"Hey! Old man! What does this have to do with us?!"
Musashi protested vehemently.
"It's your fault, obviously! Weren't you the ones mooching food and drink, then barging into the hut to take shelter?!"
Muramasa glared right back at her.
"You should at least learn from Sakumura and Kotarou. They know enough to keep watch at the entrance and stay alert for a possible enemy attack. You two are nothing but eaters and sleepers!"
He was absolutely right.
"Uh, um, ah..."
Fujimaru Ritsuka scratched his head awkwardly.
"That's because Mr. Sakumura and Lord Kotarou are Servants! Ritsuka and I are still living people, you know!"
Musashi's reasoning actually seemed fairly sound.
Danzo looked at Muramasa, then at Fujimaru Ritsuka. Her expression trembled.
"Even knowing that Danzo is an enemy... you still let Danzo remain by your side?"
"I never imagined that I was the only one who had failed to realize that."
She looked somewhat defeated. Somewhat... pained.
"I really am completely broken, aren't I?"
She said it with a self-mocking smile.
"If I had remained broken like that forever, if I had never awakened again, that would have been better."
"I was only meant to be a mechanical doll that carried out orders. In essence, I am no different from swords, matchlock guns, or even wheels."
"I am merely a tool."
"One that moves solely according to the will of its user."
"Doesn't that make me... completely unfit?"
She raised her head and looked toward the young Servant standing beside the group.
"Um... Lord Kotarou."
"Yes."
Kotarou replied swiftly and briefly.
There was a trace of pity in his eyes.
"You once told Mochizuki Chiyome that a ninja without a heart was no different from a sword."
"...Actually, I feel the same way. I have always felt that way."