As she opened her eyes, she saw herself inside a hospital room, medical equipments attached to her body. She tried to move but her body felt numbed. With the feeling of emptiness and helplessness in her, she cried silently and again fell asleep. When she woke up the following day, she saw a figure of an old man beside her bed. The old man rubbed her forehead and told her that everything will be okay and that she is safe now. With a weak and strained voice, she asked him about her father and how long she has been sleeping. The old man moved closer to her and Chizuko saw his face, despite having difficulty opening her eyes, full of worry and sadness. He then told her that she was the only one who survived the tragedy and that her father died an hour after they were sent to the hospital... ten days ago.
Once again, tears began to fall from her face, the man consoled her and told her that she must rest more because the wounds she received from the attack were deep and that it was really a miracle that she survived. Hearing his last statement, she negated it and told him that she should have just died then together with her family, that it was not a miracle that she live but a burden that she must carry her whole life. The only reason why she trained so hard every single day to master kendo was to help her family when they are in danger and yet, when that certain day came, she did nothing but to run and leave her family behind. The man tried to calm her down but she kept on saying that she disgraced her clan and she has no guts to show her face to their corpses. With that happening, Chizuko's wounds bled again and the man hurriedly called the doctors, who injected tranquilizer onto her fragile body.
Two months passed by and Chizuko's wounds were completely healed. After the incident and the confrontation between her and the old man who took care of all the hospital charges, Chizuko barely spoke a word or even eat. The old man frequently visited her and as always, he saw her sitting beside the windowsill with a distant and blank look on her face. Worried about the girl's condition, the man talked with the doctors and asked them to make her undergo psychological rehabilitation. This they did and the rehabilitation lasted for six months. After the program, the old man adopted Chizuko and brought her to a Japanese-styled cottage situated beside the mountains. The man finally introduced himself with the name of Hiroyuki Takabe. Chizuko silently nodded but she doesn't seem to care (although she underwent rehabilitation, her cold and distant personality after the incident remained). She then asked Hiroyuki the reason why he adopted her. He then guided her outside and led her to one of the cottage's rooms. As he slid the door open, Chizuko was surprised to see a dojo-styled room. They walked inside and Hiroyuki asked her if she still wants to continue practicing kendo. She stood still as the question struck her and she muttered to herself, is she now prepared to walk the path once again after her fall? Chizuko was dumbfounded, she does not know how to respond to the man's question. Her silence was broken by the man's chuckle and then he told her that she should not try to force herself much. She asked him again why does the man owns a dojo and Hiroyuki, with a smile on his face, told her that he is a swordsmaster and he's much more willing to train her the art of the sword only if she could get over her past. Chizuko was in silence again and seeing how things are, the man asked her to go rest and think it over.
The following morning, Hiroyuki woke up early and went to the dojo. As he approach the place, he heard swooshes coming inside the room and he was quite relieved at what he saw. Finally, Chizuko regained her composure and overcome her past. The man called her and she blushed as she realized that she was caught practicing. Hiroyuki laughed and told her that after breakfast, they will start with the training.
Original Story (c) windwalker035 [lilanie-kun]