The night air was heavy as Kin’emon and Raizo stealthily made their way through Kuri. Their allies safe and hidden in the ruins of Oden Castle for the time being, they wanted to come into contact with Kikunojo soon as possible, letting her know they had returned in a timely manner. She had left a note in the ruins, the brushwork prim as the young woman herself.

Okobore

Oshiruko

That was enough for them. They went towards Okobore Town, fully expecting anything from their contact to an ambush. Both men breathed a sigh of relief when they saw her sitting on a bench outside a restaurant, the sweet bean dish advertised proudly by the banner next to her.

“Verily, it is good to see each other again,” she smiled. “This one figures there are new mouths to feed?”

“One group now, another coming later,” Kin’emon confirmed. “How are you holding up, O-Kiku?”

“Most heartily,” she replied. “Waitressing is rather different from this one’s chosen profession, however.”

“We’ll fix that soon, don’t worry,” Raizo said. The three then all snapped their line of vision further into town as a loud noise reached their ears. “What was that?!”

“Oh no! Kaidou’s men! In here, quick!” Kikunojo rushed them into the restaurant and all three hid behind the counter that led to the kitchen. They waited patiently as a collection of voices passed the building—all drunk and uncaring for the environment around them. Minutes passed after they heard the last guffaw and a collective sigh of relief was made; it was safe.

“That was close,” Kin’emon noted. He glanced out the doorway and looked up and down the street—nothing. “I hope your boss does not mind the intrusion.”

“She is most amenable,” Kikunojo replied, expression nearly sunny. “Please, go up the stairs and greet her—she should be in the last room to the left.”

“Good, let’s go,” Raizo said. Kikunojo then grabbed his arm, keeping him near her. “What…?”

“This one believes that Kin-sama should meet her alone.” Raizo went to protest, yet Kikunojo tossed him an expression that Kin’emon could not entirely decipher. “Go now, Kin-sama. We shall await your return.”

Kin’emon glanced over towards the stairs and wondered who it was that awaited him. Surely, it was not one of their former allies, having all but lost hope until Kikunojo showed up at their doorstep. He kicked off his geta at the bottom step and climbed up to the second floor, the only sounds being the creaking and moaning of the wooden building surrounding him. A large storage room sat to his right once he ascended the stairs, then one… two… ah, the third room on the left. He knelt in front of it and lightly rapped his knuckles on the doorframe, careful not to touch the screen that was more patches than paper.

“Come in.”

Kin’emon obeyed and slid the door open, seeing that his hostess and Kikunojo’s benefactor was sitting seiza and pouring tea, her face obscured by the shadows of the eaves and clouds. He politely kept his gaze towards the floor as he crept inside, remaining on his knees as he turned and hesitated in sliding the door shut.

“It may close,” she said, as if anticipating his fear. “There is no jealous man to burst in and defend my honor.”

“Then I apologize,” he replied as the door slid shut. “Out of the men who are left, there must not be many strong ones, and of the strong there must not be many who are worthy of a woman who would take in a member of the Kozuki Clan. You do not know how grateful I am that you harbored O-Kiku.”

“My husband is both strong and worthy,” the woman chuckled, “if somewhat a fool. However, he has never needed to fear my loyalty.”

“A lucky man.”

“Indeed. Pray tell: are the tales that O-Kiku chatters on about the truth? She seems to have a rather active imagination.”

“Verily, though she does not lie. It is unbecoming of a samurai.” He tried to look at the woman’s face in the shadow, wondering who he was talking with. Instead, he bowed low, his forehead nearly touching the tatami mat. “I must thank you humbly for watching over O-Kiku as she stayed in this new version of Wano after Lord Kozuki’s wife, Lady Toki, sent us forward in time with her jutsu. We have missed so, so much.”

“Is that regret?”

“No… maybe a little, but I would do it again. I am one of Lord Oden’s samurai.”

“A noble reason.” The woman sipped at her tea in thought. “Do it again? Exactly the same?”

“No.” Kin’emon sat upright and stayed by the door, not liking the conversation. Who was this woman, and what had Kikunojo told her? “I would have brought my wife; write her a note at the very least. She did not deserve whatever hell these twenty years gave her.”

“It is not about what we deserve, but how we manage the things life presents us,” the woman replied. “Now sit with me, Kin-sama, and tell tales of adventures beyond Wano’s borders.”

“Is it… appropriate…?”

“A fool, indeed.”

At that, she pulled a match from a box close by and struck it, lighting candles sitting on the low table. The room brightened and Kin’emon indeed saw what a fool he was.

There, in the flickering candlelight, was Tsurujo… his wife.

His wife! Oh! She was beyond compare! The woman he loved sat before him, so different from when he last saw her, and yet somehow the same. Her eyes glittered much how they did last they saw one another, and yet… her face was thinner, wrinkles creased her skin at her eyes and mouth, and he could see two decades and how they weighed on her graceful shoulders. Before him was his wife—aged before he—and she was alive! She was alive and still more than he could have ever imagined! He remained frozen in shock; the urge to rush to her almost too much to bear.

“Woman… you spent these twenty years alone…?” he rasped, voice quiet. “Another man could have made life easier for you instead of a dead fool.”

“…yet my husband is not dead, and there are times it takes a fool to love a fool.”

Kin’emon finally gave in and crossed the room, finding himself in Tsurujo’s arms for the first time in too long for them both. Tears flowed as he buried his face against her chest, glad to finally be with her again. Her fingers found the nape of his neck—just as before—and stroked gently as she allowed him to sob away what she had long-ago mourned. Eventually, he sat up and held her face, marveling at how soft her skin had become and how kind the decades were. However: no matter how gently time treated her, it still did not change the remorse he felt at not being able to watch her transform into such a paragon of beauty.

He carefully leaned in and kissed her, hoping to catch a bit of that witchcraft done by time. A goddess above kami—a spirit strengthened by a quiet strength and determination—a sake aged to a fullness only few men truly appreciated. No wonder Lord Oden had welcomed her into his household all that time ago; he must have seen her clever, faithful, loyal countenance before it thought to truly blossom.

“Now I feel terrible that my eyes have wandered,” he admitted between kisses. “I thought you would have found someone else by now.”

“Another man would have not braved the Mountain God for me.”

“Verily.” His hands began to wander; he could still feel her familiar curves under the layers of kimono. “All this time…?”

“All this time.”

“I would not have blamed you to consider me dead.”

“Except my husband was brought back to me, with none of his vigor diminished.” She gasped as they both leaned far back enough to tumble onto the tatami mat, thankfully missing the table and candles. They both laughed, unguarded and at-ease. “It seems like it was worth the wait.”

“Truly?”

“Truly.” They tangled in an embrace as he hefted her atop his frame, allowing them to continue their proceedings without worrying her back, tending to one another in the candlelight as they both relished in the fact they were both home…