Seventeen

Understanding

Isamu paced nervously around the southern gate, his only company being the stares of some elders currently on break from overseeing a construction which had been disrupted by a sudden downpour. When they had left Kamakessai to go avenge the Twenty-First Company a week ago, it had only taken three days to get to the area where the battle would take place. It would only take a few hours to make it to that weird rock nest thing from there, so by all accounts, the brigade should have returned by now. Every hour his company took in returning, the more Isamu grew anxious.

Perhaps he was just being paranoid, having left with his runner squad to deliver a message for the logistic officers to inform Strategic Command of the fortress that had been constructed by nature. Isamu regretted not staying long enough to witness what became of his company after, wondering if they somehow were ambushed by a second tribe or the enemies, or they were fighting released sharks that had hidden in the depths of the rock formation, or any number of likely scenarios that could kill his friends off.

"Banner spotted." One of Isamu's fellow messengers said from his perch above the gate, Isamu snapping out of his inner world filled with regret. Moving his head to where the voice originated from, Isamu shouted back to ask if it was their brigade. After getting confirmation that it was indeed their brigade, Isamu quickly unbarred the gate, grunting with much effort as he moved the wooden log out of the way, and pushed the doors open.

It would take another twenty minutes for the brigade to actually get to the gate, but that didn't matter to Isamu. Before he could even say a word to his general, Range was already giving him new orders, telling him to fetch Kaji and meet with them at the hall. After a brief jog through the rain and spending nearly half an hour trying to coax the old man to get outside of his adopted home, Isamu was able to finally report that he had completed his orders.

"I'm aware. Tsuneo and Tomone have said as much." Range said as soon as he finished his report, Isamu feeling himself deflate. "Kaji, come look at these chests we've looted."

"I got pulled out of bed to look at wood? What the fuck happened to that one?" Kaji of the River asked, pointing to one that was more or less held together by rope.

"Sir, if I may ask, what took you all so long?" Isamu asked, getting a brief look of confusion from his general.

"Oh. We found out why our scaly nemesis were so dead set on returning to their home. Apparently, it was spawning season for them, and they were trying to protect their eggs." Range calmly informed his underling.

"Their… eggs? Like… a bird?" Isamu asked, confused.

"No, no. Think of like, a pile of small balls in a submerged pool. That was what was under their big pile of rocks they called a home. They took a number of them with them into the sea, but we still had to destroy the remainder. It took us a couple hours to figure out how that would be accomplished, and boy, let me tell you about messes."

"Could ya'… not?" Kaji asked, keeping a hand on his lower back as he squatted beside the metal lock on one of the chests. "I've discovered why ya' can't get these things open."

"Why's that Kaji?" Range asked, the containers much more important than filling in an Inkling who wasn't at a generation genocide.

"They've got a lock on them." Kaji deduced.

"Thanks… Kaji. I didn't know that. Maybe you should… I don't know, do something about that." Range sarcastically ordered, getting the elder to bark a laugh before leaving for one of the side rooms in the hall.

"So, did anything else happen while I was away?" Isamu asked, his general heading to one of the chairs where he sat during leadership meetings.

"Not really. We're just tired." Range yawned, "Tomorrow will be a day of rest for everyone, unless we get… I dunno', besieged or something. So go do whatever you want for now."

Isamu watched Range lean back in his chair and close his eyes, apparently content to take a nap while Kaji worked on opening the six chests he had brought from the stone stronghold. Isamu didn't want to be a pest, but he hesitated anyways, trying to get the courage to speak.

"Yes, Isamu?" Range suddenly asked, the sounds of him not leaving being quite clear.

"Have… have you found a platoon willing to take me? I don't mean to sound callous, but I know we took losses in our shield wall."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Don't worry, kid. I'll work you in somewhere." Range promised while putting his legs on the chair's arm in attempt to get comfortable.

"Thank you, Range. Good... night." Isamu said, performing a small bow despite his general not even having his eyes open.

Deciding not to take the front door, Isamu headed to the side exit and gently closed the sliding door, turning just in time for someone to crash into him and send him to the floor. Briefly, he thought Ryuu or Aina was trying to tackle him, but as he looked up to the one who he collided with, he saw it was none other than Ran.

"Ran, hello. Are you okay? I mean, you're okay, obviously, since you didn't drop to the ground like I did. I'm fine by the way. But, I mean, are you alright?" Isamu asked, nervously getting to his feet as the girl stared him down, wondering if he had insulted her honor and was about to get pressed into a duel. "Sorry, by the way. For just stepping out like that. I wasn't really paying attention, and Range was trying to sleep, so I was watching the door more than the walk way."

"You like Miki, yes?" Ran suddenly blurted out, Isamu feeling his eyes widen out of surprise and concern. In all of his time near the girl, he had never once heard her speak to him, or anyone, aloud.

"I- I mean… um…" Isamu filibustered, trying to buy enough time to sort his thoughts. Questions as to why she was speaking to him, and to how she knew his secret absorbed his brain capacity, his heart feeling like it was about to explode. His gaze shifted dramatically, eventually focusing on the small waterfall that was forming at the corner of the roof, hitting the dirt loudly.

"Yes? Ryuu and Aina say you do. I hope you do." Ran said, her words confusing him more.

"W-why? Is everything alright?" Isamu asked, now beginning to grow concerned.

"She scares me, greatly." Ran explained, Isamu finding her words hard to believe. Isamu had seen Ran decapitate a monitor mount's head clean off, and knew that one had to be incredibly brave to just get near one of those giant lizards.

"I… I don't know what you mean, Ran. Could you be a bit more descriptive?"

"She doesn't realize she cries anymore, in her sleep. All she wants to do is fight, and get hurt. Her words grow distant, and we don't know what to do. Range says she's fine, but she's not!" The silent, emotionless killer almost cried, making Isamu realize Ran wasn't anything at all like how he had portrayed her in his mind. After looking to see if anyone was eavesdropping on their conversation, Isamu faced the bodyguard, realizing he was considerably taller than her, which he hadn't noticed before.

"What do you want me to do? Or, how can I help?"

"Give her..." Ran started, her eyes flashing downwards before returning to face him. As she looked like she was about to finish her sentence, Ran turned from him covering her face in embarrassment.

"What? Ran? What's wrong now?"

"I don't want to say."

"Say what? Is someone fucking with me right now?" Isamu asked, trying to see if anyone was hiding behind the corner watching this conversation.

"That! Do that to her!"

"What." Isamu stated, more than asked. At least now he knew he was being messed with by someone, using Ran as a proxy. Hell, knowing how his general was a prankster occasionally, it was probably Range who put his bodyguard up to this.

"I'm serious! Girls act calmer when-"

"Okay. I'm done. Bye." Isamu said, about to move past the girl, who quickly halted him by taking his wrist. Isamu was about protest that simply grabbing him wouldn't stop him, when he was suddenly face first into the wooden floorboards, pain flaring in his wrist, leg, back and chest. He could feel Ran pressing his shoulder down while bringing his wrist as far up to his head as it would go, all while having her press her entire weight on her knee, which was on the small of his back. Wanting to yell in agony, Isamu gritted his teeth as he struggled to free himself.

"You can't run, and I'm right! Hana acts calmer with Range. Aina calms herself near Ryuu! Be a man, make Miki your woman!" Ran ordered, Isamu noticing that her words were kind of strange, as if she had an accent or a vocal disability. Strange were the thoughts that went through his mind as he struggled, Isamu realized.

"Ran, get the fuck off me! We're not even thirty feet from our leader! I'm surprised he hasn't come out and helped me even though – Will you stop?! - I'M YELLING FOR HELP!" Isamu shouted as he panicked, wondering why he couldn't get the smaller, lighter girl off him. "Technique be damned, how much do you weigh?!"

"Don't be rude!" Ran ordered, slapping him in the back of the head, hard. "I can help you make her your woman, you know."

Despite Ran continuously moving her bodyweight around so he couldn't get up, Isamu couldn't help but halt his resistance at the words of aid. Briefly, he stopped struggling to free himself from the almost painful hold he was in, turning his head to meet Ran's eyes.

"What do you mean, help?" Isamu asked.

"I'll hold her down and you-" Ran started instantly, getting interrupted as Isamu was able to take her by surprise and get a leg under himself, shouting over her after hearing the start of her suggestion.

"NOT LISTENING! HELP! SOMEONE!" Isamu shouted, struggling to get to his feet before Ran took him down again.

"Ran… what the fuck are you doing?" Range's voice clearly spoke, Isamu's pleas for help finally reaching his ears.

"Making Isamu a man!" Ran declared, Isamu fairly certain she didn't know what she was saying. Before Isamu could even open his mouth to say something, Ran had allowed him to stand vertically, just to wrap her arm around his neck in another submission hold.

"Oh. Okay. Well, don't do that here. Go to… your room or something. Tell Kazue or Hachirou if you need like… a rope."

"Wait! WAIT! WHAT?!" Isamu was able to yelp before having his air supply suddenly vanish.

"Honestly didn't think you were interested in boys, Ran. Good for you. I'm happy for you both." Range casually remarked as Isamu tried to pull Ran's iron forearm from his throat.

"Not for me! For Miki!" Ran explained without any passion, pulling Isamu back towards a part of the hall he hadn't been to.

"Wait, what? I don't know what sort of game you're playing, but-"

"Don't worry! Situation is handled!" Ran interjected as Isamu's vision became blurry, and legs began to fail him. As his eyes began to roll to the back of his head, and air refused to fill his lungs, Isamu was fairly certain he was going to die before he would even get a chance to even speak with Miki, let alone anything else.


"What the hell is this?" Etsuko asked, unsure she wanted to go into such a dingy house. The sun had long set, and she had managed to pilfer a bottle of rice wine she was planning to start and finish that was currently sitting in her room, unguarded. She glanced at their company's resident drunk Emi, already a few drinks in judging by how much she was stumbling about. Etsuko doubted if the barely peer even knew where she was heading. "This looks sketchy as hell, Emi."

"Yeah, yeah. We all said that at first. But for a few more days, it's ours! Ain't that great?" Emi asked, throwing an arm over her sore shoulders. Etsuko could smell the sweet scent of ethanol signaling that Emi could still be carrying one of the harder, and rarer drinks somewhere on her person. Tempted by such a prize, Etsuko aided Emi to the door of the run down building, not expecting the door to be locked. "Ya' gotta' knock, girl."

Etsuko watched Emi knock, slowly banging her fist against the door's frame in some pattern. Eventually, Etsuko was met by the face of another female platoon leader, a somewhat surprised look on the harquebusier.

"Etsuko?" Megumi asked, perhaps not realizing she looked like she was ready to throw down in a moment's notice.

"Meggy!" Emi cheered, releasing her grip on Etsuko and falling into the larger woman's cleavage as she hugged her fellow platoon leader. "Was' good?"

"Nothing much, nothing much." Megumi answered, more or less dragging the girl inside. "Come on in, Etsuko. I don't know how much she's told you, so you're going to want to fill me in."

"I'm so sorry." Emi suddenly cried, Etsuko closing the door behind as she followed the large female carrying a sobbing drunk. "I'm sorry nothing's good for you."

"I hear Emi crying! I win!" Someone hidden in a side room called, Etsuko still trying to gather her bearings as she was told to lock the door and remove her footwear. Noticing that three harquebuses were balancing haphazardly over a crossbow, Emi separated her weapon a bit away from the other guest's weapons, guessing it would be impolite to bring more than a sidearm into… wherever she was being led towards. Passing a few small hallways that led into a kitchen and a closed lavatory, Etsuko couldn't help but notice how all the windows had been boarded up and covered, as if to keep all the light inside. In hindsight, Etsuko only remembered seeing smoke come from the chimney as the only signs there were life in the building.

As Etsuko turned into the last room, four feminine voices cheered their names as they entered. Etsuko was somewhat surprised that all of the female platoon leaders greeted her, Natsumi included. Doing a quick head count, every female platoon leader of the Tenth, aside from Hana, was sitting either around a small table, or next to the fireplaces napping.

"What is this?" Etsuko asked, confused as she was handed a small ceramic bottle and gestured to take a seat around a table where cards were being issued.

"Right, Emi said she's been meaning to grab you for a while now, but you were apparently missing during Arashi Week, which means she was with Naoki." Megumi explained, still not answering the question.

"Basically," Yua started, apparently not liking the hand she had been dealt, judging by the scowl she had while looking at her cards. "We all hang out once a week, play games, get drunk and gossip. All that good stuff."

Etsuko didn't even try to determine what was in the bottle before taking a swig, knowing she was going to need many more of these bottles to last the night. As she moved the bottle from her lips, Etsuko nodded to the group staring at her, save for Saki who was sleeping, before speaking. "Girl's night, huh? Alright. What're we playing?"

"Well, we were playing liar, but now that Emi's here, we can't." Miyu stated, slapping her cards on the table, as she turned, expecting something from the girl who had managed to halt her tears.

"I'm not a liar!" Emi cried, openly sobbing again as Megumi patted the girl several times on the back.

"I… see." Etsuko said, understanding to an extent.

"Y'know, I've never seen you drunk, Etsuko." Yua pointed out with a playful smirk on her lips.

"Well, I'll have you know I'm not a sad drunk." Etsuko laughed drily, getting a few chuckles at the expense of the one currently crying.

"That's good." Umeko quietly commented, playing aimlessly with the deck of cards before her.

"So why's Saki out already?" Etsuko asked, trying to get comfortable on the floor as Yua scooted towards her.

"She's a light weight." Natsumi simply stated.

"It makes sense. She's our baby girl after all." Miyu added, glancing to the spear squid, knocked out against the wall.

"Isn't she nineteen? Isn't it weird that our youngest is nineteen, while the guy's is seventeen?" Megumi asked, plopping down after disposing of Emi on a cushion nearby.

"Yeah, they got some real babies on their side." Miyu agreed, Etsuko somewhat surprised how peaceful she was being towards her fellow harquebusier. From all the rumors she had heard, it had sounded like Miyu and Megumi were rivals, and would constantly fight during drills.

"You think there's something with that?" Natsumi asked, apparently unchanged in this cozy environment, and ready to start some dramatic event.

"I dunno', probably." Yua shrugged, inhaling sharply and making Etsuko feel out of place.

"Yua, don't scare Etsuko off." Umeko warned, getting a long 'yes ma'am' from the girl, as if she enjoyed being chastised. "And Range splits the platoon leaders equally by gender, or tries to at least. It just so happens the guys die more than us girls, so the ones that replace them are younger."

"Are you ever going to get over Souta?" Saki suddenly said, apparently awake enough to bluntly destroy the silence that Umeko had almost casted to those in the room.

"What?" Umeko asked, turning.

"It's not like you two were in love. He liked that one logistic officer, remember?" Saki calmly stated, rubbing her eyes as she went full blast against the older woman. Hell, even though Etsuko rarely spoke with Umeko, even she knew not to bring up Souta's name carelessly.

"Shut up, Saki. Don't-" Yua started, getting interrupted by the same girl.

"Yeah, yeah. I've heard it before. Look, I get that you two were friends or whatever, but it's been months. He died honorably, which is more than most Inklings get. Be happy for him, if nothing else."

"Happy?" Etsuko asked, confused at the younger girl's language.

"Yep. He got to see and speak to the one he loved the most before he died. How many of us will get that chance?" Saki asked, her gloomy words being… optimistic, to an extent.

"Stop talking about death! Sheesh! You people don't even know how to live!" Emi yelled, but her anger was muffled by the cushion her face laid on.

"Yeah?" Miyu and Megumi asked in almost synchronization, laughing as their heads shifted to one another.

"Yeah! How many of you even have cool lovers?" Emi asked, apparently ready to hit all sorts of sore spots so she could brag about the eldest platoon leader in their company. "I have the coolest."

"Don't even start on Naoki. Besides, you need to do something about Rafu already." Megumi pointed out, crawling over to the girl she herself had put down, and quickly rubbing her fist against the girl's scalp.

"It's harmless!" Emi quickly pleaded, pushing the arms of the larger girl away. "He knows what he's getting into."

"You're leading him on." Umeko chastised.

"What's happened?" Etsuko asked Yua, who was apparently intending to get chummy with her.

"You know the new harquebus guy? Emi's trying to seduce him and make Naoki and him fight over her." Yua explained.

"Wow. What a bitch." Etsuko loudly stated, staring at the smug reaction of the drunk girl.

"Bitch I may be! But I'll have you know that I am no two timer! This is just to strengthen my love between me and Naoki, so he eventually asks Range to marry us."

"Bitch." Saki muttered quickly, Etsuko joining in with the other six girls as they copied her insult. As they all laughed together at Emi's expense, Etsuko couldn't help but feel as if a small weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Even though it had only been a few minutes of casual conversation and banter, Etsuko felt more relaxed than she had in months.

"What do you even get from marriage?" Etsuko asked, remembering from when that question had been relevant to her, and how it had been unanswered. "Isn't it like, a tradition from when we were just a big tribe?"

"Well, all of our traditions are from when we were a big tribe, dummy." Yua stated, poking her in the side of the head with a finger.

"So what's it do?" Etsuko asked, actually curious.

"Um…" Emi started, not having the words to describe something she wanted.

"It means the logistic squids can't separate you two. After all, you two actually have to be near to each other if you're gonna' pump out a kid." Umeko stated dispassionately.

"Umeko the romantic, everybody." Megumi started clapping, getting the other girls to lightly cheer and applaud with her.

"It's better than just making babies, Umeko." Natsumi vehemently spat, before immediately softening her tone. "It's binding you two together, forever! A chain of love, that not even Strategic Command can break! It's why we fight in the first place, right?"

Etsuko was just being surprised over and over, it seemed. Not once had she considered Natsumi a romantic, or anything more than a stalker.

"Why are you even here?" Saki asked, her banter not regulated to just one of the older females it seemed. "Don't you have to like… sneak into Tae's room and… sniff his feet or something? Fuckin... freak."

Etsuko couldn't help but laugh loudly, feeling the burning sensation of alcohol leave her mouth from her nose. As she felt the stares of the room fix themselves to her, Etsuko laughed longer and harder, taking a breath to gauge Natsumi's reaction, before laughing again. "You're not wrong, Saki. You are not wrong."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Natsumi asked, even more concerned as the rest of the room burst into laughter.

"Aren't Tae and Range a thing?" Yua asked, apparently wanting to fantasize.

"No, no. Taiki and Range are." Miyu chimed in, spreading more ridiculousness.

"I heard that Tae, Taiki, Yuuma and Range are super close, if you catch my drift." Emi added, Etsuko slowly understanding the joke.

"I heard that Tae, Taiki, Yuuma, Naoki, Rafu and Range were all together, right now." Etsuko said, laughing to herself at the idea.

"I was under the assumption that Tae, Taiki, Yuuma, Naoki, Rafu, Shoji, Mitsuru, Katashi, and uh…" Megumi started, getting resounding applause as she forgot more male names to add to the game.

"You've overstepped your mental bounds, Megumi." Saki chimed in, Etsuko believe Saki was just a mean, but funny, drunk.

"Shut up! Uh! UH! Fuck! What's his horn blower's name?" Megumi asked having trouble remembering.

"It's Hachirou." Hana informed the platoon leader, Etsuko spitting her drink out as she felt her heart jump into her throat. Etsuko turned to see if Hana attending this gathering was a normal occurrence, but judging how still everyone had become, it didn't appear so.

"Hana?" Emi asked, already in tears. From what Etsuko knew, the drunk had been somewhat close to the scout leader, but that had ended once Hana had learned that they had all bet whether she would live past winter or not. Since then, Hana hadn't spoken to another platoon leader in their company save for Katashi, who she had trained to replace the one who had stabbed her in the back. Well… Etsuko thought briefly to the day of the battle, where Etsuko had intercepted Hana to relay Range's orders. Though she had only received the word 'understood' in response, it was still a word.

"Etsuko, I wanted to thank you for what you did during the battle. It was kind of you to check on him for me." Hana spoke, ignoring Emi completely.

"Uh. No problem? I mean, if something happened to the one I loved, and I couldn't be there to check on them…" Etsuko started, blinking away a set of tears that were forming for no conceivable reason. There was obviously no reason to cry at those words, Etsuko logically deduced as she tried to burn a memory away.

"Yes. Again, thank you. Umeko, Natsumi, I need to speak with you two a moment."

"Um." Natsumi nervously started, even though she was older than the cloaked woman before her.

"Is it a secret? For the sake of openness, we don't do secrets anymore, at least since Souta died with them all." Umeko sighed out without even standing, getting the scout to shift her stance in disappointment. "Honestly, everyone in this room is going to find out anyways, so you might as well just tell us all."

After a small pause where Hana removed her hood, the room was suddenly able to see that Hana looked rather nervous herself, swallowing hard as she mustered up the courage to speak.

"What do you know about pregnancy?"


Isamu woke up comfortably, or so he believed until he tried to move his arms or legs. Feeling more than seeing, he could tell that he was tied to the corners of a small bed, and judging by the taste of cloth in his mouth, he had been gagged as well. As he tried to move forward to gain further information, he felt something around his neck constrict, choking him as he tried to move. Knowing if he shaped shifted now, he would only damage himself painfully, and at most only have his legs free, Isamu accepted his fate, and felt tears start to well in the corners of his eyes as the darkness enveloped him.

That was until the entrance slammed open, and light flooded the room from the carried lantern the room's invader brought. Gagged, Isamu tried to talk but failed miserably, realizing all he could do was shift on the bed, Isamu quickly made as much of a racket as possible, gaining the attention of the one who entered. After a brief moment where the lantern owner just stood still, Isamu watched the figure move to the other end of the room, and begin lighting small oil lamps.

"Isamu… why are you tied to my bed?" Miki asked, more annoyed than anything else. "Is this what Ran meant by 'gift'?"

He didn't even try to look at the small note that the ex-logistic officer held, his only option to continue writhing until Miki finally got it in her head to start untying his first wrist. The moment he felt his arm free, Isamu quickly shifted and began working on the second one, his sudden movement making the bodyguard take a step back as she watched Isamu quickly untie himself. After he finished his task of getting his neck and legs free, Isamu ripped the gag out of his mouth, coughing several times as his air flow returned to normal.

"Ran is fucking insane!" Isamu eventually declared, catching his breath.

"What happened?" Miki asked, her no-nonsense tone completely different from her old, caring voice.

"She… I don't know. Got it in her head that… I honestly just don't know. I'm sorry for this. Did she not say anything to you?" Isamu asked rubbing his throat as he regained feeling in his feet.

"She left a note on the door." Miki revealed, offering him the small paper drawing that showed a stick creature spread across a rectangle, with the words saying 'I won't return tonight,' and, 'gift' with an arrow pointing at the poorly drawn illustration of himself.

"I… don't know what to say."

"I assume she abducted you from somewhere. Do you know if there was a reason behind this?" Miki asked, Isamu glancing to actually look at Miki's eyes up close for the first time and feeling… a sense of emptiness. Isamu felt his mouth open slightly at her face, how it seemed completely relaxed and calm despite this situation unfolding before her. Briefly, he wondered if this was the same Miki he had obtained an unrequited affection for all those months ago.

"I'm… sorry. You are Miki, right?" Isamu asked, feeling a mixture of worry and fear as the woman's eye twitched suddenly.

"It hasn't been so long that you can't recognize me, Isamu. I'm somewhat insulted that you've just said such a thing." Miki flatly threatened, her tone not indicating that she meant the words she just spoke.

"R-right." Isamu breathed, still unsure of what he was supposed to do, or how truthful Ran had actually been earlier. Something was completely different about Miki that he could instinctively sense, that put genuine fear into his heart. "M-maybe you should tell Range. I'll just… wait here until my legs properly work."

Miki stared at him briefly before finally nodding, Isamu only noticing that Miki's hand hadn't left her sword's hilt the entire time as she turned to go, as if she was ready to draw it at a moment's notice. Isamu waited until she had left the room before collapsing to his hands and knees, taking in shallow breaths as he worked through his primal urges to run and cower. Shaking himself, he knelt at Miki's bed frame, noticing how there was a slight bump that was barely noticeable underneath the small mattress. His curiosity outweighing his fear, Isamu dug through the mattress, instantly finding what appeared to be a small book.

Understanding that this was Souta's journal, or diary, Isamu didn't hesitate when it came to opening such a thing, flipping through as many pages as possible and observing each and every word. Isamu tried to commit each and every drawing to memory, unsure if he would never get a chance to see such a thing again. Through the turning pages, only one thing caught his eye.

A highly detailed picture of Miki, smiling. More life was in this one charcoal image than Miki had actually shown while speaking to him, Isamu fearfully thought... but something was off about the picture that Isamu couldn't shake. Something about the how the lines were made, or how the circles seemed strangely familiar. It wasn't the whole picture, but the smallest details in it that threw him off. Isamu eventually shook himself as he closed the book and returned it to its original hiding spot.

Quickly, Isamu absconded from the room, making sure he wasn't followed. Even after he realized his sword had been left behind, Isamu didn't stop moving, too afraid of what was behind him, and an idea of what the picture reminded him of.

He would need to speak to Kaji of the River one more time.