**

Chapter 39: Aiden, The Healer

**

A hundred and thirteen steps carved out of the side of a mountain led up to their encampment. Aiden counted each one, mostly out of curiosity. The camp rose beyond the reach of the menacing fog that choked much of the country. Though, it couldn’t escape the snow.

The young were the only ones enjoying the weather. It was a good distraction on any day. Older residents brushed the white stuff off the tops of circular tents while others huddled together around a fire pit. Almost everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the stranger that walked among them.

“You’re looking at what’s left of Ishikawa, a city not too far from here,” Yamato said.

“What happened to it?” asked Aiden.

“Strangers on horseback went on a killing spree,” Matsuo answered. “But you wouldn’t know anything about that, now would you?”

A deaf person could hear the accusing tone in Matsuo’s voice. That’s fine. Aiden was used to people assuming the worst about him. He said something about checking the other side of camp and marched off. Tuning him out was a habit Aiden developed quickly.

“You’ll have to excuse Matsuo,” Yamato said. “Like all of us, he lost much of his world when we fled Ishikawa.” He gestured to a woman with a group of children and she jumped out of her seat. A heavy fur coat covered her as she waddled over to them. If it wasn’t for her oval face protruding from her hood someone might mistake her for a bear.

“Yes, Yamato?” she asked.

“Nezuma, this Asia and Aiden. Could you tend to the young lady’s needs?”

“Of course,” Nezuma said, holding her hand out for the child to take but Asia refused. Aiden forced her hand out of his and into the Nezuma's. “Nezuma will take good care of little Asia.”

Asia looked back at Aiden with a sad face thus there was only one way for him to respond; he stuck out his tongue. She returned the gesture and added a silly smile.

“Aiden, come with me.”

“I’d rather be on my way, Yamato.”

“I won’t keep you long.”

Aiden followed Yamato to a nearby tent. Layers of wool and animal hides kept much of the bitter weather behind the leather flap that covered the entrance. A few blankets thrown over the mountain floor didn’t look all that comfortable, but this was a group of survivors. They were lucky to have escaped Ishikawa with the skin on their backs.

“Before I share our plans with you, young man, I have to ask..” Yamato pulled out his sword and held it at Aiden’s chest. “What are you?”

“What do you think I am?”

“I watched you take down those monsters like they were nothing, then you saved Ino’s life. Was that all an act to gain our trust?”

Aiden teleported behind Yamato and held a dagger to his jugular. “If I wanted to kill you, you’d all be dead.”

In a blink of an eye, Aiden was back at the tent’s entrance. “I need to go.”

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“Wait!” Yamato sounded desperate. “We’re planning to take Ishikawa back tomorrow, that's why we challenged those snow monsters out there. But you may have noticed that we are not skilled enough for those creatures. Your help would be greatly appreciated.”

Ishikawa must meant a lot to them if they were willing to throw their lives away for it. With the city being draped in the same evil spawning fog the odds were stacked against the small pack of resistance. Stopping Damnation’s eastern influence was Aiden's main reason for coming to Nihon, it was also something he intended to do on his own. All of that changed the moment he met Asia, and now Yamato's crew.

"I'll help."

"You have my thanks, young man, " Yamato said, holding back a smile. "Now, let me show you to a tent where you can lay your head."

"You'd better save that for someone who needs it."

"Nonsense. We may be living on a mountain, for now, but we always show our guests the proper hospitality."

The second he stepped out of Yamato's tent, Aiden found himself trapped in another one of Ino's embraces. "There you are! I wanted to introduce you to my family!"

Aiden slid from under Ino's strong arms. "Thank's, but I--!"

"I insist!" Ino said, taking the young man by the hand. "They want to thank you for saving my life! Come, come!"

I'm already regretting coming here!

"Ino!" Yamato called, grabbing the man's attention. "Show Aiden to an empty tent when you are done."

"I will!"

With Aiden in tow, Ino walked anxiously over to a group of survivors huddled around a fire. His wife, Hoshi, was a small person and a lot quieter. Two of his three boys, Itsuki and Kei, were closer to Aiden's age and expressed their appreciation more than his youngest child, Kazue. Seated close to his mother, Kazue stared blankly into the crackling flames.

Whether they wanted to or not, the entire camp overheard Ino's tale of beating death thanks to Aiden, the 'good spirit'. A curious face approached as Ino's story continued. She was a middle-aged woman with long, dark brown hair. "You're a healer?" she asked, with bright eyes.

"Uh... I am." Aiden's response wasn't loud enough for Ino who jumped up and shouted, "He is! He will heal your daughter, too, Mian!"

"Wait just a minute, Ino! I could heal wounds like yours, but if she's ill or something..!" But before he knew it, Ino had shoved Aiden into the girl's tent. She was young and unconscious, layers of blankets shielded her from the weather. "Her name's Shizuka. She fell and hit her head when we were leaving Ishikawa," Mian said. "She's..she's been like this ever since."

Okay, a head injury! Shouldn't be a problem! He placed his hand on the young woman's head and let his Rebirth do the rest.

"What's he doing in here?!" Matsuo asked with a tone mixed with anger and disapproval.

"Helping her," Mian said, her hands clasped over her mouth.

"You don't know that!"

Matsuo started to approach the young man but Mian grabbed his arm. "Please, Matsuo. We've tried everything else! Let him heal her like he did Ino!"

"Ino's different," Matsuo said, yanking his arm free. "I'm not going to trust him with my wife!"

"..who are you upset with now...Matsuo...?" a voice said weakly. Shizuka's eyes gradually opened and she tilted her head towards her family. "Mother..?"

"Shizuka!" Mian cried and dropped to her daughter's side. "Aiden, thank you!"

"You're welcome, ma'am."

Matsuo held his tongue as Aiden left the tent. That's okay. He didn't heal her for him, anyway.

*

Half of the tent was held together by five-hundred and ninety-one stitches. That must have taken a long time to finish. Was his mother a seamstress? Maybe not. Domesticated housework didn’t seem to fit the women from Khalina island.

Mother. He didn’t even know her name or what she looked like. Jaff knew, so did Farah. He pretended not to know what she and Jaff were arguing about that day back in Haggard, but he heard admit it. Farah was there the day his mother gave birth to him, there to take his life.

Everyone wanted him dead except his parents. Would they still feel that way if they were alive now?

Aiden narrowed his eyes on something moist placed on his chest. A ball of rice? Where’d that come from?

His answer was sitting next to him. Asia. She smiled at him, her youthful cheeks filled with food. The young child held a half-eaten ball of rice in gloves several sizes too big. Straps of fabric generously tied around her wrists kept them in place.

Aiden picked up the rice ball, ready to refuse the girl’s offer. He wasn’t hungry, even though he couldn’t remember the last time he ate anything. Rice wasn’t his favorite food, anyway. Yet, the more he looked at it the more he felt compelled to try it. Aiden sat up and took a small bite out of his food. Well, it wasn't crust covered with melted cheese and meat, but it's not too bad.

Asia gobbled her's down and sat next to him. After everything she'd gone through Asia rarely missed a chance to smile. Maybe it was her way of dealing with the horrible situation unfolding around her, or perhaps she was just a happy person. No evil spewing fog was going to change that, was it?

Maybe it was okay to have her as a friend.

"Thank you for the food, Asia."