Kiyoshi stood motionless for a long time and by the time he decided to move again, the sun had fully risen. He bent down and carefully wrapped Mika's body in clean white sheets. When he was done, he changed into fresh clothes, pulling on a simple dark traveling tunic and lifted his wife's body into his arms.
He stepped outside, walking right through the ruined village and he was the only living thing moving there. Kiyoshi passed the charred remains of the cornfields and the broken cherry blossom trees, heading toward the Yamada family burial site on the northern slope.
The burial grounds lay on a gentle slope at the edge of the forest, stones arranged in careful rows beneath ancient trees and all there was untouched by the fire.
Kiyoshi dug up the grave and when the hole was deep enough he laid Mika to rest, filling the hole back up until the mound was smooth. And when he stepped back to offer a silent prayer, he noticed two fresh mounds nearby on the members' side of the plot. He walked closer and the markers bore the names of Natsumi and little Lila.
Koichi was here he buried his family himself. Kiyoshi drifted his eyes to the center of the burial grounds where the previous clan heads lay and saw Taro Yamada. A katana was also stabbed into the earth at the head of the grave.
This was Kurotsuki, the blade of the first clan head. Legend said it was forged from a celestial metal, crafted by the Black Moon God over twelve hundred years ago. And the clan had once tried to force it upon Kiyoshi when he was a boy.
Kiyoshi walked toward and he closed his eyes when he yaked the katana free. He bowed once and strapped it to his waist. Kiyoshi also tucked a small pouch of coins into his belt and left Sakuragaoka. He walked for hours, without stopping for food or water.
By mid-afternoon, the forest gave way to a valley that looked nothing like the world he knew. The town ahead had houses that were tall and narrow, built with stones and glass windows.
Kiyoshi entered the town and the chatter of merchants died down as he passed. People stopped in the middle of the street, their eyes darting to his side. Mothers pulled their children closer and men stepped back into the shadows of doorways.
Kiyoshi ignored them, in his mind he reasoned that they simply weren't used to seeing strangers. He eventually reached a street where a modest eating place stood, its sign swaying gently. Kiyoshi stepped inside and the bell above the door chimed. There was an old man behind the counter, while a young woman that seemed to be in her twenties wiped down the tables. She stepped forward when she saw him with a hesitant smile. "Welcome, traveler and please have a seat."
Kiyoshi sat at a corner table and before he could speak the old man marched over, his hands trembling. "What are you doing in my shop? We want no part of your business. Get out!"
Kiyoshi blinked as he was surprised by the sudden hostility. "I'm sorry but what business? I'm just simply here for a meal."
"We don't serve your kind here!"
"My kind?"
The young woman quickly stepped between them, gently pushing her father back toward the kitchen while he was blubbering.
"He's going to get us into more trouble than we already are."
"Stop it, Dad! He's just a customer."
She then turned back to Kiyoshi, forcing yet another smile. "I'm sorry, sir... he's just having a rough day."
Kiyoshi stood up. "I'm the one whose sorry for the intrusion. I will leave."
The woman grabbed his arm and gently pushed him back into his seat. "No, please. I'll take your order."
Kiyoshi hesitated, then sat back down. "Do you have pap and gravy stew?"
"Pap and gravy stew, is that a foreign dish?"
Kiyoshi scratched the back of his neck. That was he's favourite dish among all. "You mean... you don't make them here?"
"No, but I'll tell you what. My family is quite famous for our beef and root vegetable stew, so I can bring you that with some fresh-baked bread. Will that do?"
"Yes. Thank you."
The young woman disappeared into the kitchen. Kiyoshi looked around the room and for a family quite famous for a dish, their place was empty.
She returned after a few minutes with a steaming bowl of beef stew and crusty bread, placing it down on the table.
"Enjoy."
Kiyoshi reached out and gently caught her wrist before she could go back. "Wait. What did your father mean by my kind?"
The young woman sighed, glancing back to make sure her father was out of earshot. "Lord Saito's men."
"Uhh... who?"
"You don't know Lord Saito? Where on earth are you from, traveler?"
"Sakuragaoka."
"I've never heard of it." She pulled up a chair and sat across from him, dropping her voice to a whisper. "Lord Saito is the Shogun of countless towns and villages in the Middle East. Though, he started with one city but his greed... made him conquer eight lands in three years and those who refused were slaughtered by men who carry katanas just like yours."
Kiyoshi looked down at the katana on his side. The symbol of his family was a mark of terror to these people. "I see, that explains the stares."
"Yes, countless lives were lost to that man's greed and everyone assumes a man with a sword is a man in his service."
She stood up and patted his hand. "Please, eat your stew before it gets cold."
Kiyoshi began to eat and the stew was far more delicious than he had expected but he missed the maize pap. When he was done, he left a handful of coins far more than the meal was worth on the table and stood to leave.
Outside, the sun had set and the town was now draped in darkness and far more quiet. The young woman followed him to the doorway. "Be careful out there, the night here... it's way too different from the day."
Kiyoshi bowed his head in thanks and began to walk. He searched for a place to sleep, perhaps a hayloft or an alleyway but as he turned a corner into a narrow lane behind a row of warehouses, he felt the stench of fresh human blood. He moved instinctively without thinking, the smell of blood just made him want to lend a help.
Kiyoshi skidded to a stop right before the end of the lane. There was a faceless humanoid monster standing over three headless corpses, with surgical scissors fused into its arms and dripping blood.
The monster turned as he got close, even without eyes it seemed to see Kiyoshi and that confused him. The monster staggered back but then the hunger took over and it shot towards him.
Kiyoshi dropped into a low crouch, his hand finding the hilt of the Kusanagi.
Breathe.
The monster's scissors were inches from his throat when Kiyoshi moved, he slid beneath the monster's reach while drawing his blade. The scissors snapped shut where his head had been and he caught the creature at the waist. Kiyoshi instantly spun when he got behind it, slashing upward in that same moment and the monster's head was looped off. It's body collapsed after the head hit the ground and began to dissolve into ash.
"Hey! We heard screams!"
Men came rushing into the lane with their spears raised and they froze when they saw him standing over three headless bodies with a katana.
Kiyoshi slowly slid his katana back into its sheath and raised both hands. Despite the confusion clawing at his mind, he kept his voice steady. "It wasn't me, that creature did it."
He turned and pointed at the pile of ash that was rapidly blowing away in the wind.
The lead guard looked at the empty ground, then back at Kiyoshi. "Killing citizens is one thing but blaming it on an imaginary friend? That's diabolic, even for a Saito dog."
"Imaginary?"
Kiyoshi's voice was barely audible and he looked back at the empty space where the monster had been. You mean to tell me… none of them saw it?
His thoughts tangled and rough hands grabbed his arms, spears also pressing into his back. They took his sword and binded his hands with large chains.
"You're under arrest for the murder of twelve people!"
Some of the townspeople gathered as they dragged him through the streets and others peeked out from doorways. They walked him to a building beneath a guardhouse. Inside, a guard searched him roughly, stripping him all of his belongings and they shoved him into a cell.
Kiyoshi felt a certain energy in there but it couldn't get him out of his thoughts. He slid down the wall, resting his head in his hands. They couldn't see it but I did... how? Unless… unless it was all in my head.
"No. No. No…"
"Whoa, man. Take it easy." The voice came from the far corner of the cell and it was casual."Getting arrested isn't that big of a deal, unless you murdered someone or stole from the town mayor's house."
Kiyoshi looked up as he approached, he possessed the energy he felt when he was shoved in here but it was nothing like those monsters he had fought or his brother's. The man looked a bit older, perhaps in his late-twenties with messy hair and a smirk.
"So how'd you end up here, mate?"
"It's all a misunderstanding."
The man chuckled. "Yeah? We're all misunderstood in here."
Kiyoshi looked at the floor. "You're also here because they think you murdered twelve people?"
The man waved a hand dismissively. "Oh hell no! Mine's quite a long story."
He leaned back against the bars, folding his arms with a grin. "But hey, we've got all the time in the world before they execute us, so I'll tell you."