"Of course I'll protect you. Just give me so damn water first. And some food would be nice."
He told both of them in an annoyed tone. His expression showed discomfort because of his dry throat and empty stomach.
Aiko was surprised by how fast Reiji Kurozuma agreed. She buried her face into her hands and let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you." She whispered quietly with gratitude.
Harotu Hishino grabbed the blood-stained kimono that had fallen off Reiji's chest when his father turned him on his side. He smoothed it out and placed it in front of Reiji on the bed. He then gave Reiji a sweet smile.
Takashi and Aiko left the room to prepare some food and water for Reiji. Viewed from above, the bottom of their room was dedicated to food and water. In the top right corner was their shared bed and in the top left corner were Takashi's papers, ink and other random stuff.
They took half a loaf of bread and a clay cup filled with water. Soon enough they walked into the other room. Takashi turned Reiji on his back again and put his hand under his upper back. He lifted him up slightly and put the cup of water almost to his lips. Reiji used his own strength to lift his head up and drink from the cup.
He gulped down the entire cup, not leaving a single drop. Takashi slowly laid him back down, and Aiko gave him some of the bread to eat. After he finished eating the bread, Takashi spoke.
"You should sleep. Recovery won't happen overnight. We'll take care of you until then."
"I give myself three days until I'm running again."
…
Reiji's recovery took five days. When he was in top shape, he grabbed his katana and decided to go back up into the mountains. The pathways he carved by going up and down every dusk and dawn were now covered in a thick layer of snow and ice.
He left the village in the morning of the sixth day since the encounter with the demon. He climbed out the window at the back of the hallway. This was to make sure no one saw him go into the forest. He circled around, going downhill and getting back on the icy road, only to walk uphill, back towards the village.
He did this because he was still seen as a strange man in the village, and he feared that if anyone saw him leaving Takashi Hishino's house, they would do harm to him and his family.
Eventually, he arrived at the lower end of the village and walked up the main road—the only road. Then came the classic whispering.
"What's he doing here?" "Shouldn't he be gone by now?" "We never see him in broad daylight."
He turned right onto an icy, snow-covered pathway that led into the mountains—his home. Five days of warmth, comfort and low stress had made the cold affect him more severely than before. His body needed to find its rhythm again, every movement felt too stiff, too heavy.
He arrived at sunset. Five days of snowfall had blanketed everything in a thick layer of snow. It all looked the same—just white and endless. He had trouble finding his campsite.
He eventually found where his campsite was. He used his hands to dig into the snow until he reached the ground. Once again, he dug a hole that was four meters in diameter. He pulled out his tent from beneath the snow and threw it into the hole, where he set it up again. He also found his hunting bow and quiver, still filled with arrows.
He built a fire on a stone inside the hole so the water from the melted snow wouldn't put it out. He warmed himself up until he felt comfortable enough to sleep, which was hard on the cold, hard ground after five nights in a soft bed.
…
He was woken up by giggling and the sound of someone walking around his tent. He noticed that it was daytime from the light seeping through the holes and fabric of the tent. Grabbing his katana, he lifted the cloth that covered the entrance to the tent and jumped out.
It took a moment before he saw the cause of the sounds—Haruto. Reiji looked at him with a confused expression. How did he know where he lived? How did he get here? Why was he even here?
Haruto started laughing. "You were so scared, weren't you?" He pointed a gloved hand at Reiji. He was dressed in a winter coat and pants made from wool. He wore mittens and winter shoes lined on the inside with fur. On his head was an earflap winter hat with pom-poms. Everything he wore was brown.
Reiji sighed in relief. "Yes, I was." He admitted. "What are you doing here anyway?" He slung his katana over his back diagonally—the handle behind his right shoulder and the end of the scabbard behind his left hip.
"I was bored, so I decided to visit you."
"How did you know where I was?"
"It didn't snow yesterday, so I just followed your footprints."
Haruto flashed him a smile. Do his parents even know about this? Why is he so happy? He got pulled out of his thoughts as he saw Haruto go inside his tent. Reiji looked at the entrance in confusion. Inside the tent, Haruto found Reiji's hunting bow and soon came out of the tent, bow and quiver in hand.
"Want me to show you how to use a bow?" Haruto nodded frantically.
Reiji grabbed the quiver and took off his katana. He then slung the quiver over his back diagonally, tossed the katana into the tent, and grabbed the bow. He made his way out of the hole and helped Haruto do the same. They walked for a while before Haruto turned to Reiji and said:
"My legs hurt. Will you carry me?"
"I'm not your dad, but whatever."
Reiji picked him up by grabbing the back of his winter coat and lifted him up with one hand. He placed him so he was sitting on his shoulders. He grabbed Reiji's hair, and Reiji held his legs so he wouldn't fall off.
"Where are we going?" "Wherever we can find something to eat."
As they walked, Haruto spotted a fox. He pointed it out to Reiji, who used his right hand to take Haruto off his shoulders. He pulled out an arrow, drew back the bow, and took aim. Haruto watched him do this with a fascinated expression, his mouth open as he looked up at Reiji.
He quickly turned his head toward the fox just before Reiji let go of the string, shooting the arrow.
Twang! Thwack!
The arrow pierced its body and came out the other side, digging into the snow. Both of them ran after the fleeing fox, which collapsed moments later from the shock and trauma.
Reiji grabbed the fox with one hand and lifted Haruto onto his shoulders with the other. He then gave him the bow. "I'll carry the fox, and you'll carry the bow. Do not touch the string." They made their way back to his campsite, sat in the hole, and ate cooked fox meat.
It was getting quite dark, so Reiji and Haruto decided to go to the village together. Then they noticed light coming from the direction of the village.
"What is that?" Haruto asked. "I don't know, but we need to get back as soon as possible. Hop on." Reiji's answer caused concern to well up inside the boy.