Cute kid coming up. I loved writing this chapter; please excuse the mild angsting.
Chapter 5: Breaking and Mending
"More bean paste?" the headman offered.
The monk shook his head. "I couldn't eat another bite. Thank you for your hospitality."
"You and your friend saved many lives today," the headman said. "I wish we were able to properly thank you both."
"To be honest, we met only a few days ago. I still don't understand Koichira at all."
The headman chuckled. "It is a relief to know that even the holy monks do not understand women. Some things are still mysteries to the gods themselves."
There was a soft step on the porch, then the screen slid aside with a hiss. Koichira stood in the door, silhouetted against the moonlit yard like a delicate shadow puppet. She stepped inside the circle of light cast by the lamps, destroying the effect.
"Koichira-dono, you are injured," the headman exclaimed.
"Hmm?" The fire demon looked down at her arms and legs, which were covered with scratches and mud smudges. A deep cut on her right cheek dripped blood down to the corner of her mouth; she could taste it. Her hands were stained with blood as well, but she couldn't remember how they had gotten that way.
"Sit down," the headman was urging her, "Please, sit and eat." He forced a bowl and chopsticks on her before adding hesitantly, "If there is anything we did to offend you . . ."
Koichira said, "No, Ojiisama. I was simply . . . frightened . . . by Houshi-sama's power." She poked at the food with the chopsticks. "His healing powers have a different effect on demons."
Takayuki blanched. "I hurt you?"
She continued to stare at her bowl. "Something like that." She set the bowl down and stood abruptly. "I only came to tell you that I'm going."
"Wait!" Takayuki grabbed her ankle; the fire demon stood as still as a statue. "I need your help."
Koichira was confused, but felt a flicker of hope. "You need me?"
"There's a boy in this village who broke his leg two seasons ago. It wasn't set properly, and it healed wrong. He will limp for the rest of his life if the bone isn't broken and reset correctly." The monk spoke quickly, trying to win her over with the sheer force of the words. "I haven't the strength to break the bone in exactly the right place, but you can do it."
Koichira hesitated, fearful, then bowed her head. "I'll stay till the morning. Then I must leave." She walked outside and lay down on the porch.
The headman protested, "I have fine mattresses and blankets in here . . ."
"Let her be," the young monk counseled. "She's a wild creature. However, if I might have a mattress . . ."
"It would honor me," the headman assured him.
Koichira knelt beside the boy. "What is your name?" she asked.
"Tsuruoka Yota," he answered, then added proudly, "I'm nine years old."
"Nine?" Koichira exclaimed, pretending to be surprised. "Surely not. You look much older than that." The boy beamed at the rare compliment. "Yota-kun, the headman says you have trouble walking on your right leg."
His face fell. "It hurts. I'm not supposed to complain, though." He looked up and said, "You're going to heal it, right? My mom said you were going to make it all better."
"Actually, I can't heal your leg, Yota-kun. I'm sorry. What I'm here to do is break it." Koichira paused to let her words sink in. "Afterwards, Takayuki will heal it correctly. It'll be like it was before you broke it two seasons ago."
The child was wide-eyed. "Is it going to hurt?" Koichira nodded solemnly. "A lot?" She nodded again. Yota gulped.
Yota's mother scolded, "You're scaring the boy. Stop it."
Koichira shrugged. "He's a big boy. He deserves to know the truth." She said to the boy, "It will hurt a lot for a minute, then Takayuki will make it all better."
Yota considered this carefully. "And it won't hurt when I walk?"
Koichira said, "Yes. You'll be able to walk without pain, and you'll even be able to run."
The boy's eyes shone. "Run? You promise?"
"I promise."
He bit his lip, thinking. Then he said, "I want you to do it. Break my leg and heal it right."
Koichira reached for his leg, but Yota jerked it away. "Wait! I'm not ready yet."
"Neither am I, Yota-kun. Just let me examine it first, OK? I'll tell you when it's going to hurt."
"OK." The boy let Koichira examine his shin. She found the place where it had broken originally; there was a bump on the side of his leg and the angle of the bone changed.
"Are you ready? I'm going to count to three, then break it. One--"
"Stop! Wait." Koichira watched him patiently. "OK," he said, "do it now."
"One, two--"
"No no no! Don't." Koichira waited. "Now you can do it, I guess."
Koichira nodded. "Now!" She snapped the bone as if it was a chicken's drumstick. Yota screamed and howled. Ignoring the child's pain, Koichira carefully set the rebroken bone. "Takayuki."
The monk laid healing hands in the leg, and Yota quieted instantly. "It doesn't hurt anymore!"
Koichira said, "Didn't I promise you, kid? One minute of pain, and then you'll be able to run again." She looked him seriously in the eye. "I'm proud of you, Yota-kun. You were very brave."
The boy looked ashamed. "I cried."
"That's not what's important," Koichira assured him. "Your decision was what mattered."
"Thank you, Koichira-dono."
"Please don't call me that." She made a face. "It makes me feel so old."
"Oh. Then can I call you Onee-san?"
Koichira smiled. "I'd like that, Yota-kun. I'm sorry, but I have to leave now." She walked to the door.
"Where are you going, 'Nee-san?"
"I don't know. East, probably."
"Will you ever come back?"
"We'll see." She walked out of the village, but was stopped on its outskirts by the headman.
"Koichira-dono, why are you going?"
"I don't belong here, Ojiisama. A sword used to plow the ground becomes dull. I need to stay hard and sharp to survive; living here in this peace would make me soft."
"Child, it is also true that a sword that is never sheathed is soon chipped or broken. You can't fight against the whole world." He saw that his words had little effect, so he changed tactics. "The monk needs your help. Won't you stay?"
"He . . . he's dying," she whispered.
"I know. Takayuki-san told me several years ago."
"How can I stay and watch someone I love die?" Koichira winced; she had said far more than she wanted to.
The old man watched her sadly. "The question you should be asking is, how can I abandon someone who cared for me?" The fire demon looked away guiltily, but remained resolute. "Goodbye then, child. I pray that you find your sheath." The headman bowed and went inside his house.