Notes:

Minor OC Kazumi (NO one's love interest) first appears in Wolf Warriors chapters "Scent of Death" and "Fallen Hero". She reappears towards the end of the main fic Retribution.

Warning: OC of ambiguous gender identity

A month after the official end of the great war, strange tales started circulating among the peasants in Niwa County, Hironishi Prefecture. Unexplained strings of cash suddenly appeared in the houses of villagers. This mysterious money was usually placed in a food bowl or in a closet . Accompanying the modest sum of cash was a piece of paper containing writing in the Common Script of the Empire.

Very few of the Hironishian farmers could read the so-called Common Script originating from the language of the Amanushi's ethnic group. Of those peasants that had some schooling, most were only literate in their native language, though they could speak the Common Tongue with reasonably fluency. So this incomprehensible piece of writing caused as much confusion as the mysterious money it accompanied.

Puzzled, the peasants brought the strange notes before the chieftains and the learned people of their villages, upon which the writing was translated from the Common Tongue:

"This is one person's apology for the looting done by samurai who came here during the war. I am not acting in any official capacity, and I humbly acknowledge that this compensation is insufficient."

The notes were unsigned. Upon further examination, a village chief found the multiple notes to be identical – and not just in content. One of prominent farmers, a woman who had charge of negotiating trade contracts with merchants, looked over the sheets and said, "They are photocopies."

"Photocopies?" Not all the peasants knew what they were.

To discuss this strange matter, the chieftains of five villages convened under the ancient flame tree in Mansai Valley. The peasant leaders, after exchanging the stories of their constituents, came to determine that no less than 800 households had received these bizarre monetary gifts. Who was responsible for this? No one knew for sure, but some of the young children said they had seen a strange samurai pass through their villages during the times when the people of full age were all out working in the fields.

"He was a young man with the coloring of an Easterling and the garb of a Southlander," they said. "Carried two swords in a strangely-shaped red scabbard. Spoke to no one."

The chiefs sought to find this pale-skinned, pale-haired stranger, but by that time, the nameless young samurai had disappeared from Niwa without a trace.

--

In the neutral city of Sai'an, 6 weeks after the official end of the Great War…

Young Kazumi sat silently on the matted floor of the orphanage classroom in Sai'an City, the lesson being delivered by her teacher filtering through her ears like irrelevant noise.

Four years ago, the kind samurai aunty from Platoon 3, 6th Company, 43rd Battalion found her and brought her to this orphanage. Aunty Mizuho had written letters to her every month since. Kazumi looked forward to those letters. They were a bright spark in a world gone mad. In fact, the orphaned peasant child had enthusiastically learned to read primarily so that she could understand Mizuho's letters.

Then Aunty Mizuho switched from written letters to taped voice recordings. "I have grown a lot bigger and can't write letters anymore. But if and when we meet again, you will see that I am still the same within," the female soldier explained in her message.

Kazumi had no complaints. The important thing was the nice lady still remembered her. Aunty Mizuho once told her: "If you're still here when the war ends, and if I'm still alive, I will come back to take you to live with me."

Those words offered so much hope to a young soul whose loved ones had been destroyed with such sudden savagery. Indeed, Kazumi lived for the promise held by Mizuho's words.

But around half a year ago, the messages stopped arriving. Kazumi felt a stab of pain each time the mail delivery came by and there was nothing for her. But the child always consoled herself, "The nice samurai aunty must be very busy. She has very important work to do in the war. Aunty Mizuho will send news again when she has time."

By now it had been weeks since the war ended, and there was still no news from the samurai aunty. A heavy doubt weighed heavily on the child's mind day after day.

"Why?" She wondered as she twiddled her thumbs in the classroom. "Has Aunty forgotten me?"

Kazumi's mental meanderings were cut short by a tap on the classroom door. Popping her head into the room, staff member Kiyoko politely interrupted the teacher. The two women, after exchanging a few quiet words, turned to Kazumi.

"Kazumi," her teacher said. "Please go with Miss Kiyoko. She has news for you."

Obediently, the 10-year-old rose to her feet and followed Kiyoko into the hallway.

"A samurai wishes to take custody of you," Miss Kiyoko explained. "Our principal has verified her documentation and identity. She was an officer in the platoon that rescued you from your village. She even has a letter of reference from the daimyo of Nankai Prefecture. If you wish to, you may leave with her."

A broad smile of utter relief and joy broke across Kazumi's face.

"Is the samurai lady here?" She asked eagerly.

Miss Kiyoko nodded kindly at the child. "She is in the reception room now. Come, I'll take you to her."

Bursting with gladness, Kazumi trotted ahead of Miss Kiyoko to the reception room. But upon reaching the open door, she halted abruptly. There was a samurai sitting there, but it was not the one she was waiting for.

"Is that the samurai 'lady'?!" She wanted to ask Miss Kiyoko. "That's a man!"

The person sitting in the room was certainly not Mizuho. This was tall officer she saw in her village 4 years ago. He was an unfriendly, bitter-looking fellow. Kazumi didn't like him much then. She did not think she liked him much now either.

Now the samurai cast his unreadable obsidian eyes on her. In confusion, the child turned to Miss Kiyoko, who had only just caught up with her. But the orphanage worker did not notice her charge's discomfort. She was beaming at the visitor.

"Go ahead, o-samurai-sama, please give Little Kazumi the news," The woman said to the person wearing twin swords across his back.

Having received a nod of approval from Miss Kiyoko, the samurai proceeded to address Kazumi in a rather businesslike manner. "I'm going back to the school where Mizuho-dono and I used to study. If you like, you can come with me. I do not guarantee you an easy life. You will have to work hard at cooking and cleaning, but you will have food, clothing and shelter. Then if you show yourself to be worth teaching, maybe I will teach you the way of the sword."

Kazumi gaped at the near-stranger for a few seconds before regaining enough composure to respond. "Mizuho-dono said she was going to come back for me after the war."

"Kazumi…" Miss Kiyoko, somewhat taken aback by Kazumi's direct, uncompromising tone, addressed the child with a hint of warning in her voice while giving the samurai an apologetic smile.

In her shock, Kazumi had forgotten to be polite and had spoken in a manner inappropriate for her age and station. But the discharged army officer was apparently unperturbed by the seeming boldness of the youngster.

"Mizuho-dono will not come," The warrior stated plainly, looking Kazumi in the eye.

"Why won't she come?" Kazumi was starting to feel even more uneasy. "Where is she?"

The broad-shouldered samurai did not answer the child's question. Instead the warrior said, "You don't have to come with me. But I would like to do for you what Mizuho would have done, if she had been able to come back for you. The choice is yours."

As the strange words sank in, Kazumi finally understood. There was only one reason why Mizuho was not able to come back for her.

The former Major Haruko sat silently with her head bowed while the reception room echoed with the wails of a child.