The mountain woods eleven kiloters outside Kyoto were swallowed by darkness. A campfire flickered in a small clearing, its orange light pushing back the jagged shadows of the trees.
Kashimo tossed another branch into the flas, sending a spray of sparks into the air. He jerked his chin toward the massive, dead bear lying a few feet away. He'd killed it earlier with a casual strike when it blundered into their path.
"Don't worry," he said. "The other beasts won't co near."
Rinzo Hisashige sat on the opposite side of the fire, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped tight around her legs. The firelight danced across her face, but she remained unreadable.
"I wasn't..." she started, her voice barely a whisper. "I wasn't worried about that."
Kashimo glanced at her and stayed silent. The wood popped and hissed in the heat.
"Why?" Rinzo asked suddenly.
Kashimo looked up. "What?"
"Why did my father ask you to look after ?"
She was staring at him now. The reflection of the fire shimred in her eyes. There were no tears, no accusations, just a quiet, searching look.
Kashimo felt a twitch in his eyelid. Damn it, not that look again.
He looked away and added more wood to the fire, watching the sparks for a mont before he spoke.
"He probably saw this coming," he said, his tone flat and clinical. "You aren't a sorcerer, and you aren't a warrior. You're young. In a world like this, you wouldn't survive on your own."
He paused. "Finding you a strong protector was the last thing he could do for you. It just happened to be . If it had been any other sorcerer..."
He trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid. Rinzo didn't look away. Kashimo felt a prickle of discomfort under her gaze and decided to focus entirely on the fire.
"Have you killed many people?" Rinzo asked.
"Yes."
"How many?"
Kashimo tore a chunk of at from the bear, skewered it on a sharp stick, and held it over the coals. The fat dripped into the embers with a sizzle.
"Too many to count."
Rinzo rested her chin on her arms. "Why do you do it?"
Kashimo's hand stilled for a heartbeat.
"Two reasons, I suppose."
He flipped the at, watching the skin char and bubble. "I left ho when I was thirteen. I spent years wandering, fighting anyone who crossed my path. I wanted to be strong. Strong enough that no one could ever kill or beat ."
He went quiet, waiting for her to say sothing. She didn't. She just kept watching him.
After a few seconds of silence, he continued.
"And the other reason?" she asked.
"Searching."
"Searching for what?"
"For soone who can stand beside ." Kashimo looked up, his gaze eting hers across the dancing flas. "For soone who makes feel a little less alone."
The fire crackled. Rinzo didn't respond. Kashimo went back to his cooking, eventually mumbling to himself. "The at's almost done."
"My father used to say my strength was different from everyone else's," Rinzo said, her voice muffled as she buried her face between her knees. "He said I was ant to do things others couldn't. To save people."
She paused, pulling her knees tighter.
"But it's strange. I was born without a single drop of cursed energy. I don't have any power at all."
Kashimo stopped turning the at.
No cursed energy?
He stared into the flas, and then suddenly it all made sense. That was it. That was why he hadn't felt a single leak of energy from her when they first t.
Even ordinary people leaked energy. It was the natural byproduct of human existence, of fear, anger, and resentnt. Those emotions bled out of the body and pooled together to form curses. It was the basic law of the world.
But a person with absolutely zero energy?
His mind raced through everything he knew. Two nas stood out. Zenin Toji. Zenin Maki.
They shared the sa mark.
Heavenly Restriction.
Kashimo didn't say a word. He held out the cooked at, the makeshift skewer bridging the gap between them. The scent of roasted fat and smoke filled the night air.
"Here."
Rinzo looked up, her eyes rimd with red. She looked at the at, then at Kashimo, appearing confused for a mont. He kept his hand extended, waiting.
"Thank you," she whispered.
She took the skewer and began to take small, hesitant bites. Kashimo tore off another piece for himself and started roasting it.
He didn't tell her. He didn't ntion the Heavenly Restriction or what it ant to be born without energy. It wasn't the ti. Maybe it never would be.
He watched the fire, his thoughts drifting as the shadows grew long.
***
The next morning, the mountain mist hadn't quite cleared, and the birds were already noisy in the branches. Kashimo kicked dirt over the remains of the fire, ensuring not a single spark remained before he stood up.
He looked back at the grass mat he'd thrown together the night before. Rinzo was still curled into a small ball, her hair ssy and her breathing deep and even.
Kashimo walked over and looked down at her for a few seconds.
"Did you always sleep in like this?"
She didn't move. He waited a few more seconds, then poked her shoulder.
"Wake up."
Rinzo let out a muffled groan and buried her face deeper into the grass. Kashimo looked at the back of her head, feeling a bit out of his depth.
Hit her? No. Yell? Not worth it. Leave her behind? Probably not a good idea.
He sighed and stepped back.
"Fifteen minutes," he said. "Then I'm leaving with or without you."
He walked a short distance away and sat against a tree, propping his staff against his shoulder as he closed his eyes to ditate.
***
Tengen's Chamber.
It was a world of pure, blinding white, stretching out like the center of a cloud. There were no walls or ceilings, only a soft radiance that fell over everything.
Arashi Gojo stood in the light, his white hair appearing almost transparent. He looked toward a silhouette standing in the distance. It had the shape of a young girl, but it radiated an ancient, heavy presence.
Tengen, the Immortal Sorcerer.
"It has been a long ti, Six Eyes," Tengen said. The voice seed to co from everywhere and nowhere at once.
Arashi studied her for a mont and smiled. "Good. You haven't turned into a monster yet."
Tengen's expression didn't change. "Once the rger is complete, I will take the form of the vessel. That is the nature of things. But you, Arashi Gojo."
She paused.
"Do not let your friction with the Zenin clan grow any further."
Arashi's smile faded. He didn't respond.
"The Three Great Families may be at their weakest," Tengen continued, her voice gaining a slight weight, "but I do not wish to see you slaughtering one another while Kenjaku is still active."
"You know Kashimo is active near Kyoto, don't you?"
Arashi didn't question how she knew. Tengen's barriers covered all of Kyoto and beyond.
"I know what you're thinking," Tengen said. "Do not try to recruit Kashimo to fight the Zenin for you. It is highly likely he has already made a pact with Kenjaku."
Arashi's brow furrowed.
"And Kenjaku's plan is—"
"Lord Tengen," Arashi interrupted.
He looked up, his brilliant blue eyes fixed on the figure in the light. His gaze was calm, but it carried a deep, underlying exhaustion.
"I know all of this," he said.
"I can endure the Zenin's arrogance for myself. But the Gojo family cannot."
He paused, finally voicing the thought he'd kept buried.
"My war with Zenin Sawara is inevitable. All I can do now is try to stop Kashimo and Kenjaku before everything burns."
He looked down, his voice quiet. "I don't have any other choice."
***
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A/N: You will see characters we know and so new characters from 400 years before the main canon. There won't be an imdiate jump to the main story. I hope u like this format. Also, to increase my motivation and for u to get more chapters, I put a goal below, u can do it if u want:
100 power stones = 1 extra chapter.
So, don't forget to give power stones, make reviews and leave comnts. Have a good day.
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