Outside, the cicadas hummed their endless chorus, but inside, the only sound was the gentle clatter of bowls being stacked after the feast. Mamoru, Gyomei, and Onimaru sat cross-legged, full to the brim yet oddly restless the way one feels after eating too quickly, on the tail end of a long, weary journey.
Hitetsu had said little after his revelation about Mamoru's sword. He only sat with his back to the wall, and quietly studied his unexpected guests. He spoke, his tone calm but edged with curiosity.
" Mamoru," he said, rolling the name slowly under his breath. "Tell me… how did the son of Ringo's daimyo end up here, in this village of Amegase?"
Mamoru straightened at once, brushing his fingers across the scabbard at his hip. He glanced at Gyomei, then at Onimaru, who was curled near the door, tail flicking lazily. The food was indded great.
"It began in Ringo," Mamoru said. "I… followed Lord Oden."
The masked man's head tilted slightly. "Oden?"
Mamoru nodded, his face brightening just at the name. "Yes ,I wanted to hear his stories. His travels across the sea, the way he lived so freely ,it made me feel like the world was bigger than the snow of Ringo. So I followed him. And…" He let out a sheepish laugh. "I suppose I also wanted to learn from him. To be more better swordsman, Father said he was currently the strongest samurai in wano . Lord Oden he agreed after some persuasion . He took me as his student."
The words hung in the air. Tengu hitetsu stiffened ever so slightly. His gloved hands tightened over his knees.
"Wait," he said slowly, each syllable heavy with disbelief. "Oden… took a student?"
Mamoru nodded earnestly. "He said I had spirit, even if my swordsmanship was rough. He laughed at my questions, but he always answered. I believe … he saw something in me."
For a long moment, Hitetsu was silent. Oden just kept surprising him time after time reckless, bold, uncontrollable. That he had paused long enough to take a student was unthinkable.
Mamoru went on, leaning forward. "It was while I was with him in Kuri that I met Gyomei."
Gyomei nodded his head respectfully at the mention, the beads around his neck clicking softly. Mamoru's expression darkened. "He was accused of killing the children . But it wasn't true , he was their protector . The true culprits… they fled. And yet Gyomei was the one they blamed for all this . The only witness left was to afraid to speak . "
Mamoru's voice faltered. He glanced down at his clenched fists. "It was an injustice truly. "
Hitetsu's breath caught. Behind the mask, his brows furrowed deeply. His hands, folded neatly before, curled into fists.
"Unforgivable…" he muttered beneath his breath, so low only he could hear. "Damn that Orochi and those pirates , to think they would do such to kids ."
Neither Mamoru nor Gyomei noticed. Onimaru's ears twitched, but he only yawned and lowered his head again.
Mamoru lifted his gaze. "I couldn't let it happen. I couldn't let Gyomei be punished for something he didn't do. So we fled. We ran all the way from Kuri to here. Without without rest, we just… kept running. I told the officials I would explain to Lord Oden when i saw him."
The silence that followed was heavy. The only sound was the crackle of the firewood and the faint rustle of the forest wind seeping through the cracks of the hut.
At last Hitetsu leaned back, exhaling slowly. "So," he said, his voice a touch steadier, " you brought this man with you, despite the world calling him criminal. Your compassion is … rare. Rarer than you know."
Mamoru tilted his head, almost confused by the weight in the man's words. "It wasn't rare. It was the right thing to do."
Behind the mask, Hitetsu's lips curved sadly, almost bitterly. How long had it been since he'd heard such simple conviction in Wano? Children believed in justice so easily. But men… men grew cruel, men bargained, men turned blind eyes. And yet here was this boy, speaking as though it were natural to oppose the tide.
They spoke a while longer of Ringo's snow. Gyomei said little, but his gratitude was plain , every careful word. Onimaru, for his part, curled up next to Mamoru's lap, belly full, tail flicking in lazy arcs as though at peace for the first time in days.
When the fire sank to embers, Hitetsu rose and fetched spare bedding from a cedar chest. "Rest here," he said simply. "The night is cold, and you are tired. Tomorrow will ask more of you than today."
Mamoru bowed deeply, gratitude bright in his eyes. "Thank you."
The masked man only inclined his head and stepped into the shadows at the far end of the room. A boy who still spoke of fairness, even as the world grew more cruel and already, in the boy's story, the rot of Orochi's schemes could be heard.
Hitetsu's fists clenched once more, hidden in the dark.
The three travelers slept soundly, unaware that their path had brushed against the heart of Wano's fading strength.