Her voice was soft, yet it struck my heart like a sledgehammer. In that moment, the tears I had held back for years almost spilled from my eyes.
The days passed one by one. I noticed something strange.
Near the Soryu Dojo stood a powerful swordsmanship dojo. Its members often came to cause trouble, challenge us, provoke us, and even damage the dojo's facilities.
Master Keizo was far stronger than they were. They were no match for him.
Yet whenever they provoked him, he always laughed it off, letting them insult him. Sometimes he even took a few blows without fighting back.
"Master, why don't you fight back?!" Once, after they left, I confronted him angrily. "You could send them flying with a single punch!"
Master Keizo smiled at me as he wiped the blood from his face.
"Hakuji, fists are meant to protect, not to hurt people. If I fought back, they would keep coming for revenge. I wouldn't mind, but I still have Koyuki to care for. I can't let anything frighten her."
I watched his broad back, filled with conflicting feelings. This man possessed such great strength, yet he willingly endured humiliation for his daughter.
Three years passed in the blink of an eye.
During those three years, I trained hard in the Soryu Fist every day while carefully tending to Koyuki.
Perhaps my care had helped, or perhaps it simply hadn't been her time to die. Miraculously, Koyuki's health gradually improved.
She could get out of bed and walk on her own, watch the cherry blossoms in the courtyard, and even help with simple chores.
Her smile grew brighter and brighter, and her cherry-blossom eyes were filled with hopes for the future.
That spring, the cherry blossoms bloomed in particular abundance.
Master Keizo called me into