They had to drag Masami out of the basement beneath Lord Kubo’s estate on a stretcher. Somehow, she remained conscious throughout the entire process. Toshiro called it a miracle. Masami hadn’t been so sure. At least being unconscious would have taken away the pain. As it was, she had spent three days in various states of agony as an angry Kaiya set her broken bones. The ribs had been the worst. She’d had to use all her might to keep her mind off of things as Kaiya mumbled about punctured lungs and bone shards. Even now, a week later, breathing was a painful chore.

As soon as Masami’s worst injuries were tended to and she seemed stable, the questions began. What happened to Lord Kubo and his sons? How had she sustained such terrible injuries? What was that chamber beneath the estate for? In the end, she had mostly lied. Not to spare the Kubo family’s honor and good name, but because it was easier than trying to explain. So for all the rest of the world knew, Lord Kubo and his sons had been killed by a trio of powerful demons, who Masami had been just barely able to finish off after the long battle.

The new magistrate was appointed within the week. Eiko Kubo. She was, after all, Lord Kubo’s only living child, and so it fell to her to take over his lands. Masami was sure her husband wouldn’t mind. The merger of Amagasaki and Kurume would make for a ludicrously wealthy prefecture. But that was far from Masami’s concern. The nobility could do whatever they wished with their power struggles for all she cared, and Eiko and her new husband seemed more likely than the old lord to send aid to Ichinomiya, and that was good enough for her.

The struggle had been costly. As the week went on, Masami heard news through Toshiro and Yasuko that several nearby towns and farming communities had been ravaged by the demons Lord Kubo had called down. They estimated the casualties were in the hundreds, but their work had saved thousands more. It would take a while, years maybe, but the city and surrounding towns would heal. Winter would be hard this year with so many fields disturbed and farmers killed. Toshiro thought they could manage, though.

A week after that fateful day, Masami was well enough to travel once more. Her leg remained in a splint, and she could not walk quickly or unaided, but she was ready to go, and no one could convince her to rest longer. Kaiya managed to get her to agree to stop for a few days in Ueno, a village in the foothills of the mountains near a hot spring whose waters were blessed by a healing kami. Masami had grumbled at first, but Kaiya’s argument proved persuasive. There were worse ways to heal up. At least the hot spring would be quick.

The trio left Kurume in the early morning. Their bags were well-stocked, Masami wore fresh bandages, and despite it all, their spirits were high. Masami hobbled between Toshiro and Yasuko, alternating whose shoulder she leaned on for support. Travel was slow like this. By the end of the first day, they could still plainly see Kurume behind them. But they soldiered on, taking frequent breaks to rest Masami’s legs. Each time they stopped, Masami or Yasuko would teach Toshiro more techniques. Sometimes he and Yasuko would spar, and though she always defeated him handily, he was quickly improving.

On the night of the third day, Toshiro found himself wide awake after an hour of trying and failing to drift off. Masami was sound asleep already of course. Her injuries made her exhausted, so sleep found her quickly, a fact for which all of them were relieved. Yasuko appeared to be asleep as well. Toshiro smiled softly at how she curled herself into her bedroll. It was cute. He wondered what else she might be hiding under that veneer of confidence and calmness she always wore. Even after two weeks with her, he had hardly gotten her to open up about her life. He would offer small things about himself - the story of the first time he’d ridden a horse, and had fallen off, or how his grandmother had shown him how to whistle with a blade of grass. Masami always tried to encourage him, but Yasuko never quite reciprocated beyond politely listening.

“Is something the matter?”

Toshiro jumped at the sound of the voice. As soon as he realized it was Yasuko though, he chuckled. “You scared me! I didn’t think you were still awake too. Everything’s alright, I just...can’t sleep.”

“Why?” For once she sounded concerned, rather than polite.

“I don’t know. My mind just won’t stop racing from one thought to the next. Really, it’s fine. I used to get like this all the time when I was a kid. Drove grandma nuts. She always said it was some playful spirit trying to mess with me, to make it harder for me to get my chores done.”

“Was it? A playful spirit, that is?” She shifted under her blankets to sit upright.

“Somehow I doubt it. Just an overactive imagination with nothing to distract it. I’m sure there are plenty of others who feel the same way sometimes.” He sighed. “What about you? Why are you still awake?”

Yasuko hesitated. In the dim light of the moon Toshiro could see her flinch. “I...” She gave him a serious look. “You cannot tell anyone. Promise?”

“Yes, of course. What is it?”

“I never sleep properly. Not for more than an hour or two at a time. Everyone worries terribly over it, no matter what I tell them. I am certain Masami would make a big deal of it if she heard. It is enough for me. A blessing even, as I am always keeping watch.”

“It’s my turn to ask why then.”

“I...do not know. Every so often, I simply wake up.” She paused, looking down. “Usually terrified.”

Toshiro flashed her a concerned look. “Well, what are you dreaming about right before you wake up? Do you have nightmares or something?”

She shook her head. “I do not remember my dreams. But I believe it is more than that.”

“Are you going to elaborate on that?”

She flinched again.

“You don’t have to. I’m just worried about you is all. Maybe talking would help, it always helps me. I promise not to laugh, or tell anyone.”

“Yes, well. I am not as adept in such matters as you. But I suppose I will try.” She took a deep breath and continued. “When I was very small, perhaps three years of age, the old war was in its final year. I was walking with my parents in the woods near Ichinomiya. They used to take me to a small creek a half hour’s walk from town, where I could play and let out my energy. We never concerned ourselves with the monsters that plagued the world, for in that year, most of them had already been killed, or else were fighting their final battles to try and remain in our world. On this summer day, the water was cool and refreshing. My father walked across the creek, deeper into the woods, to find some branches, as I had asked him if we might build a small dam. I cannot recall why - I suppose it must have been my curiosity at what would happen if we were to stop the flow of the water.”

“A quarter of an hour later, there was a terrible scream from inside the woods. My father’s scream. And then came some creature, walking towards us. We could see its silhouette in the trees as it came, its movements all shivers and creaks. My mother rushed me away, but I...” She took another deep breath, balling up a fist as she forced out the next words. “I saw its face. It was a hag of some sort, gnarled, spindly, and a terrible bone white. I saw its mouth move, and felt the words it uttered. A curse. It cackled as we ran, and finally I was able to peel my eyes from it once we exited the woods. We never saw my father again.”

“Shortly after, my mother took gravely ill. She lasted no longer than the war did; the same day we heard news that the conflict was over, she breathed her last in her sleep.” Yasuko’s cheeks were now wet with silent tears, though she kept talking. “In...in the end, her face was that same sickly bone white of the hag. And...ever since, that is the face I see when I close my eyes. Every night.” She shivered, and for a moment Toshiro wanted nothing more than to reach out and embrace her, but she stilled herself. “It is there when I wake up as well. My lack of sleep is a part of that creature’s curse, I assume.”

Toshiro was stunned. What was there to say? He went with “Yasuko...I’m so sorry.”

She shrugged, wiping away the tears. “I am used to it. Forgive me my weakness, the memory is still raw to talk about.”

“Weakness? Yasuko, you’re the strongest person I can think of, to be holding it together so well with a burden like that.”

“Am I holding it together well? I am not sure anymore. I am calm, I suppose.” She lowered her voice. “But I do wish I could experience a night without terror, for once.”

Toshiro nodded. “Of course. I...Yasuko, would you like a hug?”

Yasuko’s mind argued with itself for a moment. Yes, of course she wanted a hug. But would that not be too familiar? Too unrestrained? Surely it was unbecoming of her.

“Yes. Please,” she blurted out, much to her own surprise.

Toshiro wrapped his arms around her, gingerly at first, then tighter as he felt her press her face into his chest. He murmured “it’s okay. You’re safe.”

Yasuko’s thoughts raced through her head. This was new. She had never allowed herself such closeness before. Opening herself up like this was surely a sign of weakness. She was giving out information that could be used against her, her deepest secret. How would Takeo react? For that matter, how would the people of Ichinomiya? They deserved a strong leader, the kind of leader she knew she could be.

The tightening embrace of Toshiro stilled her thoughts. He was comfortable. Warm. She heard him whisper to her, and the words made her breath catch in her throat. Was this what normal friendship was like? She buried herself in Toshiro’s chest. Normal or not, it was nice. It felt right.

“Don’t let go.”

Her words were muffled, but Toshiro heard them well enough. He smiled down at her, leaning back so they could lie side by side.

“I won’t.”

Beside them, as they drifted off together, Masami smiled and went back to sleep.