Back at Uba's house

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It's strange to be in this kitchen again, using Granny's chef knife to cook instead of a stolen dagger.

While I cut some meat into little pieces, Ume and Koori continue to load the kitchen with the ingredients they bought.

Carrots, ginger, soy sauce, rice, onions, potatoes, salt, and, to finish, pepper. And that's only for the meat and veggies; the sauce is where things get complicated.

I'll shoot for thicker with a sweeter taste, with maybe just a bit of pepper so even Midori can eat it without a problem.

"Koori, can you call Midori for me?"

Koori nods her head and goes after Midori. It will be good to see how well she cooks, but being taught by Uba, I think she will probably do things by the book.

Taking a look at my side, I see Ume still lingering in the kitchen, hands behind her back as she leans against the wall with her eyes lingering on my face.

"If you want to talk about something, do it before Midori gets here."

Ume nods her head and walks closer to my side. "When we were shopping for the ingredients, we passed by some guards at the city entrance.

"And you know how they are; they asked a bunch of questions to us, showed some papers with wanted criminals, and I managed to steal one of them." Ume extends her hand to me and hands me the papers.

Taking a look at it, I see why she has that expression on her face—Aoha's face with a reward of... ONE IMPERIAL COIN. "Mother fucker," I say, leaning my body more heavily into Ume's body. "I knew he would be mad because she escaped and all, but this? This is insanity."

"The whole country will be after her," Ume adds, resting her chin on my shoulder and hugging my side tightly. "I'm sorry, I will suggest it, but-"

Shaking my head, I turn to my Ume and place my hands on her shoulder, allowing her to hug me still. "I won't leave her for the wolves, so I can stay safe."

"But if you did, you could finally be back to us. You wouldn't need to work much; the brothel doesn't have as much movement as before but still has enough so we can live well, and your bounty would be forgotten with time.

"It would be perfect..." Ume adds with a sad tone, keeping her eyes away from mine in shame of suggesting something like that.

She's right; it would be my chance to restart things from the beginning, but this would be letting the emperor win, and I can't do it. No, this only ends in one way for everyone—for me.

"I know I broke the last promise I made, but I swear to you that once I'm done taking care of the things I need to, I'll be back. I won't be this year, but maybe the next one, a better one."

All I can do to soothe her is to promise something that I shouldn't: death doesn't stop because you have a place to go back; she does not judge between poor or rich, strong or weak.

Ume finally meets my eyes; I can't say if she believes me to deliver this promise, but it's not like there are many other options. She pulls me even closer to her—a proper hug this time—filled with emotions and worries only one you consider family could have.

There's comfort in being close to and cared for by another being. You tend to forget this type of thing when you isolate yourself for three years.

"Okay. I'll trust you." Ume's words are like an arrow, piercing my chest with a curse I won't be able to run from.

...

"I didn't have the chance to say it when you left, but I'm sorry for what happened with Sino." Ume comments, ending the hug so she can look at my face.

"Thanks; I'm sorry too."

Before the situation can get more depressing, Midori comes running into the kitchen with a small smile on her face.

"We will talk more later," Ume says and leaves the kitchen with this bittersweet taste.

I focus on the task at hand, grabbing a chair and putting the small Midori standing on top of it so she can help me.

"Can you cut the veggies for me?" I ask while petting her head gently.

Midori smiles a bit more and nods her head rapidly, so I pass the knife to her and watch as she slowly and carefully cuts the carrots, onions, and potatoes millimetrically, focusing on precision rather than speed.

Good, now I don't need to worry if she will cut her finger or not, so I'll direct all my focus to the sauce and rice.

"You've been having fun, Midori?"

Midori stops cutting the vegetables and starts to think before nodding her head. "Yes, Bachan teaches me a lot of things; Koori nee-chan teaches me a lot about reading; and Ume-nee always walks with me to eat sweets."

"Let me guess, she still spends all her coins on the sweet's stall at the end of the main street."

Midori looks at me impressed and makes an 'O' shape with her mouth. "How did you know?"

Letting an exaggerated laugh escape my throat, I smug at Midori and pet her head once again, this time ruffling her hair slightly. "Magic."

Little Midori tilts her head in confusion while her now-messed hair falls to her face, almost covering her only big eye. "But Bachan said you couldn't do magic."

"She doesn't know; no one knows. Only you do, so keep a secret, okay?"

Seeing the happy smile on her face was everything I needed to raise my spirit. I'm sure too that someone will dismiss this 'secret' and tell her the truth, but for now, I'll feel happy she thinks I'm a badass mind reader or something.

Not that it affects me that much to be magicless; I mean, things aren't exactly easy as I am always hunted down, but as I never had a way to use magic, I don't know how it feels to say it is something I miss in my life.

An hour passes by, and everything is ready. The rice is perfectly cooked, and the sauce is tasting almost exactly as I wanted, just a little bit sweeter than I intended, but regardless, my little chef helper test tasted and approved, so we are good to go.

Grabbing some bowls, I start to fill them up to the brim so no one asks for a second one, and the amount I made disappears instead of going cold.

"Midori, can you tell everyone that the dinner is ready?"

I help her get down from the chair, and without even answering, she rushes to call everyone to eat. Going to the dinner table, I place the six bowls on each end and edge.

Thinking about it, there won't be much space on the table to move our legs as this is a horigatsu, but that's fine.

When all the bowls are on the table, everyone starts to sit down and grab their bowls, with Midori sitting on Uba's leg so they can eat together. I totally forgot about it. Midori doesn't eat much, so one bowl will be left.

Ume will have to eat more today, then.

Everyone at the table, besides me and Aoha, clamps their hands together and says it out loud. "Itadakimasu."

I was never one to follow these rules, but I didn't expect Aoha to not follow this type of tradition. Not that I care; I'm too hungry to care about anything right now.

While eating, Koori and Ume start talking about things that happened in the past few years I've been gone, focusing mostly on the funny things to keep the good spirits at the table.

Ume has been ranking sweet stalls for some time, and she shows me her many notes; Koori has been practicing playing the biwa since she learned the shamisen last year; and Midori shows me that she started learning writing some days ago.

'Life goes on.' I remember someone saying that to me last year. I don't remember their face, but we were drinking together after working together.

We talked about leaving family behind, and they said to me. "Once you go back, you'll see what I'm talking about: they'll be new, different people, just like you will be as well.

"Life goes on; all things change; the only thing that doesn't change is death."

I finally see what they meant; it's comforting to see that everyone continued to grow up. The only thing I think they got wrong is about me changing; I'm still the same as I was. Always the same.

"Can I have that extra bowl?" Aoha asks, earning a surprised look of mine, to which she holds herself not to frown.

"Sure, it is all yours."

Giving her permission, I focus on watching her eat, and I'm not disappointed by the scene. She eats like a wild animal, not even letting her tongue taste properly before gulping it forcefully down her throat to fill her stomach as fast as possible.

With everyone's stomachs filled, we end the day. Ume, Koori, and Midori all went to sleep earlier today, and I can't even blame them for being tired. Today was a swirl of emotions for them.

Granny, as usual, locks herself in her office and works on the money count for today, calculating the ingredient costs and whatever. It seems that Ume was not lying as well; this tea shop is a brothel at night, but one with monster girls.

Ume and Koori, being the only Coretesans, didn't put this place high in the ranks but always left us with enough money to survive. Of course, I worked too, but not as a courtesan; I worked as a protector of sorts for other brothels in the city.

I got my fair share of coins, and with the hides of the animals I hunted that I sold at the time, I made a lot more.

That's how we found Midori—well, I found her. One day hunting in the winter, I came across a small one-eyed child; she was, I believe, five at the time, walking without shoes on the snow in a dangerous forest.

I remember running at her and grabbing her in my arms; she was so tired that the comfort of being held made her pass out instantly.

I brought her back to Uba and had an extended discussion with her about the kid. As I was fifteen at the time, Granny knew she would do most of the job of taking care of the girl.

In the end, I managed to convince her to keep the kid here, and ever since she has been the most sweet kid I know, sometimes it is hard to imagine she will turn nine this year; actually, it's harder to think I'm almost nineteen now. Fuck, I'm getting old fast.

Cleaning the bowls, I let my thoughts run wild to kill the silence, and so I don't notice when Aoha stops at my side with her arms crossed.

"Are we going or not?" Aoha questions with a rough tone, bringing me back to the present.

"Huh? What?" Tilting my head, I put the last cleaned bowl to the side and focus on Aoha.

With a sigh, my companion points to the window, more specifically to the moon.

"Oh, I said I wanted to show you the city, true." I nod to myself as I get my head back in place. "We can go now if you want."

"Let's waste no time then."

Aoha grabs my shoulder and pulls me to the streets, impatiently waiting for me to show her what I want: the nightlife I like to call 'the worst of the human lust'.

Different from earlier, the streets now are so full that just walking, for someone who isn't used to this city, can be a hell of a challenge.

That's why I grab Aoha's hand, which, surprisingly, she doesn't oppose, and guide her through some alleys and the secondary streets, searching for the perfect spot to climb.

It's not really a hard thing to do as most houses here are not so tall, so I found one that, once on top, we could see the entire main street.

"Come on, I'll help you up." Laying on the edge, I extend my hand to Aoha and wait to help her.

She looks from side to side before taking a few steps back and running towards the wall. Once near enough, she jumps, and I grab her hand, pulling her up to the roof with some difficulty.

Once we are both on top, we can have a good look at the city. With all the lanterns lit and brothels open, this can look like a pretty sight. The moonlight bathes the ones dancing on the street to get from place to place.

I see Aoha's eyes widen slightly at the view, and so I gesture for her to come close. I sit at the edge of the roof and let my feet dangle, and Aoha, after some consideration, sits beside me.

"You didn't bring me for the view." Aoha comments and looks down below, focused on the people walking. "So why did you?"

Without explaining, I point towards one of the many brothels across the main street. "You see that place?

"The imperial guards like to visit during the festive season to have some fun. Imagine being one of those girls, scared and afraid, with no choice but to do things with them for the few coins they get."

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"Why should I care? If their choices end up putting them there, it's their fault." Aoha shrugs, and I open a small smile.

"You don't really get it, do you?" Shaking my head, I point towards the next place. A bar filled with middle-aged men drinking and gambling their coins away. "The girls don't choose to be in that situation.

"Most were sold by their fathers as compensation for a debt, and the other ones who weren't are orphans sent to work in those places."

Aoha, for the first time, expresses emotion without any restraint: anger. Hands tightly closed into a fist, a frown deeply embedded in her face, the whole package.

"Three years ago, the Emperor's second son came to the city to celebrate his fifteenth birthday, so he requested a session with the most beautiful Courtesan there was at the time.

"And this Cortesan had a young girl acting as her protector; that night, when the emperor's son entered the brothel and met the woman, he claimed to have fallen in love at first sight.

"But this courtesan was not a normal one; her taste didn't extend to men, so she refused the young boy's request. The boy, not happy, tried to win her by violence, only to meet the unconsciousness brought by the woman's protector."

Bringing my knees up, I place them closer to my chest, point towards an alley closed by wood boxes, and continue. "Days passed by, and the news extended to the emperor himself, who was not happy to learn his son was humiliated in such a way.

"So on the fifth night after the visit of the boy, the courtesan was attacked in that alley, and the young protector of hers was beaten up till near death in front of her. So she made a deal with the attackers; she would let herself be killed if only the young protector could be spared.

"They accepted; after all, if she died quietly and in the place they wanted, there would be no need for a clean-up. So the attackers brought her to the forest outside the city and forced her to drink a slow-acting poison, permitting them to have their fun before her death came by morning."

Gazing upon the streets, Aoha silently hears the tale, waiting till I stop talking to ask something. "The young protector you speak of, what was their relation with the courtesan?"

With a dry laugh, I smile at Aoha, but before I can answer, a muffled scream catches both our ears, coming from the alley we climbed from.

Looking from above, we watch as a drunk guard uses his hand to cover a girl's mouth as he pins her against the alley wall. The girl's eyes water and rain, and tears of fear like screams for help.

"Oh girl, don't look so sad; I'll make you feel good very soon." The disgusting man talks mid-burp, carrying on his cracked lips the smile of a devil.

The girl's eyes turn from rain to a river as she desperately tries to wiggle out of the man's hold, so the man, pissed off, clicks his tongue and raises his hand.

"You should learn some respect."

*Slap*

The guard slaps the girl's face, and she falls to the ground, holding a hand to her face where the pale skin of hers turns bright red.

The blood circulating in my veins travels to my fists as anger starts to burn hot in my heart, a fire capable of consuming everything it touches. The exact same type of fire I see in Aoha's eyes—the fire I so desperately seek in someone else.

Without even looking at Aoha, I make my decision obvious. With the girl out of the man's hold, I lose no time jumping from the roof and falling atop the guard.

The pain from the fall is lessened as the man serves his only purpose now, and with both of us on the floor, the girl widens her eyes and takes a deep breath, not believing her eyes. I guess it's not every day you see a girl falling from the skies to help you.

I watch from the edge of my only eye as Aoha takes the girl and nods her head to me, soon disappearing to guide the girl to safety, her face telling me we will meet back at Uba's house.

Now I can focus only on the guard. He hugs his head and grunts in pain as he tries to rise to his feet. Obviously, I don't let him, getting up faster, placing a knee to his nose, and watching as he starts to shamelessly dirt the stone path of the alley with his blood.

There's no word from any of us; every time he tries to talk, I kick him, and my vision becomes blurrier.

My knuckles hurt, but I keep going, one punch after another, one kick at his groin, and soon the man passes out from the assault on his nervous system.

*Crack*

Forcing my feet on the side of the man's neck, the satisfying sound of it breaking climbs my spine, providing the most gratifying breath I have ever taken in quite a while.

That's what I meant when I said I hadn't changed; I'm still just a creature of the night, just like the wolf who once hunted me down. A human corrupted by the feeling of winning by causing the deaths of their opponents, a hungry wolf in search of this vicious feeling.

...

After dumping the body in the forest so the animals can eat all the evidence, I pocket its coins and start walking back to the house. It was some work carrying him outside the city, but the laziness of the guards helped a lot in my case.

I just had to lie, saying that he had one too many, and they permitted me to carry the corpse away without even a second look.

Midnight strikes, or so I think as I see the moon at almost its highest point, the people once flooding the streets now are either sleeping in a brothel or back at home, even if some still drink their sorrows on the few open bars at this hour.

Entering by the front door, I make sure to ease my steps so as not to wake up anyone. Some good, careful steps go by, and I end up in front of my old room. Taking out the key, I open the door and enter it.

The first thing I see is that the place is exactly as I left it—boring and without any personality—just with the essentials to survive, meaning a bed, spare clothes, and my old backpack lying flatly across the bed.

It is a little beat up, but it was a gift from one of the courtesans that I used to guard; she was really good with a needle, dangerously so.

As I think of lying down, a knock on my window reminds me of something: my companion. Did Aoha just climb the side of the house just so she could enter instead of risking waking up anyone? Cute of her to do so.

With a grin on my face, I open the window and let her enter the room.

"I brought the girl back to her place; she sleeps safely." My companion comments and stretches her arms high before sitting on the bed with a sleepy expression.

Nodding my head, I take the backpack from behind her and lay it on her lap. "Good job. Put your old clothes in this and go to sleep."

Aoha takes the red robe she was still carrying with her and stores it on the backpack before looking around the room, noticing the clear lack of a second bed. "There's only one bed, huh? I'll take the floor-"

Before she can finish her words, I grab a pillow and place it on the floor, laying my tired head against it. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

The grin still playing on my lips, instead of causing a frown to spawn on Aoha's face, makes her sigh and shake her head, lying herself on the comforting sheets and double pillows that compose the small bed.

.

.. "Good night."

That I didn't expect. Is she warming up to my existence?

Without wanting to use my brain more today, I turn to her and find her staring at me. "Night."

These are the last words I mutter before allowing my sore muscles and hurting hands to rest and heal.

Morning arrives.

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Waking up, I find myself alone in the room, and the bed that Aoha was sleeping in is neatly made. Letting a loud yawn escape my chest, I rub my eyes and force myself to my feet.

What are the things I need to do today again? I need to plan with Aoha the journey's destination, fill my stomach, and say goodbye to the girls. A bath would go well too, but it is better to try finding a good river on the way; I don't want to stay past midday.

I get out of the room, lock the door, and start descending to the store. Today is quiet, strangely so.

On the ground floor, I walk to the kitchen and find Uba cooking breakfast. It's a rare sight to find her awake early in the morning; this hag usually only wakes up when she smells someone else preparing breakfast, so she doesn't have to.

"Morning."

Uba turns her head to me. "Morning."

"You know where everyone is?" I lean my back against the wall and crack my back.

"A girl came by earlier to thank your friend and you, but when I tried to wake you up I saw how deep in sleep you were so I asked the girls to accompany your friend to the brothel across the street."

"I see." A good thing we helped that girl yesterday, I just hope Aoha doesn't suffocate, some courtesans have the tendency to thank their heroes with a very tight hug, and considering how gifted most are one can often find oneself trapped in heaven.

"Want to help me tell Koori and Midori that I'll be parting today?"

"Too late for that, Ume already did you the favor." Uba comments, pouring some rice on the egg she's cooking and mixing both in the pot. "She too told me about the promise you made.

"You better know those girls will hold you to that."

"I know that already. If everything goes according to the plan I'll be back in a year."

"Uhum, tell yourself that all you want girl." Uba grabs a bowl and fills it with the rice and egg mixture before handing it to me. "Go eat, and call me when you're leaving."

"Leave it to me." I happily grab the bowl and rush to the table so I can devour it as fast as I can.

While eating breakfast, Tome, without any warning, appears from behind me and drops the katana and knife on the table.

"I spent all night working on the blades of both; they should not break easily.

"You should be very grateful to me; I don't do this for just anyone, you know?" Tome sits beside me on the table and yawns tiredly, rubbing her eyes as they threaten to close and pull her to deep rest.

"I know, you're the best." Putting the bowl to the side, I grab Tome's arms and embrace her tired body, gently pulling her dark strands away from her face.

She smells of sweat and iron; as usual, it is not strong enough to make you pull away, so I'm fine. Tome, finally giving up, closes her eyes and falls asleep in my arms.

"Uba!" I call for Granny, and I watch as she sticks her head out of the kitchen door and looks at Tome. "Can I let Tome sleep in my room?"

Uba nods her head. "Carry her upstairs, and I'll take care of her later."

Pulling Tome's motionless legs up, I rest her head on my shoulder and carry her princess-style up to my room. Reaching for the bed, I lay her carefully on the bed and cover her with a simple sheet.

"Thanks for the hard work, Tome." Once I make sure to reward her with a head pat, I move to close the window shutters and leave.

Everything seems to be done; now I just need to wait for Aoha to be back and we can leave.

Minutes later

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Aoha approaches the tea shop with a tired expression, and I see all the girls with her: Koori with her tails swaying from side to side, Ume with two dango sticks between her fingers, and Midori shyly trying to hide herself from the gaze of the people passing by.

I lean by the outside of the shop, on its doorframe, just waiting for the hardest moment there is—the moment where I'll have to say goodbye to them.

As Koori's eyes fall on me immediately, like a snake on the grass, she latches her tail around me and brings my head close to her soft chest.

"I'm sorry, Koori." Freeing my head from her hold, I nuzzle my cheeks on hers, to which she reacts by trembling her snake tongue and letting out happy sounds.

Midori soon, with the help of Ume, climbs into my arms and enters the warm hug. Ume stands by the store wall and looks down, deep in thought—something rare to some, but not for me, someone who knows her well.

But as with all good things, this too has to come to an end. Separating from the hug and knowing how awkward I am with these things, Ume takes a step forward and takes a deep breath.

"We will be waiting for you." She says, and Koori nods her head in agreement. "Come on, let's go inside before Uba misses us."

Ume takes both girls and walks inside, and so I gesture for Aoha to follow me to take this opportunity and go before midday arrives. As we go, I see Uba on the second floor smoking her pipe and watching us go, so I wave to her my last goodbye.

It is time to start this journey.

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