Another year had come and gone. The mountain is unchanging.
The same old pine tree stood at the end of the cliff. Its roots gripping stone and soil as if refusing to let go. Beneath it sat the same two figures. Cross-legged beside a dying fire. The air was thin, snow lighter than the year prior. They looked down upon the world beyond the foot of the mountain. Painted silver beneath the crescent moon.
Keyuzu sat in silence. Her sword resting over her lap. The ronin sat next to her, his eyes closed, breathing shallow and uneven. He had grown thinner. His one straight and sturdy back now slightly bent under the weight of age. Yet he still seemed so calm.
They had sat there many nights in the past. Sharing warmth, silence, prayer. But tonight it felt different.
They both knew that the ronin's time was closing in.
The ronin's eyes slowly opened, turning to face Keyuzu. His voice was low, soft and steady. Carried by the wind.
"Do you know what this tree is called Keyuzu?"
Keyuzu shook her head. silent.
"It's called Tsuki o miru mono*. The moon's watcher. People say it was planted here by a monk who prayed at this very spot every night until his death. Some believe it was so he could watch over the world using this tree as a vessel after he died. And to protect this mountain."
He smiled faintly
"I like to think he's doing a good job. We've been safe up here all these years after all."
Keyuzu didn't answer. Her gaze fixed on the ronin. Her sensei. Her father.
His hands were brittle. Pale.
"You've grown."
He said quietly.
"Your strikes are cleaner, more precise and planned. Your steps are lighter. You've done well."
She turned to him.
"You taught me everything."
He chuckled, the sound carrying like a broken instrument.
"Not everything. There are lessons I still wish to teach. Skills I still wish to cultivate."
Silence hung between them for a few moments. The fire crackled, throwing fleeting sparks into the air.
Keyuzu's eyes followed the sparks, watching them fade away in the air. Some make it farther than others. But none live forever.
She turned back to her sensei. Her expression somber.
She bowed her head. The words she wanted to express catching and clawing in her throat.
"You're… You're leaving soon… aren't you."
He didn't deny it nor speak. Only nodded slowly.
He thought for a moment. Figuring out the words to say. Knowing every word could be his last.
"My time has come, Keyuzu. You've known it too. Even if you've been trying to ignore it."
Her fingers clenched around the hilt of her sword.
"Don't… Don't say that, Sensei."
He smiled again. Not of joy. A gentle, worn smile full of sorrow.
"Death isn't something to fear. I've spent most of my life wishing for nothing more. Only in these last years with you have I ever really felt alive."
The ronin shifted slightly
"The only time every person is truly human is in death. It's the only time everyone is equal."
He reached into his robe and drew out a small wooden charm. Faded, chipped in a few places.
He pressed it into her palm lightly.
"This was given to me when I had a name."
Her eyes widened. Remembering his words from many many years ago.
"You said a name ties you to this world. A world you didn't belong in."
The robin's gaze lifted to the moon. Seemingly reminiscing about something.
"They do. And I would still think that if it weren't for you.
He exhaled a weak laugh.
"Before you I definitely didn't belong in this world. Though maybe now I might be deserving."
She could feel tears beginning to well in her eyes.
"What… was your name?"
The ronin's lips curved slightly upwards.
"Ryouma. That was my name."
The word felt strange in her mouth as she softly repeated it.
"Ryouma."
He nodded
"Carve it somewhere maybe. I want to be remembered now. Even if only by one person.
His breathing slowed. Eyes growing heavy. Yet his smile remained.
"You were the best thing to ever happen to me, Keyuzu… Taking on your curse was the only blessing I needed."
Tears fully welled in her eyes. Watching her Sensei. The only person she could ever trust. Slowly slump forward.
She moved to catch him, steadying him.
His body was light.
"Sensei… please… rest. I'll find a way."
His hand trembled as he placed it on her cheek.
"There is no way Keyuzu. But I'm fine with it."
His hand slipped down her cheek slightly
"No… No no no no."
The fire sputtered out as the ronin's hand slipped off. Body going limp.
Only the moon would ever see the girls sobbing. Only the trees would listen to her cries.
By dawn she had dug a grave beneath the very tree her sensei died under. Hands covered in dirt from digging.
She lowered him into the grave. The faintest smile still frozen on his lips. Where it would stay forever.
Each pile of dirt pushed over him felt like a wound that would never heal.
Looking down upon the patch of dirt containing her sensei she couldn't help but cry again.
She stabs her sensei's sword into the grave. Hilt facing the sky. Leaving his prayer beads to rest over the tsuba.
Her fingers wearily wrapped about the hilt of her own blade. Drawing it with shaking hands.
The blade gleamed in the morning light.
With careful precision she carved a single word along the spine of the blade.
Ryouma.
She sheathed the blade.
"I'll carry your name with me everywhere."
She turned to the horizon. Facing the direction the wind blew. Heart heavy. Eyes cold.
First the daughter of the blood moon. Once the daughter of the ronin.
Buried her own father.
Now she would once again walk alone.