakichi looked at Hanabira, to find that she did look rather fatigued.

"Yes, but only for a little while." Torakichi said.

"Of course- ah, where are my manners. My name is Nagare Okita and this is my wife, Amai Uzumaku."

"Uzumaku? I know almost all of the families on Ishi, Uzumaku isn't one of them." Torakichi asked as he approached Nagare.

"Yes, I'm from a little village far to the west in Shihanki." Amai said with a bow.

"I see."

"Yes. This way." Nagare said as he gestured towards the house.

He then gestured that Torakichi and Hanabira sit on the porch while he entered the house.

Torakichi placed his weapons by his side as Nagare emerged from the house with a tray, atop which sat two cups and a jug.

The young man then poured water into the two cups.

"Please, drink."

Torakichi nodded before he and Hanabira drank the water they were offered.

Torakichi noticed that Nagare kept sneaking glances at his weapons.

"Uh- sorry. I was just wondering, are you perhaps a samurai?" Nagare asked.

"I was, but that was a long time ago."

"I see." Nagare droned as Amai entered the house.

"What do you think fuels the hatred of the south?" Nagare asked as he stroked his beardless chin.

"Its hard to say for certain-"

Torakichi stopped as an arrow pierced through Nagare's skull.

Torakichi grabbed Hanabira's hand and his weapons before pulling Hanabira into the house, just as a flurry of arrows struck the house's walls.

"What's happening- ah!" Amai screamed as she watched countless arrows embed themselves into her husband's body.

"Get down!" Torakichi barked as even more arrows struck the small house's walls.

The barrage came to an end and an eerie silence filled the forest.

"Old man!" A familiar voice yelled.

"I know you're in there!"

Torakichi looked at the houses back wall and saw what looked like a patched up hole.

He ran to it before kicking the hole open.

"Go! Go!" He yelled, but Amai sat on the floor as she wept.

"Hanabira! Take her south. Keep going until you find a safe place-"

"What about you?" Hanabira asked.

"I will find you- ah, make sure to keep to the northern side of the river. Oh and gather as many Moon Tears as you can. Send them down the stream periodically and I will find you." Torakichi said.

Hanabira nodded before grabbing hold of Amai's hand.

"Come. We must go." Hanabira said as Torakichi walked towards the door.

He then heard the sounds of fire, but he unsheathed his katana regardless.

"I don't care if I have to burn you alive, you will not see the end of this day!" The voice from before said.

Smoke the filled the air, but Torakichi did not move from where he stood.

He checked and saw that Hanabira and Amai were gone.

He then crawled out the hole and hurriedly ran to the west.

He snuck through the bushes before finding himself in a thick patch of forest.

He looked to find a group of eleven soldiers surrounding the house. They were well armed and heavily armoured. That and some of them wielded bows.

The one standing closest to the burning house was the soldier who called himself Keitaku Shinri.

Torakichi took deep and even breaths before running towards the group.

He then leapt out from the forest and stabbed the rearmost soldier in the neck before stabbing the nearest soldier next.

"What are you doing? Kill him!" Keitaku barked as he unsheathed his katana.

Torakichi frantically decapitated the two bow wielding soldiers before dashing backwards.

He took a deep breath as an intense amount of pain assaulted his back.

One of the soldiers tried stabbing him, but he used he skilfully dashed to the side, narrowly avoiding being impaled before stabbing the man in the neck.

"Graaah! Kill him!" Keitaku screamed, prompting the six remaining man to all attack Torakichi simultaneously.

Torakichi deflected the attacks as best as he could, but he couldn't stop all of them.

"Ha!" Torakichi yelled as the sharp cold blades of his enemies cut deep into his skin.

He made sure to protect his vital organs and head, but there was little he could do to prevent the rapid accumulation of gashes and cuts across his body.

Torakichi then dashed backwards before running west into the forest.

"Get back here!" Keitaku yelled, but even he was taken aback by the way Torakichi moved.

With his katana in one hand, Torakichi launched himself from tree to tree and from ledge to ledge using his free hand.

Using the weight of the stone child, he used to the slope of the forest to leap at an increasing speed, but this movement, plus the wounds he had sustained, meant that he could only go so fast and so far.

Torakichi's pains quickly become far too much to bare.

He fell forwards, but made sure to fold his legs and tuck his head between his arms as he rolled down.

His tumble eventually came to a stop and loudly coughed as his chest ached.

He clawed his way onto his feet before walking south.

"Torakichi…" A distant, sweet and almost ethereal voice called.

"You need to stop. The time for you to rest has come." The voice said, but Torakichi shook it away.

"No… not yet." Torakichi said through gnashed bloody teeth.