Tadayoshi stared the peaches, but his hand never moved. Is he trying to convince me? The swordsman stared into the boy’s eyes and understood right away. He already knows I won’t help, he thought, accepting the fruits and taking a bite from the biggest one. What he wants are answers.

“What it takes to be strong?” the child asked. Despite his low voice, it never faltered, and his eyes glowed a bit more stronger.

The urge to laugh last only a heartbeat, dying inside him so quick it never escape his lips. Tadayoshi had asked the same thing to his master when he was younger. He also remembered the samurai threw back the question, and Tadayoshi’s answer made the old man laugh.

But there was nothing funny about that question today. Because no matter how much determination he had, Ei was only a kid looking for something to grab. The swordsman knew his answer would influence the boy’s life. If he survives, that is. Tadayoshi knew that very well, so he closed his eyes and thought.

After a long time, he opened them. In the end, he had to be honest. The question had as many answers as people in the world. And each one must find his or her own answer, right, master?

“What it means to be strong?” Tadayoshi decided to imitate his master, despite how annoying made him. Putting his feelings aside, he stared the boy, watching his reaction. The question was more complex than it appeared. It was a test, one that annoyed Tadayoshi a lot. The answer reveals who the person is, the swordsman heard his master’s voice whispering in his mind.

“Strong is to be capable of doing something when there’s something wrong!” Ei answered, his voice rising for the first time. “Be strong isn’t cry because you can’t do anything while you see your mom die!” Despite his firm voice, Tadayoshi saw the boy’s eyes trembling and tears forming.

Tadayoshi sighed. How long has he thought about that? “Then I’m not strong,” the swordsman said. “I think no one in the world is by your definition.” It wasn’t what Ei expected, and his opened mouth and widened eyes revealed that. Tadayoshi took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. “My master died in front of me and I couldn’t do anything but cry.” He never realized his fist was trembling, closed so hard around the katana his knuckles were white.

Ei had no reaction for Tadayoshi’s words. Despite his expression once again back to the empty façade, his eyes betrayed him; the boy was about to break.

Guess I was too honest… Tadayoshi looked between Ei and his sword. “Maybe I can’t make you stronger, but I can try,” he said, raising his katana and offering the handle to the boy.

Ei widened his eyes. For a moment, everything was still in the clearing. Tadayoshi could almost hear the boy’s heart beating faster as sweat ran down his brow. He extended his arms slowly, as if they weighed more than they should. His hand was almost around the handle…

“Who don’t wanna die, leave!” a scream echoed form the village.