Their journey to Niigata took them nearly three days. In that time, Usagi tried to move past his pain and continued to train Leonardo in the ways of the samurai. Kuroko and Umō did their best to cheer up Jotaro but he remained silent as they walked. Whenever he was asked a question, Jotaro kept his answers as short as possible. It broke Leo’s heart to see the once vibrant child so dejected and shut down.
The closer they got to Niigata the more people they saw on the road going to the same location. Leonardo held Kuroko and Umō’s hands while Usagi carried Jotaro to make sure that they didn’t get lost among the many travelers.
Niigata was bustling with crowds of people and merchants. People came out in droves to buy, sell, or negotiate. Leonardo was tempted to use some of the ryō to buy souvenirs to take home to his family but knew better. It wouldn’t have been a wise way to spend his money, knowing that they had the children’s wellbeing to consider.
They bought some food from one of the vendors and Usagi gave each child a few copper coins so that they could play some games. The lively atmosphere soon had Jotaro smiling again as he ran through the crowds with Kuroko and Umō. “Stay together,” Usagi called out after them.
“This is nice,” Leo said with a smile.
“It is,” Usagi agreed. “My father used to bring me here when I was a child. He would come here for business. As magistrate, he would visit the perspective buyers and negotiate a fair price for the rice and plums that my village produced. Since he believed that I would be magistrate after him, I had to sit in on the negotiations to learn how to do it but once they were done, I was allowed to enjoy the festival.”
Leonardo glanced over at where the children were playing a dice game with several other children. They had to bet on whether or not the dice would come up odd or even. Kuroko placed a coin down and called out his prediction and the man lifted the cup that was covering the dice. Leo could not hear what was being said but judging by their reactions, Kuroko guessed wrong.
As the man collected the dice and placed them in the cup another man walked up and lifted Kuroko by the carapace. Fear coursed through Leo as he rushed towards the children. Umō and Jotaro were yelling and kicking the large man who was holding Kuroko up at eye level. “I can see you, little demon.” By the slur in his speech, it was apparent that he had been drinking.
“The only demon here is one who would hurt a child,” Leo shouted, grabbing hold of Kuroko. “Release him now!”
“I know this creature,” the man said and the scent of sake carried on his breath. His grip on Kuroko held strong. “Don’t let him fool you. He was a man the last time I saw him. He stole from me and had the audacity to sell it back to me.”
“That was not this boy,” Leo explained. “That was his father. I killed him almost a month ago and then decided to care for the child. You can go back to the town and try to claim compensation from them. They had laid claim to the bandits’ hoard. This child is not a demon. He is just a boy who looks different. Please, release him.”
“No,” the man replied flatly.
Without warning, Leo punched the drunkard in the nose. The man staggered back, releasing Kuroko to hold his nose. “I will not let you or anyone else harm him,” Leo snarled, pulling Kuroko close. Kuroko was trembling in his arms and held tightly to Leonardo.
“I’ll make you pay for that,” the man growled as he looked down at his blood covered hand. He lunged at Leo but even burdened with a child the man was no match for Leo. Side stepping out of the way, Leo extended his foot to trip him and then elbowed him in the back. The man sprawled out in the dirt.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” Leo warned. “Leave.”
The man glared up at Leonardo and looked as if he was about to attack again. Usagi stepped forward to stand next to Leo. “That would not be wise.” With a snarl on his lips the man stood.
“You best watch yourselves,” the man said. “You anger the wrong people, your children will end up like Yagi’s brat.”
“Yagi?” Usagi gasped. “What happened to Gorogoro?”
“Dead,” the man answered curtly. “Yagi was unable to keep him safe while fighting off a swarm of Komori ninjas.”
Leonardo recalled the story Usagi had told him of the Komori. They were a clan of bat ninjas who had fastened blades to their wings. It was a fascinating way to use resources. But they were assassins and, if they were capable of killing a child, without honor.
Usagi reached down and picked up Jotaro. “That is… unfortunate.”
“Noble samurai,” the man scoffed. “These children would be better off being sold. At least they would have a better chance at survival.”
“I thought I told you to leave,” Leo snarled.
The man glared at Leo one last time before turning on his heel. As he walked away the man with the cup shook the dice to get their attention. “Are you going to continue to play? If not, I kindly ask you to move so that others might sit.”
“Of course,” Usagi bowed slightly to him. “I apologize. We will be on our way.”
Kuroko held Leo tight and whispered, “I will always be seen as a monster.”
“Not always,” Leo soothed. He reached down to grab Umō’s hand and then followed after Usagi. “Life will be difficult but I will be here for you and I know my family will love you.” He looked over at Usagi who was holding Jotaro close. “Let’s not let this ruin our fun. We came here to enjoy ourselves.”
Usagi stopped and looked over at Leo. “You are right.” He looked at Jotaro and smiled. “Let’s have some fun.”
“Look,” Umō said in wonder as she pointed up to the sky.
It was the distraction that they had needed. Leo and Usagi turned to see a colorful, large kite fill the sky. It was bigger than any kite Leo had ever seen and looked to be at least twenty feet tall. In fact, it was so big it looked as if it could be used as a hang glider. Awe struck, Leo said, “That is amazing.”
“It is an Odako. It is good to see that he has built another one,” Usagi smiled and then turned to Leonardo to explain. “I passed through here a few years back. I got into some trouble with some cheating gamblers and accidently caught a ride on a large kite. Its builder didn’t sound happy about losing his creation but it saved me.”
“I want to ride on it,” Umō squeaked, jumping up and down in excitement.
Usagi looked down at her. “How about we fly a few smaller ones instead?”
“Okay,” Umō smiled, accepting the compromise.
They walked through the crowds to a vendor who was selling small paper kites. They bought one for each child and stepped out into the open field.
Leonardo looked out at the different kites in the sky. Some were simple ones that people had bought, while others were impressive works of art. Not too far away there was a group of men using their kites in an aerial battle. The control they had over their creations was commendable. It couldn’t have been easy to fight the air currents using only string.
It was a new experience for Leonardo. Out of all the things he has done in life, flying a kite wasn’t one of them. He was amazed at the pull the kites had and it made him a little worried that Umō would have difficulties holding on to hers. As an extra precaution, Leo sat down in the grass with Umō in his lap and helped Umō fly her kite. She giggled in delight as they fought against the pull.
After a while the children grew tired of flying their kites and reeled them in. They watched a short performance with jugglers and acrobats and then, as the sun started to set, found an inn for the night. After a meal of rice and pickled vegetables, they decided to get some sleep. Due to the high demand brought on by the festival, they had to share a room with several others. The children curled up on the floor between Leo and Usagi as the two warriors slept, sitting up against the wall. It was an arrangement that Leo was getting used to.
The next morning they had a breakfast of eggs and more rice. Usagi bought some rice balls and fruit and packed them away for lunch before leading the way out of the village. They followed the path for a few hours before they reached a fork in the road.
“Which way?” Leo asked as Usagi came to a stop.
“I do not know,” Usagi answered honestly. “I didn’t have anything planned beyond the festival. I was expecting it to be just the two of us and figured that we could simply let fate decide.”
“Well, we can still let fate decide,” Leo replied with a smile.
“I suppose we could.” Usagi bent down to pick up a stick from the road and handed it to Jotaro. “Why don’t you decide which way we go.”
With a slight nod of his head, Jotaro accepted the stick. He then threw it up into the air, flicking his fingers to cause it to spin. When the stick landed it was pointing to the left path. Jotaro looked up at Usagi. “It looks like we are going that way.”
“Then that is the way we will go,” Usagi smiled and started down the path. “Let’s just hope that fate has something good in mind for us.”
That night they fished in a nearby river for their dinner and settled down to sleep under a large tree. Usagi sat and watched the children sleep. “I am worried about their wellbeing.”
Leo had a feeling that he knew what was on Usagi’s mind. “Does this have to do with what that drunkard said yesterday at the festival?”
“Yes,” Usagi admitted. “I have made my fair share of enemies. Jotaro’s life has already been placed in jeopardy because of it. I hire myself out for money so it is inevitable that I will make more enemies. I would be unable to live with myself if he died because of it. He has already suffered so much.”
“You can’t think like that,” Leo soothed.
“You’re right,” Usagi agreed, settling back against the tree.
Leonardo had no idea how to help soothe his friend’s turmoil. He looked down at Kuroko and Umō. In the short time they have been with him he has grown attached to them. He understood Usagi’s fear. There were dangers in this world, even more so for those who wandered the warrior’s path. As skilled as he was he knew that he had his limits. If he was overwhelmed he could lose them and he knew that it would tear him apart.
