Chapter 22: The God of the Hidden Hot Water Village
After the conflict with the Jashinists came to a temporary end, the village held a funeral for the fallen. Walking through the streets, Kael could see the sorrow etched on every villager's face. Now that the immediate panic of war had passed, the initial joy of survival had faded, leaving only grief in its wake.
The Hidden Hot Water Village's public cemetery.
It was less a cemetery and more a simple, open field sectioned off by a few wooden fences. The entire village was in attendance, mourning the brave shinobi who had given their lives for the peace of their home and their country.
The cemetery wasn't large and had always been sparsely populated. But now, Kael saw that the once-empty field was dotted with freshly raised mounds of earth.
Seventy-five, he counted silently.
Like everyone else around him, Kael stood with his head bowed, his expression solemn. In just a few short months, the Hidden Hot Water Village had lost nearly a quarter of its shinobi force. It was an unprecedented and devastating blow. The village, whose development had already been stunted by the Feudal Lord's subtle economic control, was now reeling.
The "Village Forgotten by War" had, for the first time, tasted the true bitterness of death.
A thought began to form in Kael's mind. From now on, I will control my own destiny. Feudal lords and the like are nothing but a hindrance! They have no reason to exist!
He had grown to love this peaceful and friendly village, and he now dreamed of one day leading it to true, lasting peace. He knew one thing with absolute certainty: peace could not be achieved by simply avoiding conflict. It required the deterrent of a top-tier shinobi, someone even stronger than a demigod like Hanzo of the Salamander, to truly end the cycle of war.
I will become the guardian god of this Hidden Hot Water Village, he vowed, clenching his fists.
"Kael-kun, why is there war?"
Rei's soft question pulled him from his thoughts. He turned to see her face clouded with a deep sorrow. His heart clenched. Seeing her face, ashen and devoid of life, sent a chill through him. Rei, who was always so gentle with others, was the least gentle with herself.
Kael didn't know how to comfort her. But he knew he had to do something. The pain this little girl, who had lost both her parents, was enduring was too much to bear.
He gently pulled her head to his chest, stroking her hair as if calming a small child. "It's okay now. It's all over. Everything is going to be alright, isn't it?"
He felt her begin to tremble in his arms, the tremors growing stronger, and his heart ached for her.
"S-sob... hic... whimper..."
Rei finally broke down, her cries muffled against his chest.
After a few minutes, her sobs subsided. She looked up, her face tear-streaked but beautiful. She looked at Kael, her eyes filled with a shy sincerity.
"Thank you... I... I was just missing my father and mother..."
Kael released her and smiled gently. "I know. If you don't mind, you can think of me as your big brother from now on."
"Big brother...?" Rei murmured, her face blushing as she looked down. For some reason, a faint sense of disappointment tugged at her heart.
She looked up again. "Kael-nii-san..." she called out softly.
"Yeah," he replied.
The vacation passed all too quickly, and it was time for Kael to return to the academy. The first day of the new term was a blur of new classrooms and new textbooks.
Ring, ring, ring.
The bell signaled the end of the school day.
As Kael stepped out of the classroom, he found a small figure waiting for him. He paused for a moment, then he and Rei walked down the hallway side-by-side. The sunlight streamed in, warming their lonely hearts, each of them a source of light for the other. As the sun set, casting long shadows, Kael and Rei were no longer alone.
Inoshita Rino, holding a teacup, was the last to leave the classroom. He looked up and saw the boy and girl walking together at the end of the hall.
Something's going on here! he thought, his eyes widening.
"Hey, hey, hey! What do you two think you're doing? The school doesn't allow..." Inoshita trailed off awkwardly, his pointing finger frozen in mid-air.
Kael turned around, his brow furrowed in annoyance. He had just found a sister, a family member in this new world, and was basking in a rare moment of warmth, only to have it interrupted.
"Doesn't allow what?" Kael asked irritably.
"Ahem... oh, it's you! I thought some delinquents were starting a romance right under my nose!" Inoshita said, looking embarrassed. In his mind, Kael was already a mature shinobi; a little romance was perfectly normal. But... he sneaked another glance at Rei, who had her head bowed, her face beet-red. He cursed Kael internally.
Shameless! Taking advantage of such a young girl...
"Hey! What's with that look?" Kael immediately caught the look of disdain in Inoshita's eyes and bristled. He turned to face him fully, glaring.
"Kael-nii-san..." Rei tugged on his sleeve and shook her head, a worried look on her face.
"It's fine, I'm just messing with the old man," Kael said without looking back at her. He then turned his glare back to Inoshita. "Don't look at me like I'm some kind of pervert! Rei and I are like brother and sister, got it, Uncle Rino?" He gritted out the last few words.
"Ahahaha... my mistake, my mistake!" Inoshita laughed awkwardly. He couldn't help but glance at Rei's flushed face again and thought, You might see her as a sister, but she might not see you as a brother... Still, it's good for them to have each other. They're both such unfortunate children.
Kael's parents had been killed by Jashinists. In a way, it was because the Hidden Hot Water shinobi weren't strong enough to prevent such tragedies. And Rei's parents had been one of the few shinobi couples in the village. The village wasn't large; Inoshita had even met them a few times. But a single mission had taken them both, leaving Rei all alone.
Rei... such a sad name, Inoshita sighed. Her father must have been filled with the sorrow of parting when he named her.
Such was the life of a shinobi, always more time spent away from family than with them.