Ren must have been exhausted as he only woke up when somebody knocked on the door to his room. It was understandable as he had spent most of the previous night thinking about what the saishu had told him during his meditations.
Groaning in the darkness, he slowly got up and crawled to the door on all fours, still half asleep. When he slid them open, he saw Sora standing in the moderately illuminated corridor. She was holding a tray full of food.
It was nothing fancy, just some rice, a bit of pickled vegetables, an egg, and a few slices of smoked meat, along with plenty of rice.
"G-good m-morning, big brother," she stuttered, looking straight ahead while a blush marked her cheeks. She clearly couldn't look at Ren.
The way she called him was quite surprising, and her cute way of speaking brought a smile to his face.
"C-can I call you big brother?" she asked, in a moment of reflection, peeking down at him.
"Sure, you can call me that. Is that food for me?" he asked, trying not to show his amusement.
"Yes! I... I brought it for you…"
"Then please come in," he said, getting up and going straight to the window to let some sunlight in. It was much needed, as his whole living space was completely shrouded in darkness. Sora followed him, looking around very carefully. There was only a futon on the floor and the package with everything he brought along on the journey, which was placed in the corner. Despite the lack of belongings, he still managed to make the space look messy. Ignoring it, he approached her and sat on the floor, patting the tatami mat, so she would join him.
"Have you already eaten?" He asked her. "We can share if not," he pointed out.
"No, I... I ate," she quickly responded while kneeling down to put the tray on the floor.
"Then... Thank you for the food," he said, bowing slightly, before grabbing the chopsticks and devouring everything.
She watched him for a moment, clearly wanting to say something, but she looked so cute when she was anxious that Ren decided to stay silent and allowed her to find the courage on her own.
"Uhm... Brother... I... I came to say thank you... You didn't have to help me, and you... You did. You and sister Reiko... I'm... I'm really thankful, so... So I brought you some extra food," she finally said, looking all the way to the side to make sure he was unable to see her face.
But Ren was patient. He waited for a response until she got so curious about his reaction that she looked at him, and their eyes met. He was smiling.
"Don't worry about it. You're a good, hard-working kid. I helped because I could, just as the temple is helping me. If you need me in the future, just come and ask. I'm happy to help some more."
She got visibly flustered after what he said, then turned her head to the side to hide again. Her reaction almost made him chuckle, but he predicted that she wouldn't be able to respond to his words, so he refocused on eating.
For Sora, the atmosphere clearly became very awkward, but Ren enjoyed it as he filled his belly to the brim. As he finished, she immediately grabbed the tray and rushed out of the room.
When she was gone, he allowed himself a chuckle before he prepared himself to visit the old saishu. He fixed his clothing, grabbed the sword, and left, heading through the already slightly familiar corridors, all the way to the meditation room, where he assumed she would be waiting for him.
He was not wrong. In the dim light, with the thick smoke in the air smelling with the strange incense, the saishu was sitting on the floor. As he opened the door, she looked at him. "Come," she said. "There is much to do," she pointed out.
He greeted her with a deep bow before moving into the room and settling on the floor.
"You know what to do, so let's not waste any time," she pointed out, prompting Ren to close his eyes after he placed the Maken on his lap.
Just as before, he needed a few moments to relax, allowing his thoughts to be straightened, filtered, and cleared by the silence and the heavy scent of the incense. Then the absolute darkness swallowed him like a massive monster.
First came the sound. A rather gentle, metallic clicking, which he couldn't recognize at first, but then he did. Those were the parts of a katana slightly moving. The tsuba, to be precise. It was joined by a very faint murmur of voices coming from afar as if there were people around.
Then he saw them as if they emerged from the shadows, three warriors in an alley. Two on the right side of it, and one on the left, blocking the path for him – the Hearteater – who was stuck in the middle.
Once again, he couldn't see their faces. Although each one carried a vibe to himself. Ren was sure the moment he looked at every one of them that they were angry and scared. The dark blue kimonos indicated the Tachibana clan warriors.
"You won't escape now," one of them spoke.
To this, the ghost responded with a chuckle, as if he was not afraid at all.
‘He is going to show me once again how he kills people and eats their hearts,’ Ren immediately figured. The anger boiled in his stomach. He could feel the itching in his arms and legs, the desperate need to do something, preferably kick the Hearteater – something he possibly couldn't do.
"Hey!" He shouted instead. The warriors didn't pay any attention. Seemingly neither did the ghost, but his eyes betrayed him, as they briefly darted to the side, peaking at Ren. "I know you can hear! Damn you! Can you hear me?! I'm not afraid of you! Go ahead, show me how terrible and scary you were in the past. Come on, do it! But you know what? We are no longer in the past, and now you are trapped in my damn sword, and you can whine and cry all you want. Continue with your silly tantrum. Go ahead! Show me all those scary scenes of things you did. But guess what? It's not going to work! I'm not afraid!" He snapped, yelling at the top of his lungs.
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Although the ghost's posture didn't change at all, and he didn't repeat the previous mistake of moving his eyes, Ren was certain that he heard him.
The warriors swarmed from both sides, trying to cut the Hearteater down. He was simply better than them. It was quite astonishing for Ren, as the ghost appeared to know exactly what they would do, reacting perfectly against every attack. They couldn't land a single hit as everything was dodged or blocked. It was kind of sad because, despite the advantage of numbers, he was simply mocking them. They needed a moment for it to sink in, and even then they made a grave mistake by allowing anger to take over. Their attacks became simpler, directed by emotion, which allowed the Hearteater to cut them down when he got bored playing with them.
‘I wonder how much time it took for you to become this good,’ Ren thought, observing as the head of the first guy fell to the ground, and blood sprayed from his open neck. This was a groundbreaking moment for his comrades as they finally got a grasp of the situation. Sadly, it was too late.
The second guy tried to escape, but he was clumsy and lost sight of the Hearteater, who shortened the distance with two rapid steps and cut the man’s hand as he turned around. Screaming, he fell to his knees, only for the head to be cleanly taken off his shoulders.
Chuckling, the ghost turned around to look into the face of the third warrior. He was pale, terrified. He attempted to bolt away, but the Hearteater was faster. He leaped forward, cutting low and slicing the man’s calf open. The leg gave way under him, and he fell to the dirt, rapidly turning around while dropping his sword. He started to crawl on his back with fear painted all over his face. The bottom of his kimono became wet as he urinated himself.
The Hearteater laughed, as he slowly followed the man on the street, where only a few people, who observed the scene from afar, could witness the gruesome scene. The ghost shortened the distance to the man who began begging for his life, only to drop down and punch him in the face. One, two, three times. Each blow delivered a loud crack until the face of the warrior became bloody. Then the ghost cut his heart out as he still was alive. Any resistance was futile, as the ghost appeared to be way too strong for the warrior to stop him.
There was a lot of screaming and cursing involved, but Ren ignored it, knowing the purpose behind this vision. "I’m not scared!" he yelled from the alley as he watched.
As soon as he did, his world became black again, and he awakened from his trance.
Opening his eyes, he saw the face of the saishu who sitting on the ground in front of him. It was obscured by the smoke, but she was watching him closely.
"You did better this time," she observed.
"Yes," he confirmed.
"I say we skip lunch and continue since you are doing so well. We need to strike while the iron is still hot," she pointed out.
Ren nodded, immediately closing his eyes.
Once again, he needed a short moment for his thoughts to calm down, but they eventually did, allowing him to concentrate on the Maken lying on his lap.
Suddenly, a rowdy atmosphere hit him in the face like a bucket of cold water. He found himself in a well-illuminated inn, bustling with people laughing loudly, having numerous conversations at once, creating a cacophony of voices. Alcohol was consumed in large quantities, and on the side, some snacks were devoured by many patrons, each with a blurred face.
Some were clearly peasants who worked in the fields, but quite a few appeared to be warriors. Each group stuck to their own, which only underlined the contrast in their appearances and made them easier to spot.
A man suddenly burst into the establishment, tearing a hole in the paper door, stretched on a wooden frame, which he broke. This rendered the whole hall silent. The warriors grabbed the handles of their swords as they observed.
The stranger had a dirty face, and his messy hair covered part of it, but when he raised his eyes to have a look around, it became evident who he was – the Hearteater.
Those with swords by their belts immediately got up, ready to fight. The rest was much slower, focusing on looking for a way out, as it was crystal clear what was going to happen next. The first fool lost his patience and charged with the blade at the ready, trying to cut down the ghost. He screamed as he ran, only to be silenced as the katana sliced his face open before he could land a hit. He fell to the ground lifeless while the Hearteater let out an evil chuckle.
This was like an order for everybody else to attack. The numbers were overwhelming, and if he saw the same thing back on Earth, he would be certain that the ghost would die in that place. But he was now in a different world. A world where inhumane things could happen, and that was exactly what he witnessed.
The Hearteater was fast, precise, and sharp. His strength appeared to be out of this world, so he easily parried even four blades at the same time while avoiding multiple others. Methodically, one by one, he cut the warriors down, painting the interior of the establishment red with their blood. The rowdy atmosphere was replaced by the screams of agony. Those who could escape did so by any means necessary. Some jumped through the windows, others tried to go around the fight. Those who couldn't leave were cut down until there was only one man standing – the ghost himself.
Then he hid his bloody katana back in the saya by his belt. He grabbed a knife from one of his victims, and the feast started.
"I know what you want to do," Ren told him, watching as he began carving hearts out, only to devour them. "You won't make me scared. I'm no longer afraid of you, no matter what you show me," he said with confidence.
Despite that, the scene didn't end, it went on and on until the last heart was cut out of the final warrior's chest and eaten. Then darkness swallowed Ren, and he awoke back in the meditation room filled with thick smoke. The saishu was sitting on the floor in front of him.
"What did you see?" she asked.
He didn't answer; instead, he shook his head.
"Don't get discouraged. You have time. He will grow weaker if you don't let him scare you. I don't know how long it might take. He is a strong entity, but you need to keep your resolve. Don't fold," she said.
"I know…"
"Good. Now, go get something to eat... I'm slower, so you go ahead... I'll join at my own pace," she told him.
Ren nodded and got to his feet. Although his legs were quite tired from remaining in the same position for hours, the fatigue quickly vanished thanks to his amazing, artificial body, and he headed down the corridor, leaving the old lady behind.
Knowing his way around the temple, at least in the few spots he was shown during the past few days, he made his way directly to the cafeteria.
On his way, he once again spotted Sora and Reiko cleaning the floors in a different spot. Without a word, he grabbed a wet rag and began helping them as well. The girl looked at him, smiling with a blush on her cheeks, but only briefly, as there was still plenty to do. So she almost immediately returned to work.
Then the three of them, without speaking, scrubbed the floors until they finished and finally could leave to wash up.
The next stop was the cafeteria. Most other shinshokus had already finished their meals, so the place was quite empty. Despite that, they didn't speak at all.
Ren felt tired, and he had plenty of things to think about, so he remained lost in the confines of his own mind, trying to solve the problems he was facing. After filling his belly, he headed back to his room, but in the corridor, he felt somebody grabbing a part of his robe. Turning around in the dim light, he saw Reiko.
She looked him straight in the eyes. "I want your answer," she informed, and then let go, only to leave.
He watched her until she vanished, then let out a loud sigh and headed for his room, ready to call it a day.