The village around her had been burned down. There was mostly just ash and chunks of charred wood everywhere, and a part of her hoped that meant that most of the people had escaped.She knew that it wasn’t likely, but she still hoped it was so.

Hitomi had stumbled across a small village nearing the Konan-Sailo border, and she knew Akram had been the one to order the destruction of this village. She wasn’t sure what his reasons had been, but as he had once been one of her trusted Seishi, she trusted him to know what was right. She clearly couldn’t trust herself, and she needed someone to guide her in this darkness…

She was dressed in a lightweight cloak that covered her long bunny ears without making her feel too hot. Beneath it, she wore a short, deep blue qipao and some simple boots. It was the sort of thing she usually wore when she had to travel a long way, unless she was returning to Hokkan. She always felt better in Hokkan because of the cooler weather. She continued to roam through this abandoned village, knowing her dear Akhram would be annoyed that she was getting sidetracked, but she just couldn’t help it. She was supposed to be traveling to Konnan to track down some man he wanted her to try and capture. He also had ice powers, so she was the best suited for this job

But when she found places of great destruction like this, her mind wandered. She wanted so badly for the suffering in this world to stop, but no matter what she did, it seemed to just keep going on. She found a wooden ball in the middle of one of the streets, and she was amazed that it had survived all of the other destruction. Scooping it up, she ran her hands over its smooth surface, and noticed a dark red stain. Blood. Probably the blood of the child that had been playing with this ball…

She felt the cool teardrops slide down her cheeks, and saw flashes of other Children she had been unable to help…Shinta’s little brother and sister left orphaned and alone after she’d taken him away from them. She thought some of her other seishi had taken them in, but it wasn't the same. It didn’t change the fact that she had taken their last remaining family from them…

She tried to stop the flashbacks, but she couldn’t, and she still clutched the ball to her chest with one hand and the other pressed to her temple as if willing the memories away.

It always hurt to relive that moment…but she couldn’t seem to stop. She’d frozen the man she loved alive and then shattered himm. She’d killed him and so many others…and she had never wanted to…

There was a sudden surge of her energy blast of freezing windswept through the desert town, freezing everything around her.

It created a bizarrely beautiful tableau - burnt wood with a crystalline hild of ice temporarily preserving it. Little snow flurries mixing with the ashes of the dead, and concealing the stains in the streets.Her body shook with the energy she had released in a flash, and the tears she cried froze solid before landing on the icy road beneath her with an almost merry little tinkling sound. The cold wind continued to howl, blowing the hood of her cloak back and revealing her long bunny ears, which folded down to vober her human ears in an attempt to block out the memories washing over her.’’

The wind died down, leaving everything frozen, still and silent, but she continued to cry softly, the only breathing thing in this frozen town in the middle of the desert. The ice would last until she got control of herself again, and then things would be even more damaged and destroyed. This thought made her cry harder. No matter what she did, she seemed to make things worse…

After some time, Hitomi began to hear something very distant, in the still air. There was…music. And Singing. It would have been too faint for humans to hear, but her rabbit ears had always had finer hearing. Shefelt a bit of her sadness and anxiety slip away, and she slowly soot, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Still holding the ball to her chest, she began to follow the sound of the music.

Music had always been the one thing that made her feel calmer. It put her mind at peace for a short time anway. Leaving the frozen town behind, she followed the road a ways until she came to a roadside tavern. She didn’t hear the music now, but she was sure this had been where it had been coming from. She started to enter, but stopped herself, wondering what sort of place it was.So she found herself standing in the road looking at the tavern. There were still tear stains on her cheeks, and the occasional frozen droplet still fell from her eyes. Her hood was still back, revealing her bunny ears, and she still held the blood stained wooden ball close to her heart. She wasn’t aware of what a sad sight she made, she only knew that she wanted that music to return. Closing her eyes, she stood there debating whether or not she should take out her flute and play to ease her own nerves for a while.

It was a lovely early evening and the pub was brimming with people from various parts of the Four Kingdoms and some of them were engaging in merry conversation, others were enjoying a pint of freshly acquired beer on cool jugs. But most people were tapping their feet or clapping their hands at the song that was being played on a biwa. A bard had graced them with his presence and the song was so catchy and the topic so recent that he had everyone’s undivided attention. Hanzo’s golden hair shone elegantly as he turned toward one of the tables and leaning toward the two people sitting there the song took a slightly softer melody, the people cheered him on and he tapped his foot in order to return the melody to its merrier tune. The bard was doing a wonderful job at interacting with the audience as much as possible and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

As the time for the solo came and he showcased some of his proficient abilities with his biwa he noticed a man looked angry as he dealt with one of the waitresses. She seemed to be one of the youngest and most innocent in the pub and that made his warrior sense keep his gaze on them even if the man was completely unawares. He realised what the man was about to do, albeit under the influence of alcohol, it did not justify being rude to the waitress and even more so having such ill intent. His eyes darkened slightly and he did some dancing, as was typical of this kind of melody, while he played on.

His movements were charming and elegant and people could not look away as he moved toward the man who was by now pulling the waitress out of the pub. He then twirled as the song reached the zenith and as he swirled behind the man he used the handle of his biwa while holding the neck in place and he smacked the man on the back of the head as the song ended with the man falling on the floor unconscious with a thud and the waitress smiled at him with deep gratitude. The people clapped and offered him tips and even laughed at the drunkard that was now being pulled out of the pub.

Hanzo thanked everyone and was getting ready to go to his room when he was offered a warm meal to thank him for the lovely music and, as a result, ensuring the amount of people in the pub was much greater than usual. Hanzo was a popular bard by now and he had real talent. So everyone enjoyed hearing him play and sing, it helped that he had quite the singing voice. He was about to accept the food when he spotted someone on the window, she looked absolutely miserable and it made his heart feel sad on her behalf. He turned toward the Innkeeper’s wife and then said, “Would it be okay to have a bath prepared in my room and food for two? I’m happy to pay for it.” The older woman spotted the poor girl and then said, “You are such a good man, you will get all that on the house Hanzo-kun, you are always bringing prosperity to this town and we are grateful for it. I will ensure to bring her to your room through the back so no drunkard pesters her.” Hanzo rubbed the back of his head but smiled, “Anything for you and your lovely family Aiko-sama.”

He went to his bedroom in order to tidy it up, and ensure there would be clean bedclothes. He also requested a small makeshift bed for himself as he would let the lady take the more comfortable bed. Aiko walked through the back entrance toward Hitomi and smiled tenderly at her bunny ears. She covered her gently with a warm blanket that had been by the fire and then said, “Lady, one of our patrons, the bard, noticed you through the window and, if you would honour his concern, he would like to offer you a bath, food and a warm bed to rest your nerves, if you are lucky he might play you a lullaby to kiss your sorrows away.” She placed a gentle arm around her shoulder in order to guide her, “Fear not, he will not take advantage of your poor soul, he just wishes to cheer you up. If you will let him and I dare say he is the most talented musician we know of and quite handsome as well. I’m guiding you through the back so you don’t have to deal with the drunkards. Anything you need, sweetie, ask Aiko-sama.” She smiled warmly at her and then asked as she guided her to the room, “Are you a forest spirit? I used to have a friend, she was a wolf I think.”

By the time the lonely woman was brought to Hanzo’s room, it looked tidy, there were some scented candles, there was a makeshift bed for Hanzo, the bath was ready and there was a sliding curtain between the bed and the bath so that the lady could have her privacy as she bathed and Hanzo was finishing lighting the candles. Aiko smiled at them and then said, “The food will be brought in an hour.”

Hanzo smiled and said, “Thank you Aiko-sama.” He looked at the lovely lady and said, “Come on inside.” He waited for her to walk inside and then closed the door behind her saying, “The bath is ready for you with some scented candles and there is a curtain so you will be given privacy. He noticed Aiko-sama had already wrapped her up warm with a blanket. He noticed how cold she was and he embraced her warmly for a long time hoping it would help her regain body heat, he gently dried her tears and said, “I will be on the other side of the room, I shan't disturb you and I will play some relaxing music, so feel free to enjoy the bath for as long as you like.”

He had to admit, it was strange as he had never felt like this before but he was drawn to this lady even though he had never seen her before nor had they ever interacted in any way. And yet, something inside him stirred when they got so close and he touched her. It was almost as if some memories of old wished to resurface but he shook his head. It was probably his mind playing tricks on him. It always seemed to have a knack for teasing him. Still, he could not stop thinking how odd that feeling had been. Maybe he was tired from performing till nightfall and he just needed to relax.

It was then that he noticed she was holding a wooden ball covered in blood and his gaze turned into concern, “What happened? Are you hurt or is anyone hurt?” He caressed her cold cheek gently, surprised at how cold she felt, “Do not worry, you are safe here and, once you have relaxed and eaten some food I promise I will help you.”

Even though Hanzo was no longer a general he still had a weakness for innocent people and those that could not protect themselves. It mainly stemmed from his past experience when he lost his beloved wife. It had been a good thing that his parents had survived, but still he felt the loss greatly that day and he still wished to atone to this day for being unable to save her. Many times he told himself it had not been his fault but he had felt responsible for it as he had been a General at the time and what kind of man would he be if he could not protect one person? How good were his strategies if nothing came out of them? At that moment he understood that being a General for Konan was a bitter thing to experience and he came to understand many things about his friend Isamu Li.

Firstly, how responsible he felt for the loss of his family, even though he was young back then he had been training to become a strong man so that he could help his family and he failed them. Then came the bitterness of the betrayal he suffered and the damage caused by Akhram. Hanzo had tried to assemble a search party but some royal advisors deemed it unnecessary to look for a General when he was in the hands of a General of a neighbouring Kingdom condemning Isamu to be left for dead as they believed he would betray his Kingdom or had been working as a spy.

That nearly convinced Hanzo to leave the army and offer his services elsewhere. But he had saved his friend and continued serving the country hoping to help more people that way and yet, his town was attacked and his wife killed and where was Konan then? In the end, just as Isamu Li had left the army in order to become a travelling bodyguard and help others that way, Hanzo had become a travelling bard and alongside bringing happiness to others through his music, he also protected those in need.

And right now, this lovely lady that looked so sad was one of those persons that needed his help. Of course, he would make sure she did not think that he was hoping to take advantage of her, that would be uncouth of him especially when she needed looking after. He was not like those men and he absolutely despised them.