Mabui followed Anyo to a large table, which was already laden with all kinds of food: noodles, rice porridge, pancakes, rice balls, sushi, milk—everything one could want.
Mabui looked at the food before her and asked in surprise, "Did you make all this?"
"Heh, I couldn't manage all this alone." Anyo shook his head. "Some of it was homemade, and some was bought. I didn't know what you liked, so I prepared a little extra."
Unused to Anyo's hospitality, Mabui picked up two rice balls at random and said, "These will be enough for me. Food is precious during wartime. This is far too wasteful."
"Not at all. I've already invited the children here to eat with us. Everyone was just waiting for you." As he spoke, Anyo clapped his hands, and a crowd of children ran out from the shadows, their eyes shining as they stared at the food. Some were even swallowing their saliva.
"Go ahead and eat, children."
At Anyo's invitation, the children swarmed forward and ate with delight.
The sight left Mabui deeply moved, and a measure of shame rose within her. She felt she understood Baiyun a little better now.
After breakfast, the two played shogi beneath a large tree. Mabui was meticulous, while Anyo was wildly imaginative. They proved evenly matched, and time slipped by unnoticed as they played.
Two days passed quickly. Late at night, Mabui sat alone in her room, recalling their time together over the past two days as though it had been a dream. Throughout their interactions, Anyo had kept his word, remaining courteous and never overstepping any boundaries. He had even responded to her deliberate and inadvertent probing without ever getting angry. She, in turn, had tacitly refrained from asking him to return to Kumogakure.
Thinking of her departure