Chapter 14: The Growing Distance
My Otou-san's ideals had begun to shift. Now he sought power and was aiming to become a Daimyo. While I could not fault him of this ambition as many other men pursued the very same thing it was simply not my Otou-san's original intentions. I loathed to admit it but he was turning into something he was not. And it tore at my heart to watch it happen.
Now we were constantly moving from place to place. It was as if we had no real home anymore. Tonight we all slept under the stars, myself included. I had been allowed to join them only because I would have been left completely alone but I was not to fight unless it was to protect myself and escape immediate danger.
Hearing footsteps I stirred awake to witness Haji-sensei and Chizu-ane walk off somewhere speaking in hushed tones to one another. I paid it no mind and nestled back into the warm covers and Toshi-nii's side and promptly fell back asleep unaware of the amethyst eyes that opened only to observe me before closing again.
It was still early morning when I was awoken by Toshi-nii. All of us were heading into a fight that Otou-san refused to back down from. As the battle began with the tide against us Toshi-nii grabbed Chizu-ane and I before departing to find more troops. It was then that he left myself and Otou-san in Chizu-ane's hands. After I promised to stay safe and he had a 'chiming metal oath' with Chizu-ane we separated. Not long into the battle and Otou-san was beginning to see the carnage, the men whose lives were lost in vain. Only then did Chizu-ane and I manage to drag him from the battlefield. We made for the forest and kept running without daring to look behind.