Lee sat down on the old tree stump, gasping for breath. His arms no longer glowed radiant orange and his eyes had returned to normal.

Sora paced in the wet snow. "What's happening to him?"

I tightened the bandages that had been quickly tied around my stab wound as I answered Sora."The initial power surge of gaining an Ember has worn off. He'll be weak for a few days now. In this time he'll have to learn to control his power, or it will consume him."

Lee looked up to me, pale in the face. "I never heard of people being overpowered by their own Embers before. Is all this really true?"

"I had never heard of an Ember being born in the eternal darkness, but here we are. You could have one of, if not the last Ember gifted down from Amaterasu before she went missing. That power, with how much you used it immediately after gaining it, can definitely get out of hand quickly. Just rest, and you'll get better."

Sora nodded as he stopped his pacing and started rummaging through the surrounding shrubbery. "Alright then, he rests. But where do we go? The Shogun will be wanting your head after he realizes you survived this. And I'm sure Kohei told him about our friendships, so he'll be looking for us as well."

I stroked my beard with the one arm that wasn't injured as I thought. Not a single place seemed safe, safe from yokai or the Shogun. But there was one option that stood out from the rest. "There's a place, north of Mt.Fuji. A monastery that could help Lee learn to use his Ember, and might take you in if you tell them I sent you two. Either that or they'd try to kill you both."

Sora tilted his head as he still searched through the bushes. "Interesting friends you've acquired."

I was reluctant, as always, to talk about my past. But I needed to explain to them who these people were before I sent them away. "I grew up in the same village as these monks. Devout worshipers of Lady Amaterasu. They were very influential in my childhood. But in my adulthood, I betrayed a lot of people. And they were some of those people. I haven't seen them since, so I can only hope their hearts are filled with forgiveness." I continued as Sora found and uncovered our horses. "If they do take you in, they'll be very helpful with teaching Lee. If they don't, I'm not sure I can help you."

Lee nodded as he slowly stood from his seat. He looked at me with the same eyes he had when I first met him, young and ambitious, but now they had matured. Matured past naivety and past his self-pity. "That looks like it's our best option. But where will you go, Kenshi? The Shogun's going to look for you first."

I crossed my arms, avoiding the still raw wound in my gut, and thought. I had accomplished my first goal, at drastic costs. What happened next was going to be even more difficult. "There are a few things I must do before I can truly rest."

Lee looked down to the ground in disappointment. "I was hoping that you would join us..."

Although it was a strain, I walked to Lee and put a hand on his shoulder, assuring him that it was alright. "I can neither go with you nor involve you two in this yet. I'll be meeting a friend, so don't worry about my well being. Just focus on finding a place to be safe, and if all goes well I will call for your help again."

He nodded and looked back up to me. "It seems like a bad decision to split after all we've gone through..." Lee thought for a moment and ultimately decided to let it go. "But I understand. We'll miss you, Kenshi."

Sora added as he started rearing the wagon backward. "We are thankful for all your help. May you have the best of luck in your endeavors. We'll be waiting for the day we see you again." He glanced over to me after he spoke, and I responded with a small nod.

Without the need for more words, I helped them prepare to start their trip. Sora pulled the wagon back and towards the road, and after we silently split a few of the boxes of supplies and moved a few boxes, they were ready to embark.

But before they left, Lee spoke once more. "Is this really goodbye?"

I felt horrible. I felt as though I was abandoning them. And Lee only deepened the desire to jump onto the carriage and join them. But it was for the best. "It is. For now."

He looked ahead and to the road. "Alright then." But as soon as he set sights on the path, he faced towards me again. "We'll have to meet again soon!" He traded his disappointment for optimism, and I would expect no less from Lee.

But honestly, I didn't know if I'd ever see them again. What I had planned would be dangerous, I knew I would meet them again if I even made it that far. Nonetheless, I agreed. "We will."

Sora waved. "We will keep good care of each other." He grabbed the lead from his feet. "Till we meet again." Sora bowed his head, followed by Lee. I promptly returned the gestures.

Without any more words, they rode onto the icy road and into the dark.

Enveloped in solitude once more.

I stood there in the chilled air. Just thinking. Listening to the screeching of yokai in the distance, slowly getting closer. Which meant I would have to pull myself away soon, but I couldn't

Serenity washed over me. I hadn't had anyone I would call a friend in decades, but then they were thrust upon me.

And then they were gone. Perished by the hand of the things I let fester on this earth, or leaving to hide from the Shogun, whom I could have stopped long ago if I wasn't blinded by shallow desires.

There was only one last place to turn. The one person I trusted to aid me in my final quest.

I broke myself from my trance and walked towards the group of horses hidden in the brush.

Some were already taken by Samurai that had escaped, but my horse remained. As I climbed atop it, I felt a searing pain in my abdomen, and the blood started flowing once again.

I could do nothing more but wince as I finished mounting.

We had already moved supplies on the back of my horse, so I was prepared to make the trip back home.

Hayato was my only chance, the only person I believed could help me, so I would meet him once again. I pulled the reins and my horse ran forward, quickly fleeing from the reverberating sounds of demons in the night.

Last we spoke, it didn't end well. I knew if I wanted him to join me, I would have to tell him. Tell him everything.

I moved through the cold wind and through the dark forest, one hand holding the reins and the other clutched to injured stomach.

The grim scenery around me seemed to blur together into streaks of white blanketed green. The shrieks of yokai muted as my mind thought about what I planned on doing next.

Even though I was extremely reluctant, I was backed into a corner. I wasn't as young as Sora and Lee, I couldn't start a new life like they were. And I'd be damned if I would crawl into a hole and die. The only option left was to face it all head-on and keep no more secrets.

Quickly enough I reached the bottom of the mountain, not taking any time to rest once I reached the town we had stayed in the last few nights.

It was a strange thought. We had gone through so much struggle and so much hardship, but we barely touched the surface of the enormous mountain, and luckily so. If we had been any further up than we were, we might not have been able to escape the demons.

But what could have been didn't matter. I had to concentrate on staying awake. Once the adrenaline wore off, it became hard to see straight. I couldn't decide whether it was because of the tireless fighting, or the loss of blood, but in either situation, I couldn't stop or rest. Our caravan was supposed to send a report to the Shogun, and once he realizes what happened, I wouldn't be safe anywhere.

Slowly, my vision started to blur as my arms grew heavy.

I muttered to myself as I shook my head, trying to wake myself up. "Only a small ways to go." Without giving the horse a rest, and without having to move slowly in formation with the carriages, I made excellent progress, so I didn't worry about time, just my ability to make it there.

Time passed seemingly instantaneously without thinking of anything other than concentrating on the path, but soon the bloodloss caught up to me. My eyes started growing too heavy to ignore.

I fought it for as long as I could manage. But just for a mere moment, I let my eyes shut, and as soon as I opened them again, I realized it was more than a mere moment.

I found myself barely atop my horse, which was desperately trying to stop before it slid off the hill in front of us. I had to have missed a sharp turn in the road.

Any attempts to land on my feet would be futile, so I just braced myself to make the landing as easy as possible.

After what seemed forever sliding down the muddy hill, my momentum was halted.

Hazily, I lifted myself from my indent in the mud and looked around. My horse was close to me and laying on its side, obviously injured from our crash. The forest surrounding us was unremarkable and non-important.

After seeing what was around me, I noticed the most taxing repercussion of my accident. The incision in my abdomen had been opened and started bleeding once again.

I walked hazily over to my horse, which was slowly getting back on its feet. It seemed it had taken most of the impact. The poor thing limped and blood soaked into its short fur. I knew I could ask no more of it.

As I got close, I outstretched my hand and stroked the snout of the horse to comfort it as the other grabbed my sword from my luggage. I used my thumb to push the sword out of the sheath, which fell to the ground, I then used it to slowly cut off the saddle, releasing the heavy weight from the injured animal.

I spoke as I picked up my belongings and put my sword back in my sheath. "You've done enough, girl." It looked at me for a second, then slowly started to trot into the greenery. And with that, the horse I had been with since I was drafted into our fallen division was out of sight, never to be seen again.

After a moment of thinking, I knew I had to start moving if I wanted to make it on foot, so I pulled myself together and tied my luggage on my back to walk with them, but it was far too heavy, so I reluctantly dropped everything except my sword, which I promptly put in my belt.

The portal was only a mile or two away, I could make it even with my injury, I just had to keep moving. Don't stop moving.

With enough effort, I made my way up the slippery hill back to the road and started walking.

Although dim, I could see the lights of a nearby city. It had to be the one I was looking for, the one that took me to the portal.

My legs felt weak and my mind was cloudy, but I kept walking. The only thing on my mind was getting to Hayato. I could rest when I reached him. I could heal.

And slowly but surely, I reached the city. The sounds of street vendors and other various people looking to sell something seemed muffled to me. I took no time to look at or remember any of their faces.

I could see the familiar red gate, with a familiar fog letting people pass through. Quickly, I joined the crowd of pedestrians, trying to cover my bleeding torso and the neck that the yokai had bitten as to not attract unneeded attention.

Almost there, only a few steps left.

As I grew closer I was pushed and bumped to my limit. I fell to my knees as people absentmindedly weaved around me.

I looked with blurry vision to the snow sprinkled dirt, trying to concentrate on bringing my breathing back to normal from its heavy panting, and after a moment, I started to push myself up with a mumble. "Almost there... Don't fail now."

Slowly, I was able to stand, and finally, I reached the foggy portal.

The fog consumed me along with the ones surrounding me.

I had made it, I could rest. All that was left was to find Hayato.

But as I searched, the faintness finally took hold and I collapsed to my knees once more.

A moment of struggle and trying to stand, then I found myself laying on the dirt, vision quickly fading.

It all turned to black, it all turned to quiet. There was nothing more I could do but sleep. Sleep and pray it wasn't the final time I closed my eyes.