Tama looked at Lin Mo in surprise. "You..."
Lin Mo said nothing.
More than ten minutes later, everyone was gasping for breath. Lin Mo, however, was not even flushed. He looked as though he had not just sprinted for his life.
"Everyone rest here for a minute, then we'll keep moving," one of the fighters said. The group sat down beside a large rock, grateful for the break.
Lin Mo set Tama down.
Tama stared at him and asked quietly, "You ran all that way carrying me and a basket of hats. Aren't you tired?"
Lin Mo shook his head.
Curious, Tama reached out to touch him.
Lin Mo reflexively took half a step back.
"Why are you dodging me?" Tama asked.
He shook his head again. "I don't know. I don't like people touching me."
"I'm not just anyone!" Tama huffed. "I'm your teacher. Your teacher! How could I be just anyone?"
"Hello." A man named Takeno walked over from among the fighters. He looked to be in his thirties, with a small mustache and a straw hat missing one corner. "Tama mentioned that you fled another village and came to Amigasa Village. May I ask which village you came from?"
Lin Mo ignored him.
Tama offered an indignant explanation instead. "He's already been through enough, fleeing his village. Why ask him something so upsetting? That's rude."
"Don't misunderstand," Takeno said. "I was only curious. This young man reacts to danger differently from most people. I just wanted to know whether he was a fighter in his old village."
Lin Mo's answer was simple. "I have nothing to tell you."
Takeno had not expected that and was briefly at a loss for words.
He had no choice but to change the subject. "Then may I have your name?"
"Kojiro,"