It was just before dawn.
The sky was still navy blue.
Only the outlines of the mountains were barely visible.
When I entered the cave…
the silence had changed.
Kana was still asleep.
She slept the same way she had when I walked out.
Unaware.
Steady.
Safe.
I dropped my sword to the ground.
Found myself sitting down.
My knees cracked — for the first time that night.
My hand moved toward her, instinctively.
But I didn't touch her.
I just… looked.
"I didn't wake you.
Because if we'd gone together… maybe neither of us would've come back."
I slowly leaned back against the wall.
The fire I lit last night hadn't died.
It had just moved inside me.
At sunrise, the cave was cold.
But the real cold was inside.
Kana was still silent.
She didn't accuse.
She didn't ask.
She didn't say "why?"
But her silence… it cut sharper than words.
When we started walking, she was the first to speak.
Softly — but with clear intent.
"You did well last night."
A brief pause.
"Of course… some things are easier when done alone."
I swallowed.
I didn't want to say something empty.
But I couldn't escape the silence either.
"It was dangerous," I said finally.
"It would've been too risky for you."
She didn't turn her head.
"So you made my choice for me."
She just kept walking.
Even the sound of our steps on the stones seemed to sulk.
Then she spoke again.
She wasn't smiling — but her voice carried a sharp lightness.
That signature edge only Kana had.
"If one day I decide to protect you… will I need your permission?"
I didn't answer.
Because there was no answer.
I noticed it when the wind shifted.
A subtle disturbance in stillness.
Not leaves —
Breath.
We're being watched.
My hand didn't go to my sword.
Not yet.
But my instincts were already speaking.
"Kana," I said.
"Don't stop walking. But someone's watching us."
Her eyes didn't move.
She simply tilted her head slightly.
She understood.
A shadow shifted between the trees.
"The North burned," a voice said.
"And you… you lit the spark."
Kana stood beside me.
Calm. She didn't step back.
But her eyes were sharp.
"That fire was started by your masters," I said.
"We were just sent."
The man tilted his head slightly.
"So you would burn whatever they point at, when someone else tells you to?"
Kana spoke.
"Sometimes fire is needed to create something new.
The rotting order of the lords… wouldn't have collapsed on its own."
The man looked at her.
"Rotting, you say?
I saw villages with children growing up under that order.
Where you saw rot, I saw silence.
And sometimes, silence is peace."
I stepped in.
"Sometimes silence is fear.
The legacy of those too afraid to speak."
He paused.
A faint smile on his lips.
"You think you know so much.
But you don't even know who you're fighting for, do you?"
"I do," I said.
He stepped closer.
"Then tell me — who?
Did the Emperor send you?
If he wants his throne back, why isn't he fighting on the front lines himself?"
I wanted to answer.
But I didn't.
Kana remained silent, but her lips moved.
"What do you fight for?"
He stopped.
For the first time, he hesitated.
Then his eyes darkened.
"I've never won a war.
But I've never forgotten what I lost.
That's why I fight.
And now... you've become the new criminals, standing where those losses used to be."
His eyes...
Not red —
Dark red.
Almost black.
The color of suppressed, coiled power.
Third Flame – Fifth Stage
But this man…
He was holding back.
To test us.
He had to be on Renji's level.
Then — he moved.
Kana stayed behind.
She pulled the quiver from her back.
Raised her bow, slowly.
Took aim — but waited.
She was patient, saving her shot for the right moment.
I stepped in front of him.
Drew my sword.
Took a breath.
Waited.
The first strike came from him.
Fast.
But not direct — like he was testing me.
I deflected it.
Then I countered.
Quick, aggressive.
Looking for a weakness in his stance.
But he was...
A wall.
He was strong.
If he had truly wanted to kill us, we'd already be dead.
Kana fired her first arrow.
He tilted his head — the arrow grazed past.
"You're trying to protect her," he said to me.
"But her target is on your back."
"You won't get through," I said.
My voice was steady.
"Don't even try."
He just stared into my eyes.
And stepped forward.
One step.
But that one step changed everything.
He brushed my shoulder aside —
I staggered.
Right then, Kana fired her second arrow.
This time, it nicked his shoulder.
But he didn't slow down.
As Kana reached for another,
He leapt.
He closed the distance in a heartbeat.
And struck.
His katana — right into her ribs.
A cut that sent her backward.
Kana stumbled.
Her arrows slipped from her fingers.
Blood was already soaking through her side.
The light in her gaze flickered, then dimmed.
"Hayato…"
Her voice was barely more than a breath.
"Kana!"
As I rushed toward her—
He stepped in front of me.
He raised his blade, and swung.
But this time — I was ready.
Our blades clashed.
But he didn't flinch.
Just stared at me.
Then, calmly—coldly—
"But this was just a test.
In a real fight… I wouldn't leave you in one piece."
Kana was on the ground.
I failed.
I failed to protect her.
I failed to keep my promise.
And then — the wind shifted behind me.
A voice, quiet but sharp, cut through the trees.
Not too loud. Not too fast—but dangerous all the same.
"How dare you lay hands on my children?"
His expression changed for the first time.
I turned, my breath catching in my throat.
"Renji…"