"Wait a moment, the food will be ready."
Urokodaki Sakonji was in the kitchen frying Tempura, the day after tomorrow is the festival, the children will come home; even though they won't be spending the New Year by his side, to this lonely old man, today is New Year's.
It's time to eat osechi... chashu soba paired with tempura, garnished with black beans.
Roy sniffed the aroma and walked into the kitchen to help, while Makomo stood nearby, licking her lips with a craving.
"During the day, practice your blade on your own; I'll make some dumplings for you to eat on your way home. In the evening, we'll slice some wild boar meat for sukiyaki..."
Once the tempura was crisp and ready, Urokodaki Sakonji chatted incessantly, unlike a master and more like his mother, Kie Kamado.
Before leaving home, mother Kie Kamado used to instruct him this way, and now, it was Urokodaki Sakonji.
Roy listened quietly without interrupting. At the pillar behind him was the silent fox boy... Sabito, arms crossed, lost in thought under the fox mask, his expression somewhat dim... Though not a sentimental person, even he felt down during days of the festival like Makomo, Shinsuke, Fukuda, and other junior disciples, but he never showed it because... he was the eldest senior brother, the one who must uphold the family.
Soon, the noodles were cooked.
On the square Kotatsu, master and disciple sat opposite each other, each with a bowl of noodles in front, yet contrary to ordinary days... today, Urokodaki Sakonji intentionally dug out some bowls and chopsticks from the cabinet, placing them neatly around the Kotatsu, and on counting carefully, there were exactly thirteen sets...
Corresponding to Sabito, Makomo, Shinsuke, Fukuda, etc... a total of thirteen deceased disciples.
"It's the festival, I thought they can't eat down there, if the spirits have knowledge, maybe they can see it, even just smelling the aroma would be something..."
Urokodaki Sakonji picked up his bowl and divided the noodles to each bowl, Roy watched silently; Makomo's eyes turned red again, sobbing quietly emerging, she put down the bowl and chopsticks, pressing Urokodaki Sakonji's hand, "It's too little master, senior brothers and sisters are watching, we can't be too stingy..."
Who... is watching?
Urokodaki Sakonji paused, immediately sensing a warm current flowing through Roy's hand, into his hand, spreading along his arm, chest, neck, covering his eyes... then,
This former Water Hashira, like a weathered stone carving, guarding the ruins of the past alone, suddenly saw disciples return for a visit, too joyous to react, stunned on the spot!
"Makomo?" After a while, he vulnerably reached out, patting the girl's small head.
Makomo froze, equally stunned; followed by Sabito, Shimizu, Fukuda, a group of disciples he even personally raised,
All fell into a stupor!
Shortly, a peculiar shout erupted... Shinsuke excitedly fell straight from the beam... forgetting he was a ghost able to fly, crashing to the ground yet not getting up, crawling with hands and feet to Urokodaki Sakonji's side, embracing his leg, crying aloud, "Master, it's me... Shinsuke!"
"Wailing... You can finally see me now..."
Is it grievance?
Longing for someone without a response... clearly always being there, yet only providing unidirectional companionship, between "birth" and "death", separated by the thin paper of the window, this translucent window paper perfectly illustrated what it means to be, so near yet so far...
"Master." Sabito returned to his senses, tears streaming down his face; he lifted his mask, kneeling at Urokodaki Sakonji's feet with a "thud"... then Fukuda, Watanabe, Shimizu followed suit, "thud~" "thud~" "thud~", encircling around Urokodaki Sakonji.
"I... you... Eiichiro..." Urokodaki Sakonji overwhelmed by immense joy, lost for words.
Decades of composure shattered by Makomo's headbutt, as she dashed into his embrace, crying freely...
"Sob... sob..." Outside the window, the sound of blustery snow whipping against paper windows...
Roy just sat by the heater, quietly watching, using himself as a medium, sustaining the output of Telekinesis, linking life and death, granting the world selflessly to Urokodaki Sakonji and Sabito, Makomo...
With soba in the bowl, slowly savoring their longing...
"Master, all these years, I've always wished you would look at me... When you cook, I'm there watching, but unfortunately can't taste it..."
"Master, whenever you carve, I'm by your side. To get you to notice me, I deliberately blew away the wood shavings, but you assumed it was the natural wind..."
"Master... Master, I'm here too... whenever you came to pay respects, I deliberately blew out the candles on the altar to remind you I'm beside you..."
"Master..."
"Master..."
The familiar faces... the heartfelt words, hit directly at Urokodaki Sakonji's heart,
The old man under the mask, already tears streaming, touching one here, then another, wishing he had twenty arms to embrace them all...
Quivering said:
"Miss... Master misses you too..."
"I know, I always knew you were all here..."
Delight poured out through tears unreservedly moments later, silence gradually returned to the wooden house; everyone wiped tears away awkwardly remembering someone still in the room.
Urokodaki Sakonji, Sabito, Makomo, Shinsuke, Fukuda... all turned to Roy, the boy slurping noodles, placing a piece of tempura into his mouth, chewing, swallowing, smiling brightly and said, "You continue, don't mind me."
"Cough cough..." As senior brother, Sabito cleared his throat, standing up, eyes shining as he looked at him saying, "It's your doing, Eiichiro."
Or say...
"Did you always know we existed, or not?"
The fox boy, his gaze unfriendly, even his tone carried a slight danger... Urokodaki Sakonji, as a bearer of "Nen", could more than others sense the presence of the "warm current", gazing profoundly at Roy, saying nothing yet conveying everything.
"Whoosh~" Shinsuke turned into a ghostly wind, spiraling around Roy, holding his shoulder, winking and saying, "Oh, Eiichiro, hiding so deeply, almost had us deceived..."
Thinking of deception, Makomo hiding in Urokodaki Sakonji's arms suddenly recalled something, sneakily glanced at him, noting he seemed aware and glanced back, she quickly buried her head again in Urokodaki Sakonji's arms.
'In trouble... he knows... he saw everything... Makomo... Makomo... how will you face people in the future...' The girl blushing furiously thought, it's all... Eiichiro's fault!
The blatant scoundrel Eiichiro finished the noodles silently, neither admitting nor denying, saying nothing yet conveying it all, lastly set the bowl and chopsticks aside, "I'll declare in advance, I don't have the power to turn dead into living, if you can't eat, you can still not eat; by that, I mean the noodles."
"No, you've already done quite well." Sabito took a deep breath, seriously approaching Roy... Roy could even clearly see the scars from past stitches on his cheeks...
The fox boy bowed deeply with a solemn gesture, "I, Fujita Hideyuki, thank you on behalf of the departed disciples."
So... your name is Fujita Hideyuki...