"Wow, Tōka, you're here too? Don't be angry! I didn't say anything just now!"
Girls certainly changed as they grew up. Tōka had gone from a chubby little tigress to a capable young woman who was, well, passably pretty.
But her distinctive hairstyle and tone let Itama recognize his childhood playmate at once, setting alarm bells ringing in his head.
She had bullied him plenty when they were little.
Now Tōka was grown up and even had a daughter. Who knew how she might bully him now!
As Tōka approached him step by step, Itama instinctively covered his head and wailed for mercy:
"Sister Tōka! Your Ladyship! I was wrong, I really was! Please don't be angry!"
Itama had already braced himself for a beating. To his surprise, however, Tōka didn't lash out with her fists and feet as he had imagined. Instead, she pulled him into a tight embrace.
"Huh? Huh?!"
Overwhelmed by the unexpected affection, Itama felt warmth flood his heart.
By then, Tōka's tears were pouring down, their salty taste filling her mouth. Her voice shook, but a smile struggled onto her trembling face:
"Itama, welcome home!"
Itama froze at those words, then his own tears broke free.
Curled up in Tōka's arms, he broke down sobbing. His cries grew so hoarse and shrill that his voice distorted as he howled out all the pain and despair of being killed:
"It hurt so much!"
Watching them, the Senju brothers felt as though needles were piercing their hearts. They hurried over, fumbling to comfort their younger brother and sister.
Shingetsu watched silently too, an ache in her heart.
Through Itama, she seemed to glimpse the children of the Warring States Period-their unbearably tragic, brief lives swallowed by war.
Adults made mistakes, yet children's lives kept being used to