Tetsu no Sosuke would never know just how furious Shinobu Kocho had been over that incident.
It was as though every drop of her blood boiled with anger.
Yes!
You always take on the dangerous tasks.
No matter how desperate the situation, you always manage to stand in front of me.
But... why should you?
You have your own responsibilities to shoulder. Why must you stand in front of me and shield me from those deadly threats?
Again and again, those feelings piled up in her heart, growing so heavy that she could hardly breathe.
And how am I supposed to repay you?
Yes...
You have never asked for anything in return.
But you don't know that the more you act like this, the harder it is for me to let go.
Countless thoughts churned in her heart, rising and falling before finally fading into the darkness, just like the ruts left by the carriage.
They made Shinobu Kocho all but oblivious to the changes around her.
So when she finally came to her senses, she realized that there were... far fewer people around her.
"What happened?" She froze for a moment, her first instinct telling her that something was wrong.
Yet when she looked closely, she realized that the people leaving were doing so deliberately and without a sound.
Everyone around her knew, and no one reacted.
Was this an order?
Shinobu Kocho considered it for a moment. She wanted to ask Tetsu no Sosuke, but she did not want to approach him.
The group scattered further and further—the members of the Hidden, the Swordsmen around her. There seemed to have been quite a few changes to the carriage, too, though she could not quite put her finger on them.
*Was I so lost in thought that I didn't