Sukuse
すくせ

"natsugusa ya tsuwamonodomo ga yume no ato"
(In the summer grasses are the fleeting traces of the warriors' dreams)
(Matsuo Basho)

Introduction and Disclaimer

Hello everyone. It's been a little while, ne?

This story has been simmering on my pen drive for a lot of months now. It was in mental cogitation throughout the writing of the Fourth Maki and yet with various things going on in my real life, it's moved a lot more slowly than any of its predecessors. As some of you who've read and reviewed my stuff before know, I am back at university full time now (studying Japanese, amongst which I am also studying the Classical language). It's pretty busy, and so am I. For that reason, my writing has slowed down. This story is not yet finished, though I would like it to be.

Therefore I am taking a gamble and posting it here in the hope that doing so might spur me on to write the rest.
Currently it exists in about twenty or so chapters.

My internet at university is very unreliable and I am not home every weekend so updates may not be as regular as they have been throughout Meifu's Gate. Please forgive me for this. I will do my best to provide a good story with a completed ending, but it is likely to take a little bit of time since I have essays to plan and write and an entire new grammatical structure to learn ;).

So, onto the story. We last saw Juushirou and Shunsui as they graduated and went on to their new lives as Captains of the Gotei.

Though I sent Juu to Seventh District, I haven't chosen to write about his time there. This story is set approximately 20-25 years after their graduation, and Thirteenth Division have returned to Inner Seireitei, which now has the basic structure of what we know as Seireitei proper in Canon, a place where the squads all have their own specific headquarters. There are still Clans and there are therefore still eight Districts with distinct land of their own. There is also Rukongai and this story will introduce the basis for the development of modern Rukongai, beginning with the first three districts, the two canon ones known as Junrin'an (1) and Hokutan (3), plus one of my own naming, Nakaken (2). Rukongai is quite a wide space, but not all of it is clearly mapped out by the Gotei – as will become clear.

Several of the characters from Meifu will be reprised in this story. Some will be focused on more than others. There are also new characters, some of whom provide ancestors for future canon characters of some significance. For those unsatisfied with how Keitarou's story tied off last time, this will bring him and his fanaticism back into the frame.

The finale of the last story mapped out the fate of the Team Stupid characters, including the deaths of some of them. I will reassure readers that none of those deaths occur within this story. That is not to say that death will not occur, though. On the contrary, it will, and probably in some quantity. However, it is not my intention to slaughter Team Stupid's members just yet. As a payoff, though, it's true to say that not all of them have as primary a role as in the other stories.

At the time of writing this, the primary focal point of the story is Juushirou's Thirteenth Division, therefore the role played by Shunsui – though considerable - is maybe shadowed by his friend's to date. I can't be sure yet how that will pan out in the long run, as Thirteenth Division itself is strategically important to the development of the plot in many different ways.

Fans of Shunsui, please don't tar and feather me for this. I love him just as much as ever, but characters must do as the plot sees fit, and that is all.

The title of the story, "Sukuse" is an old Japanese word often used in the context of literary and pseudo-historic figures talking about events being a result of ties or karma from a previous existence. Since the souls in Seireitei exist on a cycle of rebirth, death and balance, I thought it appropriate to use as a title for this story. This is not Meifu's Gate, because the boys are no longer students. This is a Gotei Thirteen story – but one set in the early days far flung from canon and therefore far more recogniseable to readers familiar with the Meifu world.

Prologue: Murettai
Several Years Earlier

There were fierce winter winds the night the stranger came to Murettai Village.

Wrapped in a heavy, dark cloak, his face mostly obscured from both sight and weather, the man made his way along the central trackway, pausing from time to time to ask questions of residents and occasionally slipping a coin between his gloved fingers into their dirt-stained, calloused palms. His cloak hid his attire from view completely, but it was whispered among the villagers that he must be a member of one of the Clan families, for despite a limp when he walked, there was something in his bearing that told of a quietly assumed self-confidence. Although there were no retainers at his heels, he did not seem like the kind of person who would be easily taken off guard.

He reached the end house in the village as the moon drifted behind a cloud, creating an odd, hazy glow about the place. Was it an omen? Some of the younger members of the village thought so, even as he raised his velvet-covered fingers to knock at the door. Why had he come here, at such an hour, alone - and to visit the house of the sickly widow, whose life was ebbing away little by little as each day passed?

Some theorised that he was the ghost of the woman's dead husband, coming to claim her soul, and for this reason, none of the village folk strayed out of doors for long, fearing that watching his actions might bring bad luck down on their own heads. They had plenty of their own concerns to deal with - if a stranger came to call on the widow, so be it. It was her concern. Her sons were with her, were they not? They could surely handle matters themselves. It was not for them to interfere, whether he be an earthly or a spiritual visitor.

On the stranger's part, he cared nothing for whether his appearance had garnered attention. On the contrary, it amused him to be once more viewed with fear and awe and a faint smile traced across his lips as he pressed his covered knuckles once more to the hard wooden divide. Had they been able to see his expression, the villagers would surely not have been put any more at ease, for though humour showed in his face, his mud-slurried eyes were clouded, the dim light that glittered there cold and hard.

For Ketsui, younger son of the widow Irie, the visit had come completely out of the blue. When he had heard the knock at the door, he had fully expected it to be his family's close friend Kirio, returning from her errand to the herbalist with fresh remedies to help his mother's pain. The woman was sleeping now, a peaceful, dreamless sleep thanks to the last of the soporific concoction from the previous trip, but Ketsui was adult enough to know that it would not last forever. So even in this bitter wind, the girl had set out, bent on collecting the potion in person to prevent any delay. Hikifune Kirio was that kind of person, and so when Ketsui had moved to open the door, he had fully expected to see her on the other side, herbs in hand.

But it had not been Kirio. It had been a man who would change the fates of his family forever.

He was tall and lean, even despite the heavy fabrics that swaddled his body, and Ketsui stared at him for a moment, completely thrown off guard. The stranger, for his part, seemed equally startled, his cloak slipping from his face for a moment and utter surprise flooding his preoccupied brown eyes.

A moment of silence went between them, then,

"Daisuke?" The word dropped from the stranger's lips, barely more than a whisper as two gloved hands came up to grasp Ketsui by the shoulders, disbelief in his tones.

Daisuke.

Ketsui's brows knitted, and he carefully detached himself, bowing his head respectfully towards the visitor.

"I'm sorry, sir. I think you've made a mistake," he said politely. "There is nobody by that name here."

"Nobody by..." The stranger faltered, wetting dry lips as he stared at the boy, almost as though he struggling to understand what he was seeing. Then, as if a curtain had been lifted from his gaze, his eyes lit up with comprehension and he nodded, that faint, humourless smile once more touching his lips.

"Of course not," he agreed, the faintest note of genuine sadness in his tones. "It was a long time ago - there would be nobody by that name here now. I saw with my own eyes..."

He took a deep breath, then,

"Ketsui-kun, I presume?"

Ketsui was taken aback, staring at the stranger afresh. Who was this man? How had he known his father's name, and spoken it so freely? And more, how had he known his own name? Had he asked in the village? But no...that surely couldn't be, for there was something in those eyes that reached out to Ketsui's childhood memories, teasing and tweaking as though begging to be remembered.

At his silence, the stranger's smile widened.

"You don't remember."

It was a statement, not a question. "Indeed, why should you remember? You were just a boy - very young, perhaps not even six the last time I saw you. The last time...with your father and mother...far from this place in another world."

At this, Ketsui's face drained of all colour, and he swallowed hard.

"K..Keitarou-dono?" he whispered. "Aizen...Keitarou...dono?"

At the sound of his name, true pleasure leapt into the man's gaze and he nodded, slipping his hands down to clasp Ketsui's warmly in his velvety grip.

"Indeed, even after so long," he murmured. "It has been too long, Ketsui...you are all grown up, and I imagine your brother too - both of you must be full grown and sons to be proud of now, in this peaceful place. I came to see you - you and your poor mother, who I understand is in ill health?"

"She...probably will not live long," Ketsui bit his lip, eying his companion with a mixture of emotions. "It has not been easy on her, since Father...since we came here, though she has always worked very hard and done her best for us. Now it's our duty to support her - so Tenichi-nii and I are both at her side when she needs us the most."

"Yes. Daisuke would have approved of that," before Ketsui knew what was happening, Keitarou had entered the house fully, closing the door behind him with a soft click, "and you truly...you resemble him so greatly, for a moment I was completely thrown. You are a handsome young man, Ketsui-kun - but it brings me most pleasure to know that you hold your father's likeness in your face."

"Mother has said so too," Ketsui agreed slowly. "Many times she's said it's both her joy and her sorrow to look at me, and know that Father is still at least partly with her. But even so - after so long...we did not expect..."

"A visit by a wanted fugitive may not be one welcomed by most families," there was a rueful, self-effacing note in the visitor's tones and he nodded his head, leaning up against the wall as his clever gaze ran over Ketsui's features once more. "I understand your consternation - you do not need to fear me by voicing it. I trust that if there is one place in Seireitei that will not betray me to my enemies, it would be here. I have not come to do you or your mother any harm, Ketsui. I've simply come out of family concern, to thank her and give her my wishes before she passes from this place to the next."

"Why...why now?" Ketsui had not expected Keitarou to be so frank, yet somehow his companion's words did little to reassure him. "How could you know of Mother's health, and why..."

"That was coincidence," Keitarou admitted. "There have been many times I've thought to come to you, but the risk associated with my doing so has always made me shy away. Daisuke did not want you put in danger...I didn't think his soul would forgive me if I led trouble to his family's door."

He smiled, a smile somehow out of place on the face of a wanted traitor, yet a genuine, warm smile all the same, and Ketsui found his wariness fading into confusion. Was this really the man that all of Seireitei had been hunting down? Was this kinsman of his truly the mastermind behind the assassinations of Endou Shouichi and the Kuchiki Clan's beloved heir, the one who had struck and slain before disappearing back into the shadows without a trace? The stories about him were exaggerated beyond belief if it were true, for local stories made Keitarou out to be a monster of immortality. Yet Ketsui's memories painted a different picture, and as he stood there, tracing his gaze across the shadowed features of his cousin's face, he recalled with startling clarity one afternoon when, covered in dust and soot from his laboratory experiments, Keitarou had shown up at their home unnanounced, bringing sweet treats for him and his brother as a new year celebration.

He closed his eyes briefly, forcing the recollection away. The man he remembered hazily as a kindly uncle figure was the most hated man in all Seireitei, and it would not do to confuse nostalgia with the truth.

"But now, you don't worry about that?" he asked, opening his eyes to meet Keitarou's gaze once more. "Mother is very ill, and in no state to defend herself if Eighth District sent soldiers here in search of you."

"Yes, but when I learned she was so ill, I knew it was my last chance to see her," Keitarou acknowledged. He laughed, seeing the doubt etched on the young man's features, and he lifted a gloved hand, resting it lightly against Ketsui's shoulder.

"You find it hard to believe, but your father was like my brother, and your mother therefore my much beloved sister," he murmured. "You and Tenichi were nephews in all but name, and I was fond of you. Besides, there is no immediate danger. I assure you that I have done all I could to cover my tracks coming here, and I shall do the same again when I leave."

"It seems an unnecessary risk," Ketsui reflected. "Even if it's as you say - and I admit, I remember the kindness you always showed my brother and I, even though I was so very young when we parted. It's been all these years and Mother has never expected to make contact with you. Now she is about to leave this world...even affection for her can't save her from this disease."

"You are my kinsfolk, and Daisuke would have wanted me to reach out to you," Keitarou said simply. "I have just delayed it from fear of bringing you harm. If Irie's health is failing, though, I can delay my coming no longer. There are no powerful Clansfolk in this area to hold your hands nor provide expert health care to make her comfortable, are there? Therefore for kin - for Daisuke's kin - it's my duty to do as I can. I am no healer, but I am a scientist - and I bring something which I believe will ease her pain."

He slid his hand into the sleeve of his heavy clothing, producing a small ceramic vial. He held it out to Ketsui, who took it, gazing at it quizzically.

"It is up to you whether or not you trust me enough to use it," Keitarou seemed to understand what was going through the young boy's mind. "I have simply brought it to you - the rest is up to you."

"What's this about, Ketsui?"

At that moment Tenichi stepped into the hallway, thick auburn hair pulled back in a long tail down his back. He was half a head taller than his brother, broader and more of a warrior to look at, and Ketsui saw Keitarou's gaze flit immediately to the boy's attire and the sheathed blade that he wore at his waist. Was it imagination, Ketsui wondered, or had a fleeting flicker of darkness entered those muddy eyes as the scientist had regarded his cousin's oldest son?

But unlike Ketsui, Tenichi did not look like an Urahara. Unlike Ketsui, Tenichi's genes followed his mother's side of the family far more closely - and Ketsui imagined there were no ancient, sleeping ghosts in this encounter.

There was a brief pause, then Keitarou bowed his head, pulling back the hood of his cloak as he did so to reveal a tail of sandy brown hair tied neatly at the nape of his neck with a simple, white length of ribbon. Though Ketsui's memories of the man were faint, he was struck by the fact this stranger had barely aged since their last meeting - whilst he had grown from a child to a young a man capable of making his own decisions, Keitarou had seemingly been frozen in time. He was aging but not aging - in the same way that Ketsui knew other shinigami had aged yet not aged over the course of passing years.

"I have come as a kinsman to enquire after your mother and to greet you both after so long," Keitarou said quietly now, and at the sight of him, Tenichi's eyes widened with disbelief.

"Keitarou-dono," he murmured, and Keitarou chuckled.

"You remember more quickly than your brother does. I see," he murmured. "Well, so much to the good. Perhaps then you're less surprised to see me - or no, from your expression, would you be more surprised? Perhaps dressed in the attire of the Gotei of Seireitei, you aren't quite sure how to meet my gaze after so long?"

Tenichi bristled for a moment, then,

"I am a shinigami," he said quietly, "with the Gotei Thirteen, so that I can protect the people of Seireitei like we were protected when we were children. For that reason, both Ketsui and I have trained at Genryuusai-sensei's Academy. For that reason, we both intend to bear blades and hunt Hollows for Soul Society. Father died fighting for what he believed in. Both Ketsui and I intend to follow his lead."

"I see," Keitarou shifted his body more comfortably against the wall panelling, eying them pensively one at a time. "Your father would be glad to hear such words, but I wonder if even you remember what those things he believed in so strongly were, Tenichi-kun. To see you've both survived, grown and become strong brings me joy in his place - but even so, I can tell from your eyes that you know nothing of the fight that led you to be in this impoverished place. You don't know how much Daisuke suffered for your freedom - how much we all suffered so that you might have a future at all."

"Father sent us away so that we wouldn't become embroiled in his activities. He sent us away to keep us safe," Tenichi said stolidly. "Mother has told us many a time that Father wanted us to live and to do so in freedom. He wanted us to make our own choices about this world - thanks to him, both Ketsui and I have done so."

His eyes narrowed, flitting to the vial in Ketsui's hand.

"Why did you come here?" he demanded. "Your being here can only be viewed as trouble for us and for Mother."

"I came to see Irie, after so long," Keitarou repeated. "I brought medicine to ease her suffering, which I have already given to your brother. I also came because I heard that the both of you were currently here in the village too. I was curious to see you with my own eyes, and to see how well you remembered Daisuke. Having seen Ketsui's face, I can believe that neither of you would easily forget him."

He crossed the floor, resting his hand on Tenichi's shoulder.

"Ketsui has his appearance, but despite his name, maybe you are the one with his resolve," he reflected. "Your eyes are different in colour, but the emotion I see there is the same. You're driven to fight for something you believe in - even if it kills you. Whether I agree with your resolve or not, those are good emotions to have."

"Keitarou-dono, you're believed to be dead by most people in Seireitei," Ketsui said softly. "Those who don't believe you died are still people who would like to hunt you down. Even as a student at the Academy, I've heard of it. I've never said anything about our kinship, but I've heard it spoken of even in the halls and between classes. Your name is synonymous with chaos and destruction in most sectors of Seireitei. They say you murdered a head of the Endou Clan, conspired to bring down the Kuchiki by asassinating the heir, and a multitude of other acts that make you considered a felon beyond forgiveness. Your being are alive and here is dangerous...even if you covered your tracks, your presence in Eighth District could bring harm to both you and to us, especially to Mother."

"Do you see me as your enemy?" Keitarou was surprised. "I did my everything to protect you and ensure you had a chance to live like you do now. District Seven was a place so full of pain and corruption - Daisuke and I both wanted a better future for you. A better world. A better chance. Even so, you see me as someone who comes to bring you harm?"

"Then..." Ketsui faltered, and Keitarou smiled.

"Daisuke sent you away knowing that he would die for his cause. Our cause," he said quietly, his tones edged with something more intense as he began to speak about the distant past. "As your mother has rightly taught you, he loved you so much, and didn't want you to be dragged into the mire by his decisions. He knew he would be slain by the despot madman who ruled in District Seven, and so it came to be. The man who I brought to Hades - the former head of the Endou Clan you spoke of - was the man whose own weapon cut down your father. In the first instance I took the burden of outlaw on my shoulders because of my loyalty to my kinsman, by avenging your father in your place. Knowing that, how can you consider me anything but your ally?"

"The man who..." Tenichi's face paled, and Keitarou nodded.

"Irie has never told you the truth...perhaps she never knew it, completely," he reflected, "but Daisuke died at the direct hands of Endou Shouichi, tortured to within an inch of his life and then slaughtered cruelly by the ice blade of his zanpakutou, Hijirobaya. I witnessed it, so I know there is no falseness in my account. For that act, I sought revenge. Our people had been oppressed and illtreated for a century before that - for their freedom Daisuke fought and died, and to uphold that ideal, I fought and killed the man who had so oppressed us. I took Daisuke's body, gave him proper burial and promised him never to give up on the cause we had believed in so strongly. I wanted - and I still want now - for those displaced by corrupt laws to once again have a right to speak. The difference is that it is an injustice that touches more than just exiled Urahara. In my time in the shadows, I have learned this all too clearly."

"Father was killed by an Endou?" Tenichi whispered, and Ketsui bit his lip, knowing his brother was thinking of Seireitei and the Captains of the Gotei. "By a kinsman of the Seventh Captain...that was why...?"

"Your father was a true and brave man who martyred himself for the freedom of his kin. Freedom you have lived in since then," Keitarou said simply, "as I still live. Since they have stopped looking for me so actively, I have come to see with my own eyes that he did not die in vain. He did not. You are both sons in whom I'm sure he could have had pride. Irie has done well with you - both of you. Shinigami from the Districts - truly a great thing."

"Do you mean that?" Ketsui looked doubtful, and Keitarou laughed, nodding his head.

"I have spent almost all of my life in the Districts or shadows, without protection of my own Clan, even if I was born that way," he said frankly. "I have ultimate faith in the individual fighting power of people even if they lack money or friends in high places. This world is still the world of the Clans, but little by little that is changing. You both being accepted and trained as proper shinigami is proof of it. A change is coming - a change which I support with heart and soul. It's a change whereby the ordinary people are not simply trampled underfoot but that everyone born in Seireitei might have the same opportunity to make a difference."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Those who fear change would call me dangerous," he added dismissively. "They would label me an outlaw and a rebel and a person who commits unspeakable crimes. Less is said of the crimes committed by those who hold all the power, however. The suffering in Rukongai, those who starve or perish trying to scramble into Seireitei for even one mouthful of proper food are never spoken about in polite society. The poor in Seireitei - you know full well that it is not easy to live hand-to-mouth when everything you had is taken by a Clansman on the wrong side of justice. I have blooded my hands, yes. I won't deny it. But I am not simply a callous, destructive murderer. My ambition is as it was when your father still lived - to remove the oppression of those who cause such widespread suffering, and open up Seireitei to the ones who truly deserve to govern it."

He eyed Tenichi thoughtfully.

"Tell me, who is your Captain? You are a recruit, correct? To which division?"

"Thirteenth. Under Ukitake Juushirou-taichou," Tenichi was surprised by the sudden change in topic, and to Ketsui's astonishment, pleasure flooded Keitarou's features.

"Ah. Then such things can truly happen," he whispered, more than half talking to himself. "If that one, in whom I had so many high hopes can raise to such a level, then times are really changing. Perhaps now is the right time, after soon we will finish what Daisuke and I began, and bring everything down to the same level."

He clapped his hands down on Tenichi's shoulders again, eying him firmly.

"For your father's sake, remain strong and fight for those beliefs of yours," he said evenly. "As a shinigami of the Gotei or descendant of the Urahara exiles, the same rules apply. I will not tell you what path to choose, nor what side to take in the battles ahead. This is your future, and Daisuke would want you to make your own decisions about right and wrong. Still, think carefully on all I've told you tonight. You are of an age now to draw that sword and fight for the things you believe in - doing so helps to shape what this world will become."

He laughed.

"Your Captain can probably advise you of those things more successfully than me," he reflected ruefully. "I am gratified to know that he has continued to be the catalyst for change I felt sure he would be, even so many years since our last unfortunate encounter."

"You...know my Captain?"

"Long, long ago," Keitarou dismissed this with a flick of his hand. "His beliefs and mine collided and then parted in a brief moment, you might say. Ah, well. He was your age then, Tenichi-kun. Young men are impetuous and full of ideals. Once I thought we might fight alongside one another, but he was too easily seduced by Clan power, and so our acquaintance ended."

He sighed.

"Our family were given the gift and the curse of crafting the future of this place," he murmured. "Whether the Clans realise it or not yet, our bloodline will eventually be triumphant in our goals. Perhaps, when that time comes, we will no longer see brave people like Irie in such abandoned places, waiting to breathe their last. Think about it...both of you. What do you want your future to be? The choices you make now will matter more and more as you go on, so make sure they are right from the start."

He bowed his head, pulling his cloak up once more to cover your face.

"Carry my best wishes to your mother," he added. "I trust my remedy will do her some good. It appears I will not be able to speak to her myself, as it seems you have another guest approaching, but if at least you can tell her I came by, that will have to suffice."

"Another...?" Ketsui stared, and Tenichi frowned.

"It's only Kirio coming back with Mother's proper medicine," he said frankly. "She's a trusted friend, Keitarou-dono, and no reason for you to curtail the length of your visit."

"Kirio...huh?" A faint, fleeting recollection seemed to cross Keitarou's features, and he smiled, shaking his head. "No. I have outstayed my welcome. I am glad to have seen you both again, though...very glad. I hope...that it won't be the last time we meet. I feel there is still something this scattered, trampled family can do to change this world, if we so choose."

With that he was gone, slipping into a shunpo step so swift and exact that Ketsui's raw skills had trouble processing the speed of his action. For a moment there was silence, then Tenichi sighed.

"Do you think that was really...true?" Ketsui murmured, and Tenichi nodded.

"About Father? Yes. Mother's never told us, but yes. That was Keitarou-dono, Ketsui. For certain, it was. And as he spoke to us about Father...it was in his eyes. What Keitarou-dono said...about Father's death...was true."

"Then..." Ketsui bit his lip. "Father was killed and Keitarou-dono's been living as he has since then because he avenged that death?"

"A lot of death and devastation happened then, and since," Tenichi spoke quietly. "Right now, don't think about it too much. We don't have anything to back up what he told us except the word of an outlaw. When Mother wakes...we'll talk to her too, and find out what she knew about any of this. And then...when I go back to Seireitei, maybe I'll speak to Taichou...since Keitarou-dono talked about him too, and..."

"No..I don't think we should," Ketsui shook his head hastily. "Keitarou-dono is our kinsman, and for our sakes and Mother's we can't draw attention to him so easily. If any of this is false, or if they think we're protecting a felon - we shouldn't do anything, Tenichi. The past is the past. The future is what he said - ours to create. We're shinigami - you're in a squad, I'm in training. That's what we both decided to do with our lives, so that's what we should focus on now."

Tenichi was silent for a moment, then,

"I wonder if that's true," he murmured softly. "I really wonder if it is."

With that he turned on his heel, heading back down the narrow, low-ceilinged hallway to their mother's sick room.

Ketsui remained behind, a faint sense of unease in the pit of his stomach.

Like a ghost had reared up from the grave and had touched his skin, he felt certain that Keitarou's appearance had not been by chance. Had he made a promise to Daisuke to come here? Did he want something more from them than just to see their faces? It had sounded as though he wanted to lure them to his cause - but was there even a cause any more?

Keitarou-dono probably did avenge father's murder. Father probably was murdered by the Endou because even I remember that the Endou mistreated the Urahara exiles.

He reached up to touch his fair hair.

This made me a target for people until we came here, so I wouldn't ever forget that that was the case. That side of it...probably is true. And yet...

He sighed.

Father sent us away. Mother brought us here so we could live in freedom - even if we were poor. We have. We did. And now we have a future. I can learn to be a shinigami without fear of my family's past turning folk against me. Father wanted us to be that way - I'm sure he did. Whatever he intended to do - or died doing - he sent us away so we wouldn't be tainted by it. Surely...that's the reason. Surely...he'd want us to look forward, not back?

"Why the troubled face, Ketsui-kun?" Kirio's voice startled him and he turned, offering her a pensive glance.

"Is Irie-san all right?" Kirio's green eyes were full of concern, and he forced himself to smile, nodding his head.

"We had an unexpected visitor, but they've gone now," he said quietly, sliding the vial of unknown medicine deep into the sleeve of his white hakamashita. "Mother's still sleeping - you're back in plenty of time."

"People in the village were talking about a stranger," Kirio's gaze burned with curiosity. "Was that the visitor? Was it someone you know?"

"I don't really know the answer to that," Ketsui admitted, "so let's not talk about it any more. For the time being, Mother is our main concern...and right now, that's all I want to think of."