The White Ronin

The night air was cold, slipping through the gaps in their clothes.

A motorcycle stopped in front of Haruka's house.

Aoi turned off the engine and looked at Yūto, who was still sitting on the back seat.

"We're here," Aoi said.

Yūto nodded slightly.

"Thank you."

Yūto slowly got off the motorcycle.

The wounds on his body still hurt whenever he moved.

Aoi supported him from the side.

Knock... Knock...

Aoi knocked on the door.

"Aunt Haruka, it's me, Yūto," Yūto said.

Footsteps could be heard from inside.

The door opened.

"Yūto!" Haruka said.

Haruka's eyes widened.

"Where have you been? I was so worried! You haven't come home for several days!"

"Sorry," Yūto muttered.

"Are you hurt?"

"Just a little."

"Just a little? You look weak and covered in wounds."

Aoi gave a small smile at Haruka's reaction.

"How about we talk inside? I'll tell you everything," Yūto said.

Haruka quickly nodded.

"Yes, yes. Come in."

The three of them entered the house.

In the dining room, Shiro, who was sitting there, immediately turned toward them.

"You're finally home."

"A lot of things happened," Yūto said.

They all sat around the table.

Haruka poured some warm tea before speaking softly.

"Tell us everything."

Yūto took a deep breath.

"At first, I went to Masanori Takeda's house, but he wasn't there. After delivering the order, I went somewhere else. Then, in the afternoon, I went back to his house. That's where I got into a fight with 30 samurai led by Kabuto."

Shiro, who had been eating, immediately paid attention.

Yūto took a breath.

"After I defeated them, I was taken to the police station because I was involved in the fight."

Shiro and Haruka were shocked to hear that.

"Then, I was released by Takeshi Ryūzen, the leader of Seiryu-kai Dojo. After that, he took me to his house," Yūto said.

"Why didn't you call me?" Haruka asked.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't you have a phone?" Shiro asked.

Yūto nodded.

"Since I first came to Japan, I haven't topped up my phone."

Haruka sighed.

"You have to top it up tomorrow."

"Then what happened?" Shiro asked.

"In the afternoon, I left Grandpa Takeshi's house. After walking for about ten minutes, I remembered that I'd forgotten to ask for his phone number."

Yūto sighed.

"I thought maybe I would want to see him again someday. So, I thought it would be better to call him first."

"Then you went back there?" Shiro asked.

Yūto nodded.

"Yes."

His expression slowly became serious.

"But when I got there..."

The room fell silent.

"All of his guards had been killed."

Haruka frowned.

"What?"

"Takeshi was also badly injured by sword slashes."

Shiro looked at him seriously.

"I saw the two people who attacked them. They were called "The Brothers". I fought both of them. They were very strong. After the fight, I was unconscious for two days at Takeshi's house," Yūto said.

"Wait," Shiro said.

He immediately pointed at Yūto.

"So you're the one from the newspaper? You're the one they call "The White Ronin"?"

Yūto looked confused.

"I didn't know there was anything about me in the newspaper. The only thing is, I lied to Ryu, his grandson, and told him that someone had helped Grandpa Takeshi and then left."

Shiro let out a long sigh and shook his head.

"Takeshi Ryūzen gave the police a report about the incident. He said that the person who defeated "The Brothers" was "The White Ronin"."

Haruka turned to Shiro.

"Really? So Yūto is "The White Ronin"?"

Shiro nodded.

Yūto let out a long sigh.

Shiro leaned back in his chair.

"Right now, the whole of Japan is talking about "The White Ronin"."

Yūto remained silent.

"Some people see you as their hope. But there are also people who don't like you," Shiro said.

The room fell silent again.

Shiro looked at Yūto seriously.

"From now on, you have to be careful. Don't let anyone become suspicious of you."

Yūto nodded slightly.

"I understand."

Haruka sighed.

"We'd better get some rest now. It's already late."

Aoi stood up from her seat.

"Well then... I'll go home."

Haruka interrupted her.

"It's already late. You should stay here tonight. You can go home tomorrow morning."

Aoi was silent for a moment, then nodded.

Yūto smiled.

"Go to sleep. We have to get back to work tomorrow morning," Haruka said.

That night felt warmer.

The cold night air turned into a gentle breeze that carried them into sleep.