"You—you—you... what on earth are you talking about?!"
The moment the words left Kiyokazu's mouth, Ume's stammering response fired back. However, realizing her reaction was a bit over the top, she quickly collected herself. Her hands instinctively began to fidget, twisting the hem of her kimono until it was wrinkled.
As his question echoed in her ears, she instinctively pressed her legs together. Her eyes darted around in panic; she didn't know where to look, as every spot felt awkward to stare at.
This guy... who just says something like that so bluntly?! Does he have no sense of shame at all?!
But truth be told... she did need to go. She hadn't had a chance to relieve herself all day. In fact, she had just finished doing so right before she first stumbled upon the half-dead Kiyokazu. Since then, crisis after crisis had struck, and things had been so urgent that she hadn't given a single thought to her own physiological needs.
Now that Kiyokazu had pointed it out, she found the urge becoming nearly impossible to suppress. If she held it in now only to have to go out alone in the middle of the night, it would only be a burden to him.
Ume bit her lip hard. After a moment of hesitation, she spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito's hum. "Um, well... I..."
Kiyokazu caught her drift. Realizing she was too embarrassed to say it out loud, he spoke up directly. "There's a patch of tall grass over there. You can take care of things nearby. I'll keep my back turned and stand guard; you don't need to worry."
"If you need to go again later, just tell me immediately. Our situation is still dangerous, and we absolutely cannot wander off alone."
Kiyokazu's words were thoughtful and considerate, which helped dissipate some of Ume's bashfulness. She knew that everything he was considering was for the sake of the bigger picture.
Still... Ume tilted her head slightly and caught a glimpse of Kiyokazu's earlobes, which were just as red as hers. Suddenly, her nerves vanished, replaced by a faint, inexplicable smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
So you're not nearly as calm as you look...
"Okay," she whispered, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible.
"Hold onto my sleeve. It's dark and there's a lot of mud around; I don't want you to trip."
Following Kiyokazu's concerned instruction, Ume grasped the edge of his garment and followed him step by step. This felt entirely different from being with her brother. She couldn't quite put her finger on the difference, but the flush in her cheeks wouldn't go away. She looked up at the moonlit sky with a sense of relief—thankfully it was night, otherwise he would have seen exactly how flustered she was.
Once they reached the spot, Kiyokazu stood with his back to her. He began to circulate his Sun Breathing, focusing his mind as much as possible. The riverbank and the surrounding woods were silent, save for the distant sound of occasional footsteps.
Even though Kiyokazu tried to control his focus, his senses—heightened by the Sun Breathing—uncontrollably picked up the tiny noises behind him.
It was the rustling of fabric against skin...
The moment didn't last long. After a sound of shifting grass came from the thicket, Ume's voice, awkward and stuttering, drifted over. "I—I'm done."
Only then did Kiyokazu turn around. Though his enhanced perception had already told him she was finished, waiting for her word was a matter of respect.
For a moment, Kiyokazu didn't know how to respond. The silence between them became thick and a bit heavy with a subtle, lingering tension.
"Um... do you need to go?" Ume broke the silence. She kept her head low, her face so red it looked like it might start dripping. "If you do, make sure you find a different spot."
"Yeah."
By the time they returned to the culvert, they both tacitly avoided meeting each other's eyes. Ume crouched in the inner part of the tunnel, feeling her heart pounding against her ribs.
Kiyokazu sat in a half-crouch at the entrance. He took a moment to steady his emotions. As the Sun Breathing flowed quietly through his veins, it not only washed away his physical fatigue but also sharpened his senses, allowing him to catch the slightest anomaly in the surroundings.
For now, aside from the sound of the river and the scurrying of small animals, there was no sign of that nauseating scent of blood or malice. Even so, he didn't lower his guard. He had no intention of sleeping tonight.
Inside the culvert, Ume carefully used a damp cloth to wipe the sweat from Gyutaro's forehead. Once she was certain his condition hadn't worsened, she instinctively looked toward Kiyokazu.
By sheer coincidence, their gazes met. Just as Ume was about to look away in a panic, Kiyokazu spoke softly.
"I'll take the watch tonight. You and your brother get some rest. As soon as the sun comes up tomorrow, we'll head for the villages outside."
"We should take turns," Ume countered. "Your injuries are heavy, too. I'm the only one who isn't hurt; it wouldn't be right for me to let you stay awake all night. If we rotate, it'll be easier on your body."
Kiyokazu shook his head and explained, "The environment here is too noisy. My senses are naturally different from others; I can detect things from much further away, which gives us more time to escape if we need to. I appreciate the offer, but given the circumstances, it's best if I stay awake."
Ume looked at the silhouette at the entrance—the back of a boy she had only just met, yet who had already left such a profound mark on her heart—and nodded slowly. She didn't insist further, knowing that Kiyokazu's plan was indeed the most logical one.
"Thank you for your hard work. I'll make it up to you later."
"You don't have to keep saying that. It makes me feel pressured," Kiyokazu joked.
His lighthearted reply helped Ume relax. As the culvert settled into a quiet calm, the fates of the three seemed to weave tightly together in this brief moment of peace.
Meanwhile, a man with a severed left leg leaned on a crutch, his face twisted into a snarl as he hissed to the men around him:
"We can't give that brat a moment to catch his breath! We have to deal with them now. This isn't about money anymore. If we let them recover and get their strength back, not a single one of us will make it out alive!"
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