Mokona is here. It's such a shock when I can suddenly understand with complete clarity everything that everyone is saying all around me that I blurt out my surprise to Kurogane in the middle of camp. Thankfully the clash of training swords covers the sound of my voice, and no one notices my slip. No one, of course, except for the ninja, who gives me a long look of open surprise before turning his head away and muttering something about it having taken the brats long enough to get here. When he turns back to me, his face is as solemn and inscrutable as always. Those are the last words we speak to each other the rest of the day.
He sleeps in his own bed that night.