That night.
Listening to his wife's breathing from the bedding, much steadier than it had been in days past.
Kiseki Tokito lay in the darkness, torn by an almost agonizing inner struggle.
But in truth, the hesitation that kept him tossing and turning.
Was itself a sign that the scales were steadily tipping.
Beside him, his two children, who always went to bed early, were unusually quiet tonight too.
Clearly, Yuichiro and Muichiro.
Each had thoughts of their own deep down.
The next day, Kiseki Tokito did not get up early to chop firewood in the forest as usual.
Instead, he took some money and headed alone to the nearby Small Town.
He was going to get medicine for his wife according to Xia Xi's prescription.
But when he returned home that afternoon carrying the medicine packets.
He sensed something wrong in the atmosphere between his two children, who normally got along so well.
Setting down the medicine, Jishō softly asked his younger son, who was closest to him.
"What's wrong, Muichiro? Did you argue with your brother?"
Muichiro's face was full of hurt, and he instinctively glanced at his stern-faced older brother nearby.
"Yuichiro, he..."
But the words had barely reached his lips before he timidly swallowed them again.
Kiseki Tokito rubbed his head and offered a few soothing words before his child continued.
"Today... I argued with my brother."
But rather than an argument.
It would be more accurate to say that Muichiro had received a one-sided scolding from his older brother.
Yesterday, Xia Xi's easygoing, dependable manner had left a deep impression on Muichiro.
Whether it was the way he spoke to him like an adult.
His skill in treating their mother, or the kindness he had shown in recovering their ancestral swordsmanship.
All of it filled