The days passed by peacefully, akin to the serene undulation of a river; each synonymous to the other.

Living with Himejima and the other children opened Kaigaku's eyes to the life without fearing nor pillaging. He was able to wander around and play without a care for the world, and go home to a family, with food and a clean change of clothes waiting for him. Such a life was rather refreshing to him. But it felt empty.

"Come join us, Kaigaku," called Isshiki, a distance away. A younger child, Tamaki, was clinging onto him.

Kaigaku regarded Isshiki from the shrine entrance. "What's going on?"

Tamaki ran up the shrine steps nimbly. Pulling at Kaigaku's clothes, he said, "Come on, we're going to a river. It's going to be fun!"

Just then, a small roll fell out of Kaigaku's sleeves. In a flash, he pushed Tamaki away as he hid the roll in his waistband. Tamaki stared in astonishment. Isshiki managed to catch a glimpse of the roll. 'How did a child like him manage to gather up so much money in such a short time? What for, at any rate?' he mused.

He decided to see nothing. Putting on a smile, he retried. "Well, do you want to come along?"

Playing safe, Kaigaku agreed to go along.

-

Stripping their clothes off, Isshiki and Tamaki leapt into the water. The cool water was soothing to the touch.

"Don't worry, Kaigaku, it's not too cold," reassured Isshiki.

Hesitant, Kaigaku undressed slowly. Stepping into the water, he immediately felt at ease. Unlike the dirty water he used to bathe in, nor the water from the shrine well, this was leagues more refreshing and cleansing. A small shoal of fish passing by stood as proof.

"Watch this, Kaigaku," whispered Isshiki as he gestured a finger to his mouth.

Without warning, he sprang into the deeper region of the river. Moments later, the boy resurfaced, clutching a fish. Pride washed all over his face as he presented his prize to Kaigaku.

"Yay! Fish for dinner!" cheered Tamaki.

Kaigaku stared in awe. "You've gotta teach me how to do it,"

Kaigatku managed to catch some fish under Isshiki's tutelage. It was rather difficult, as he often lost patience and lashed out at the water. "Now, Kaigaku, getting angry won't help you catch the fish," warned Isshiki.

"What's all this commotion?" asked a voice.

Two girls emerged from the path leading to the river, toting baskets filled with vegetables.

"Hey, Saki, Sayo," greeted Isshiki. "I was just showing Kaigaku how to catch fish. We caught enough for everyone, too,"

"Fish," echoed Tamaki.

"That's great! We haven't had fish in a while," replied Saki as she found a seat on a boulder. Sayo followed suit.

The children fished till dusk. "It's getting dark already. Time for us to head home," announced Isshiki. "We still have to cook the fish, after all,"

The boys dried themselves up before heading home along with the girls. Himejima was just lighting up the wisteria incense when the children arrived. He was glad to hear that Kaigaku was fitting in so well with the others.

-

"Children, we're not receiving as many donations from the temple recently," announced Himejima when their meal commenced. "I'm afraid we'll have to cut down on our expenses,"

Isshiki blanched. Could the roll of money be a result of theft? They knew nothing of Kaigaku's upbringing, since he was rather secretive about it. He was disgusted at himself for having such notions about a sibling, but the thought niggled at his mind for quite some time. Kaigaku had always vehemently refused whenever the they invited him to the village, so Isshiki concluded that the money couldn't have come from there. Thus, the only other place he could've gotten money from was the temple. He stole a glance at Kaigaku, who showed no shadow of guilt as he shovelled rice into his mouth.

Isshiki wondered if he should tell Himejima. As the eldest child, he felt inclined to keep the children's behaviour in check. He eventually sought Saki's advice, and they agreed to keep an eye on Kaigaku.

-

For the next few days, the two noticed that Kaigaku would vanish on certain times of the day. They tailed him on a cloudy afternoon, and sure enough, Kaigaku led them to the temple. At this time, the temple was mostly vacant, as the monks were reciting their daily prayers in the main room. The pair watched as Kaigaku approached the unguarded donations box. Kaigaku had fashioned a piece of metal to pick the lock. When he was sure that the coast was clear, he began removing the money, from the box, rolling them neatly.

Saki stifled a gasp. "Should we tell Himejima-san about this?"

"I guess we should ask about his motives first, before anything," whispered Isshiki. "We've seen enough. Let's go back before the other children worry about us,"

As the children laid out the bedding before retiring into the night, Isshiki and Saki approached Kaigaku.

"Kaigaku, if you don't mind us asking, why did you steal the temple's donation money?" asked Isshiki.

Kaigaku clenched his jaw. "Do you have proof about that?"

"When Tamaki tugged at your shirt a few days ago, didn't a roll of money fall out?"

"And, I'm sorry to say this, Kaigaku, but we followed you today. We saw you pick the lock and take the money from the donations box in the temple," added Saki, distressed.

Exasperation riddled Kaigaku's expression. "Alright, you've found me out. What are you going to do about it? Snitch to Himejima and have me kicked out?" he growled.

"We're not here to teach you a lesson. It's just that we don't have much to get by, but if you have anything you need, you can just tell us. You don't have to resort to stealing," replied Saki, in hopes of deescalating the situation.

"Yeah, we're not going to tell Himejima-san. You should apologise and return the money, okay? We know you're a good kid, after all," assured Isshiki. "Get some sleep, okay? Good night,"

As the pair left, Kaigaku seethed in anger. He supposed it was his own negligence that led to his downfall. He was not sure if the children would report him to Himejima, and this has caused him to be in a pinch. He had planned to run away as soon as he had collected enough money, but the cat was already out of the bag and he cannot bear to wait anymore. He made up his mind to run on the next day.