It was late night, but Kumari was still up. From the window of one of the castle common areas, he observed the apparently pacific landscape. Beyond the river valley, he could see more than a bonfire in the middle of the moonless night, but he wondered if it was his soldiers, camping, or if the bandits were so comfortable in his lands that they weren’t afraid of revealing their position with the fire. He felt powerless in face of so many things to be done, and the weariness of a long day of work seemed pointless.
“I haven’t seen you the whole day.”
He turned back to find Sazume.
“I’ve been busy. There was...”
“A lot of work to do, I know. And part of it is to dispense some attention to your guests.”
“I’m sorry. Is there something I can do for you, Sazume-san?”
“You can stop acting like I’m a total stranger. After what happened to us last summer, I thought you’d already consider me as a friend.” He turned his eyes to the view of the window again, and she approached him. “Listen… Please excuse Ichi for his behavior. He didn’t realize he was making fun of something serious.”
“It’s alright. I too never thanked him for slaying the monster that killed my father.”
She observed him discreetly. His face remained blank, the same mask he had been showing since her arrival.
“Do you miss him?”
Even surprised by the question, Kumari had the answer ready.
“He was a bit rude, but he had things working around.”
Sazume sighed, disappointed with another cold answer.
“I see. Well, then, good night to you, lord Kumari.”
She turned her back on him. He wasn’t allowing any contact. Maybe she had misjudged his character; he probably was the type of guy which believed that being strong consisted in not showing any sign of emotion. Of people like that, her father was enough to her.
“It wasn’t Ichimaru’s joke”, Kumari said suddenly. She stopped. “It wasn’t the joke that made me angry. It was the interruption.” She turned back, and allowed herself a smile, seeing he was finally making an effort to express his feelings. “I’m… happy that you decided to spend your birthday here.”
“Well, then, do something about this bad mood of yours. I didn’t walk all the way here to get stuck with a cranky host.”
She headed to her chambers, and he smiled.
