"Naga, run!"
"Big sis!"
"Listen to me, run and don't look back!" The older girl shoved her sister forward. "If they catch you, they'll eat you, so run and hide in the trees until it's dark…then go back to mom and dad, ok!?"
She watched on as the small body darted away, as she turned to see the captors upon her. She took off herself, across the barren strip of stumps. Their footsteps thundered louder and louder, until she tripped. And then, and then-
"Don't push yourself."
Gyomei's head gently tapped against the tree trunk.
"This is really hard, isn't it?"
"Ah." I hadn't noticed it, but my fingers started to bleed as they dug against shards of bark.
"I wanted to tell my side of the story. I really did! But now I can't, it makes me feel icky and prickly all over!"
"A terrible thing happened. You don't have to relive it again to explain yourself." The older trainee kept his face away from his companion. "You're still just a child, after all."
"I'm not that much of a child! I can drive a diesel bike. If I pass this exam, I'll even be able to make my own living and send money back to my parents."
"Besides, you're not much more of an adult than me."
"You'll know that's false when you get older." A smile peeked through his lips. I couldn't see it back then, but I could tell by his voice. At times it floated like a white cloud.
I couldn't get mad at what he said. I guess someone like him who can't see sees people better than those who can. Everyone here was so much older, bigger, and they all knew better. What's going to happen to me once I become a slayer? Will I know where to go like everyone else? When could I go home? Could I even find home?
"...If it doesn't bother you, I will let you know that some of my children used to react the same way to physical touch."
Gyomei interrupted my thoughts.
Children…?
It's definitely different being a few years older.
"Not all of them had good experiences with people, so when you did that back then, I understood." He leaned against the trunk, huffing uneasily. "I just….don't want to hurt you like that again."
"Yeah…I'm not really a huge fan of getting poked or grabbed or anything of the sort. Walking with a few meters between us would also be good."
"You have my word. If I break it, I will swallow a bundle of needles."
"...your kids, are they yours?"
He laughed slightly at this statement. I don't know if I could see through the darkness enough, but he even seemed to tremble a bit.
"What do you mean? People don't possess children."
"I mean, did you get some lady knocked up and she popped them out? I thought Buddhist monks didn't marry."
"Oh. Certainly not in that way." He continued to sit as still as a poised crane by the base of the tree. I couldn't tell completely, but he seemed to be in a joking mood.
"Did you try to become a slayer because you want to protect them?"
Gyomei's position didn't change. But I don't think he wanted to joke anymore.
A million possibilities flashed through my mind, all leading to the most logical conclusion. I had hurt him as he had done to me. An eye for an eye of the heart.
In a sense, I don't know why, but the genuineness of his silence relieved me.
During the next hour, he only said one thing.
"Mirai, she had long hair that would rustle like yours."
I wanted to tell him back that he was as funny as my dad. I ended up sleeping against the tree.
Gyomei never moved from the base of the tree. I don't think he even went to sleep (his eyes never closed and I could hear his breathing stay the same, up until midday). I never told him the whole story until much later, but it was like he was on guard. The grip on his blade tightened with a clank (that I did hear).
I wanted to tell him to not worry, that no one could get me here anyways.
But, I don't think I had ever dreamed so well in a year.
