Kumari reached the destroyed houses and made his way trough the crowded villagers to the extinct bonfire. Next to it, his father laid dead, as well as several soldiers and peasants. He had his right arm ripped off by the ferocious bite of one of the lizard-demons, not to count the other horrible wounds that he suffered. The young noble fell on his knees, already feeling the tears flooding his eyes.
“Father…”
“He fought bravely, my lord”, one of the warriors said. “If he wasn’t here, we would be all dead by now. A gigantic lizard attacked us, and your father was the only one who could repulse it.”
Kumari barely listened to his servant’s words. He could only think of the irony of having talked with Soji, right before the attack, about what it would be like to assume his father’s title. He looked to the right, and found the boy desperately crying next to a body that Kumari recognized as his father. The man had his axe in hand, and apparently had fought against the monsters to protect his family.
“Mommy! Where’s my mom?!”, the boy yelled, but the peasants’ silence was a sufficient answer, and he continued crying.
At the sight of that, Kumari almost broke into tears, but contained himself. He remembered that he was surrounded by his servants, anxious to know what their new lord’s orders would be. He looked at his father: even dead, Lord Kumari had the same severe expression on his face. Then, he took the sheathed sword from his waist, and rose up. “I must be strong. If I’m not, who would be? Soji can cry, he’s just a kid. I am a lord, now”, he thought.
“What’s your name?”, he asked to the warrior that talked to him a few instants before.
“Oda, my lord. Yoshiro Oda.”
“Where’s the leader of the troops?”
“Dead, sir. The lizards took him, as well as many villagers”, the warrior said, subtly referring to the boy’s mother.
“Then you will command them from now on. You will help me getting rid of these lizards once and for all.”
“Yes, my lord”, he answered, honored by the nomination, but uncertain of his capability of carrying out those orders.
Before he could protest, Kumari walked to Soji, and lifted him in his arms. The boy hugged him back, sobbing over his shoulder.
“Bury them all with dignity. Prepare to transport my father’s body to the castle. The same goes for this boy’s father.”
Although surprised by the last order, Oda bowed down in obedience, and ordered the remaining soldiers to start digging graves. Then, he ran to his master, which was already taking his way home. For an instant, he saw the confused look on Kumari’s face, which vanished behind a mask of stiffness when the bear demon noticed his servant.
“Sir, many soldiers are dead, and almost all the others are somehow injured. We won’t be able to hunt down those demons by ourselves. We need help!”
Kumari thought for an instant, and then nodded in agreement. He was about to do something that his father would hesitate to.
“Then, I’ll inform lord Sesshomaru of our needs. One way or the other, he’ll want to meet his new vassal.”
Oda bowed down, grateful.
“Thank you, my lord.”
“Escort the peasants to another village, settle them there and keep them safe until this problem is solved.”
“Yes, sir.” Oda looked to the boy, still in Kumari’s arms. “Do you want me to take care of him, too?”
“There’s no need to. He’ll live in the castle, from now on.” Kumari just walked away, taking Soji with him.
The new samurai sighed as he observed the contrast between his new lord and the boy, which was still crying. “Both of them lost their families tonight. The boy’s loss was undoubtedly greater. Still, I can’t tell which heart will have a harder time recovering from those wounds”, he thought, and then went back to the troops, to put in motion the received orders.
