Hyakkimaru enjoyed the boy's company when it was just the two of them doing their chores or playing outside, but unfortunately the boy always wanted to play the finger game with him and refused to take a hint. No matter what was going on, the boy was always making shapes in his hands as though it was the most exciting thing he could think of. Even the one with the beard was doing it now, constantly putting things in his hands and then forming shapes into them. He didn't want to be alone, but their behavior was driving him crazy and making his head hurt nearly constantly.

As the cold time passed them by and the air outside grew warmer, Hyakkimaru still could not understand their words, but he was learning that their voices sounded different depending on the way they felt. It was challenging and he didn't always get it right, but he was learning to tell when they were pleased with him and when they were upset, all from the sound of their voices. They liked it when he played the game without a fuss and mimicked the finger shapes just as they had, and they liked it when he helped with the chores and when he found new things to show them. On the other hand, they didn't like it when he resisted playing the game, or when he came inside soaked in mud, or when he brought the creatures he found into the house (mainly the ones with too many legs and the ones with no legs at all). They especially didn't like it that day when he locked them in the man's room and took the key with him. He hadn't planned to keep them in their long and he didn't see why they were so upset. They had been incessant with the game that day, even more so than usual, and he'd desperately needed a break.

On this particular day, he was especially annoyed with them. He was sick to death of the game and wanted to never play it again. For the past week he hadn't copied a single shape, he instead shoved the boy and the man away whenever they tried to take his hand. To get away from them for a while, he had climbed the tallest tree he could find; the boy and the man almost never followed him when he went that high, so he was safe for the time being. The weather had been getting much warmer lately, so he knew he could stay up there as long as he wanted.

Up there in the tree, he got to see one of the flying things feeding three smaller things. He reached out to touch them, but got his hand pecked by the larger one. It didn't hurt, but he took the hint that he should back off and leave them alone.

While he loved climbing trees, the one problem with it was that once he found one to settle in, there wasn't much to do at that point. He started forming shapes with his hands, hardly noticing he was doing it. It was a fun game, why had the boy and the man needed to ruin it?

He missed them both and wondered what they were doing down there without him. He valued his alone time, but never for too long. They might be playing a game together, or sharing a meal without him. He had been in the tree for quite some time now, and he wanted to go back down. But he couldn't bring himself to, knowing what awaited him. Was he to spend the rest of his life this way? Avoiding the people he loved because they wouldn't stop tormenting him?

He was startled to feel water hit his face; a few drops at first, but then it started to pour. He gazed upwards, relishing in the way it felt. He enjoyed swimming in the river, but he enjoyed this feeling much more. And not just the feeling; the sound it made was one of the few he loved to hear.

It was nice until the loudest sound Hyakkimaru had heard yet crashed through the sky. It hurt his ears like nothing else had and terrified him, what could possibly have caused it? He never would have guessed anything could be that ear-shatteringly loud. He pulled one of his arms off and brandished the blade underneath as he cast his eyes back and forth, looking for the monster that had made the sound. But there was nothing there, nothing at all. Another crash sounded and he nearly jumped out of the tree. He stopped himself at the last second, remembering the last time he had jumped out of a tree from this height. He'd broken both of his prosthetic legs, one of his arms, and done something to his chest that made it hard to breathe for what felt like an eternity. Not wanting to repeat that, he put his arm back on and climbed down as quickly as he could. When he felt he was close enough to the ground, he leapt out of the tree. His real leg hurt from the fall, and he vaguely wondered if this was why the man and the boy didn't climb trees. He hadn't hurt himself badly enough to keep from running, and so he bolted for the house. Fortunately, the man and boy were already outside, running towards him. He leapt into the man's arms, never having been more relieved to see him in his life.

"Let's get you inside," said Jukai, hurrying back in to get out of the storm. He held the violently shaking Hyakkimaru tightly in his arms. "You're lucky you weren't hurt, that was very close. It must have been quite the shock, I'm sorry it scared you so badly. But you're safe now, no need to be afraid."

He had been working on new prosthetic arms for him, with Tahomaru assisting. They had heard the rain, but the lightning caught them off guard. They sat down by the fireplace; Jukai rubbed Hyakkimaru's back and gently rocked back and forth.

Tahomaru looked glumly at the two of them, then down at his hands in his lap. "Jukai, I'm going to give this up. I'm not going to work with Hyakkimaru anymore, it's only causing problems."

"I know how hard it's been, it's been rough for all of us. But Hyakkimaru is making progress, he's learned so many letters and words from you. You've practically got him speaking already, if only he knew the meaning behind the signs he's making. And he will understand soon, I know he will. There's no way of knowing how much longer it'll take before we make a breakthrough, but we can't give up, not on something as important as this."

"The only success I'm having is making him hate me!" he exploded. He thought of Hyakkimaru's sign name for him, and how annoyed he usually looked when he signed it nowadays. "He's the only friend I've ever had and I'm driving him away."

Before leaving home, Tahomaru had been aware of the fact that he didn't have any friends but hadn't really been concerned by it. His father had been working to instill the idea in him that he was better than everyone else, and that he didn't need anyone by his side. There had been a few occasions when they'd had guests over for dinner and they had brought their children along, but he and they were expected to be on their best behavior at all times and so those instances could hardly be considered playdates. He had been mostly content with the state of things, as his stepmother had always tried to fill that void to the best of her ability. But after meeting another child his age and getting to know them, he realized how much he had been missing out on. For the first time in his life he had a real friend, and the idea of ruining their friendship scared him.

"Tahomaru, I know it may feel that way, but he doesn't hate you. You've been a great friend to him, and he appreciates it more than you'll ever know."

"I've been a great friend? Have I really? Because I feel like I'm being a terrible friend. Because of me, he sulks and hides from us all the time now. He wouldn't have been up in that tree if I'd left him alone, what if he'd jumped from the top?"

"Oh, he learned the hard way not to do that a long time ago."

"Still, it's my fault he just went through that. I feel like I'm only making things worse for him, and with no guarantee they'll ever get better. What if he can't learn? What if I'm a bad teacher and I'm not doing this right? What if we're tormenting him for no reason? He's got a good life here, maybe it's already enough for him."

"Tahomaru-"

"And since I can't teach him, I'll… I'll leave." It killed him to say those words, but he truly believed them. He didn't know what he would do once he was on his own again, but he couldn't stay here if he was just a waste of space. "Failure is unacceptable, and if I can't earn my place here, then I can't stay. I'm sorry I wasted your time."

Another clap of thunder sounded and Hyakkimaru curled up in Jukai's embrace. He was so worked up that his breathing was quick and shallow. Jukai covered his ears for him, but it didn't seem to help much.

"I don't believe that was you talking just now," Jukai said gently. "Am I wrong in assuming that was your father?"

Tahomaru was caught off guard. "I didn't mean to sound like him, I don't want to be anything like him. But it can't be right for me to stay if I can't do this. It's why you've been letting me live here."

"No, it's not. Maybe that's how it was in your old home, but it's certainly not how I do things. I appreciate your help around here, and you'll never know how grateful I am that you're teaching Hyakkimaru to sign, but your worth is not based on what you can or can't do. You need a home, and Hyakkimaru and I are happy to have you living with us. That's why I've let you stay, and for no other reason."

Tahomaru struggled to accept kindness like this, he wasn't used to it. Kirika had always shown it to him, but Daigo had drilled it into him that such kindness did not exist. Every time he thought of his father, he saw more and more the signs of who he truly was, signs that had been there all along but he had ignored out of love. Jukai had only ever been good to him, but unlearning everything his father had taught him was difficult.

"All right, so I can stay. If you really mean it. But I still think we need to stop teaching Hyakkimaru. No good is coming from it, I was wrong to believe I could help him."

"Most people are resistant to learning new things. Babies don't understand why they must learn to eat solid food when drinking the milk is so much easier. Children don't understand why they must go to school and fill their heads with knowledge they seemingly don't need. Even us grownups often refuse to take advice, even when we know we're in the wrong. And yet, we all must learn these things anyway. Can you imagine what we would be like if the people teaching us simply gave up when things got hard? If your caregivers had let you have your way, you wouldn't know how to walk or read or take care of yourself. And if I had refused to learn the lessons I've been taught in my adult years, well… I don't know where I'd be now.

"Hyakkimaru is no different. You are fully capable of teaching, but you're young and you've taken on an extremely challenging task. He is fully capable of learning, but he's a much more difficult student than most. Think about it; learning a new language is hard enough on its own, but he's also having to learn that the very concept of language exists. Before getting his hearing back, he lived in a world of silent darkness. Now he's got his ears, but he's still closed off from us and the world around him.

"He has no way to express his thoughts and feelings beyond his most basic needs. I can't imagine how that must feel, but it's his reality and he has no idea that things could be so much better for him. In spite of our best efforts, he's spent his entire life in a mental prison, waiting for someone to give him the key to escape. By teaching him to sign, you're offering him the key, and one of these days he'll realize that and take it.

"I'll admit there have been days when I've had my doubts, as well. It's not just you he's fed up with, he's begun to resent me too, and it hurts. It would be so much easier to just go back to the way things were, but that is not an option. Although Hyakkimaru wants us to give up, and would not know the difference, it would be shameful for those closest to him to right him off as a lost cause and let him continue living like this."

Tahomaru hung his head, ashamed of himself. He thought of Kirika, and how her parents had given up so easily on her. If they had fought for her and for her education instead of cutting it off, she might have gotten the life she wanted. And now he was trying to do the same thing. He was so tired of trying and failing every single day, and depressed since he was unintentionally making his friend miserable, but those things didn't matter. He had to get through to Hyakkimaru, no matter the cost or how long it took. This was the greatest gift he could give him.

The thunder eventually subsided, though it took an hour afterwards for Hyakkimaru to calm down. Jukai carried him to his mat as he did most nights and laid him down. Before leaving, he rubbed his forehead against Hyakkimaru's and wished him goodnight.

Tahomaru blew out the lamp and laid down, but as he closed his eyes, he felt Hyakkimaru's hand on his arm. Still frightened, he took Tahomaru's hand and held it tightly. His grip hurt a little, but he didn't mind.

"You're safe, I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered. "And I won't give up on you either. No matter how hard you make it, no matter how badly we annoy each other. I'm going to give you the key, and you'll never be a prisoner again."

True to his word, Tahomaru continued working with him with his fingerspelling. Any spare moment he had he dedicated to teaching, even when he was tired from the day's work or not feeling well. He worked so constantly that his fingers alternated between feeling sore and numb, and he lived in mental exhaustion from the unceasing work.

He also spoke to Hyakkimaru nearly constantly as he worked with him. It was tiring and he didn't like talking so much, but he and Jukai had to do it so that one of these days he would start understanding speech as well.

"This is a cup, do you remember how to spell it? No, those are the letters for fish, this is a cup. You drink out of it. You can drink water, tea, or even milk if you live on a farm. I'm pretty sure it all tastes the same to you, though. I bet you can't wait to taste things, and see everything around you. Keep working with me, and you'll learn the name of everything. Just learning the concept that everything has a name is going to blow you away."

"This is a shell, can you make the letters for it? That's it, just like that. It's been a while since I've gotten to teach you a new word, that's got to be nice, right? A snail left this shell behind, I wonder where it is now. I also wonder if snails and other animals hear us talking and wish they could talk back. They don't know how lucky they are, finding a million things to talk about is exhausting. Especially since you still don't understand a word I say. You seem to be picking up on what yes and no mean, but those are easy. One of these days you'll learn to understand more complicated words, I wonder which will be the first."

"You have a name, did you know that? Hyakkimaru, that's your name. My name is Tahomaru, I'm your friend. The man raising you is your papa, and the woman you're always calling for is your mama. We all have names, us and everything around us. If you could just see that, the world would open up to you. What is it going to take? How long are we going to have to do this? I'll do it the rest of my life if I have to, but the sooner you learn all of this, the sooner we can talk to each other. Won't that be nice, to finally talk to each other? I know there must be plenty of things you want to talk about, questions you want to ask, problems you want to let me know about. Do I talk too much? Do I snore? Do I need to bathe more often? Learn to sign and you can complain all you want, I'll be glad to hear it. You may never get all of your body back, but you can at least have this. If I can just figure out how to help you understand."

He could see the fatigue in Jukai's eyes as well. The fatigue, and the discouragement they shared when another day passed with no results. Jukai couldn't work with him as often as he had to keep the household running, but he took no time off to rest in between chores and instead labored to teach Hyakkimaru the signs that he himself had only learned recently. Sometimes, as he was learning more sign language from Tahomaru, Hyakkimaru would become jealous and insist they work with him. But other than those moments, which were rare anyway, he was at best only grudgingly compliant. Endlessly working with him was difficult enough, but seeing the resentment and annoyance in his face during it all made it all the more challenging.

When Jukai worked with Hyakkimaru and spoke to him, he tried to keep his one-sided conversations light and cheerful. However, every now and again he would show more honesty in how he felt. There was one night in particular, when Hyakkimaru came down with a fever. He curled up on his mat in obvious pain and discomfort, but given that pain was a relatively new feeling that he was still learning to understand, he couldn't figure out where the source was in him. Even if he could, he still couldn't describe his other symptoms and so Jukai struggled to care for him. Tahomaru had tried to help as much as he could, but he accidentally fell asleep. He awoke sometime later to the sound of Jukai's voice, he was still sitting up with his ill son. Keeping his eyes closed and pretending to still be asleep, he listened to him speak softly.

"-don't know when this will end. We've been at this for so long, my son, but you're still locked away from us, even further than you were before. If only you could tell me what's wrong, I could better help you through this illness. I'm doing what I can, but it's not enough, is it?" He paused as Hyakkimaru broke into a coughing fit. After it passed, he continued, "I should always be able to help you, to rescue you, but every day I feel more and more helpless. What will it take to reach you? What can I do to help you? Speak to me, use those hands I gave you to open yourself up and join us. You don't know how long I've waited to have a conversation with my son, to truly get to know you. I had always believed it could never happen, but now that we've finally been given a chance at it, it's all I can think about."

Hyakkimaru recovered a couple days later, but by the time he got over the illness, Tahomaru came down with it as well. He was surprised when Jukai sat up with him at night, in spite of getting next to no sleep for nearly a week. It was as if he were his papa too, and for the first time, he truly felt like he had a place in their home.

Knowing how the illness felt, Hyakkimaru attempted to help him feel better by bringing him water and blankets, rubbing his back, and surprisingly enough, signing letters into his hands. He believed Tahomaru loved the game, and so he thought it might cheer him up. He signed each letter quickly and flawlessly, but still without any meaning. His mind was still closed off to them, still locked away.

Tahomaru started each morning thinking to himself, Maybe today is the day. Keeping that optimism got harder and harder, but he clung to it for dear life. He and Jukai both had to, or else give in to their despair and frustration and let it affect their teaching.

Hyakkimaru picked up on the general mood of the household. Even after the illness passed and they had all recovered, he could tell that the others were tired and feeling down, though he had no idea why. In an attempt to lift their spirits, he tried to help more around the house and he brought them more gifts from outside, and he played the finger game without any more fighting. He was still sick of it, but he resigned himself to constantly playing it without ever understanding why they were so crazy about it. Cooperating did seem to help a little, though it was still clear that something wasn't right.

The three of them lived like this for months, all three wondering when things would finally change for the better.

The breakthrough finally came one day in midspring, and it was as unexpected as the snow that preceded it. The weather had warmed up and then cooled down again, until it brought in one last hurrah from winter.

Hyakkimaru had ventured outside in search of creatures to catch, but was disappointed to find none. Still, he liked the feeling of the weather that day and so it wasn't a total loss.

The boy joined him and started rolling a ball of the cold stuff through the yard. Hyakkimaru watched and then helped him when it got too big to push easily. When the boy stopped, it nearly reached their waists. Hyakkimaru was curious as to what he was doing, even more so when the boy rolled a second, smaller one and put it on top of the first. He rolled one more, and then he started gathering things from the ground. Hyakkimaru did the same and brought him dirt, leaves, grass, rocks, twigs, everything he could find, confused but eager to see what this was all building to.

The boy took some of the stuff he'd collected and put them on the thing they'd made. His voice sounded excited as he took Hyakkimaru's hand and guided it over their creation. He felt several rocks, and wondered why they were arranged the way they were. But then he gasped in delight when he realized they made a face. He felt the eyes, nose, and mouth, and then touched his own, and then the boy's. He couldn't believe they had made something that looked like them.

He started to reach down to gather more of the cold stuff, he wanted to make another. But he was surprised to feel something cold hit him in the back of the neck. He turned to see the boy with his arm reared back, ready to throw more of it at him. Hyakkimaru had never played this game before but was eager to try. Two new games in one day? He could hardly contain himself. He reached down and grabbed a handful of the stuff and threw it. He accidentally hit the boy in the face with it and worried he had hurt him, but fortunately the boy seemed unfazed.

The two boys chased each other and continued throwing the stuff at each other. Hyakkimaru had never had this much fun before, it was absolutely thrilling. He heard the boy making an odd sound, one he had heard him and the man make before but was still confusing to him. It was then that he realized that although it was strange, it was a sound of joy. His own mouth was open and he was breathing in a way he never had before; he didn't know it, but he was silently laughing right along with the boy.

The boy eventually collapsed in the snow on his back. Exhausted but not wanting the fun to end, Hyakkimaru fell on top of him and then rolled over, lying next to him. As he was trying to catch his breath and wondering what game they would play next, the boy took his hand and started making shapes in it. Hyakkimaru almost wrenched his hand away, irritated that he would ruin such a good day with this. But then everything changed.

The boy was making the same shapes again and again. And as he made them, he put the cold stuff in Hyakkimaru's hand and formed the shapes around it. But why? He had asked himself this many times, but this time the answer slowly came to him.

The shapes did mean something, there was a reason the boy was making them. And not just the shapes themselves, but the order in which he made them. It wasn't random, it was intentional. The shapes stood for the thing itself. Hyakkimaru held his breath as he copied the shapes with his fingers, the pieces finally clicking into place in his mind.

Snow. This stuff around them was called snow. He had something to call it for the very first time. He had always wondered but never thought he would get an answer, and he had been fine with that. But now that the door had been cracked open a little, he wanted to kick it down and learn the names of everything else. Was there a name for everything? He had to find out.

He grabbed more snow and formed the shapes again, and then he placed his hand on the boy's head, wanting to be sure he was doing it right. The boy nodded vigorously, his voice sounding incredulous and overjoyed, and it filled him with unbridled excitement.

He leapt up and pulled the boy to his feet. He had to know more, but where to start? He grabbed at his coat and then grabbed the boy's hand. The boy formed the shapes for it, and Hyakkimaru copied him before dragging him to the things growing around the hut. The boy formed the shapes for grass, stone, and tree. He became so full of joy over each new word that he felt nearly hysterical, it was overwhelming. He then pulled him to the house, and he banged on the door until the boy gave him the name for it. He struggled to form the shapes as his hands were shaking, but he wasn't about to let that stop him. He was finally beginning to understand the world around him, it was open to him for the very first time.

He had been given the key to escape his mental prison, he was finally free.

It was all Tahomaru could do to keep up with him, Hyakkimaru was nearly pulling his arm out of its socket. He led him through the house, grabbing anything and everything he could find and asking for the name of the object. He would sign it as quickly as he could and Hyakkimaru would follow suit, and then he would yank him on to the next thing.

"Blanket. Yes, very good! Firewood. That's it! Teapot. Yes, yes, Hyakkimaru! You're doing it! You're incredible!"

Tahomaru was having trouble processing this, it had happened so quickly. One moment he was trying to reach him again but expecting failure, the next Hyakkimaru's face was lit up with wonder and amazement as he finally began to understand. They had been doing this for so long with no end in sight, and their efforts were finally paying off. He had finally succeeded, but he couldn't fully appreciate it yet as it was so startling that he was feeling lightheaded.

Jukai had been out cutting firewood but returned while they were still racing through the hut. "Would you boys mind helping me with- what on earth is going on?"

At the sound of Jukai's voice, Hyakkimaru froze for a second and then dashed over to him. He took his hand and looked up at him expectantly.

"He got it!" Tahomaru breathlessly exclaimed. "He understands now, he can sign!"

Jukai looked down at him, his eyes brimming with tears. "I'm so proud of you, my son. I knew you could do it."

Hyakkimaru rubbed his chin with one hand and pointed to him with the other, looking impatient. He took his hand again, and Jukai slowly signed papa into his palm. Hyakkimaru formed the letters over and over, and then hugged him like he hadn't seen him in ages.

After a long moment, he pulled back and patted his own chest excitedly and repeatedly. He took his hand again, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. As he spelled it for him, Jukai said, "Hyakkimaru. Your name is Hyakkimaru."

He spelled his own name again and again and then wrapped his arms around himself, beaming.

He then walked back to Tahomaru. He placed one hand against the other and formed letters into it, and then he pointed to him. Tahomaru took his hand and shakily signed the letters for his name. Hyakkimaru repeated them, and then he took his face in both hands and rubbed his forehead against his. That wasn't enough for him though, he then wrapped his arms around him and embraced Tahomaru for the first time. He was taken aback by this, but after a few seconds, he tightly hugged him back as his eyes stung with tears.

"You're welcome, Hyakkimaru. It was my pleasure."

Hyakkimaru let him go, but as he did, his face fell. He turned back to Jukai and took his hand while tugging at his hair. Jukai formed the letters for mama, and he started signing them over and over. He went to the window and signed her name while continuously tugging at his hair, hoping to bring her home and speak with her for the first time.