Wolf and Keeper

Chapter 17: War Orphans

The Outskirts of Michizane, Kai Province, 1540

There were crying children huddled all around the small house, all smelling like smoke and burnt wood. Masked men walked between them, looking them over and frowning at them as they passed, stepping around them and talking quietly between one another as they did. A boy sat amongst the children in silence, staring down at his hands and wondering when his father would return to find him and take him home. He wasn't sure when the old cloth that kept his long hair tied back had fallen away, but now it hung messily about his shoulders and hung over his eyes.

The boy looked up slightly when he heard the door open. A man stepped in his face covered by one of those metal masks. He had seen the samurai wear ones like it, but his seemed different. The mask was that of a snarling oni complete with two short horns that curved up from above his eyebrows and covered his whole face. The armor he wore was lighter than what Maru had seen on any other warrior, still made from the iron platelets but more compact and smaller, more leather where iron would be, and more streamlined. He wore weapons at his hips and on straps and belts that Maru hadn't ever seen before, and they looked as intimidating as they did foreign. He was taller than most of the others around them, and the boy saw that they treated him with an odd mount of deference. He was their leader. He had to be.

He began to go from child to child starting at the front. He would pause at each one and make assessments. "Too skinny. Too weak. Bad leg. This one. Sick, won't survive. Injured, but suitable. Barely, but she'll do. This one here." He saw a pair of legs stop before him, and when he looked up, he saw the masked man staring down at him. The  figure crouched down in front of him. Slowly, he reached up and pulled off his mask to reveal a bearded face with greying hair. The man's features were sharp and angled, accentuated by a long scar that cut right across his face in a piercing, jagged line. The man's face remained an impassive mask as he looked Maru up and down, "How did you end up here?"

The boy didn't reply as the man lifted his chin and turned his head from side to side like he was examining a horse rather than a young boy.

"Were your parents killed?"

"...Yes."

"Do you have anywhere else to go?"

"...No."

The man nodded and glanced over his shoulder, "This one. Definitely this one." He turned back to the boy and looked him over, "Your name. What is it?"

"Maru."

"Maru... Alright, Maru. Starting from today onwards, you are a candidate for the Sayonakidori. We hunt yokai. If you survive, we'll tell you more, but know that if you do, you will never go hungry again."

"What about my father?" Maru asked as he glanced over his shoulder. "He'll be coming back for me soon."

The man frowned, "No one is left alive out there, boy." He stood, and as he did, he cast one more look down at Maru, "My name is Kazegumo. I am the Supreme Commander of the Sayonakidori. We will leave you near a town, and your single objective is simple: for five years, you will survive. Our people will contact you from time to time to see your progress. If you do, then a lifetime of honorable service in defense of the people will await you. If you do not, then I pray the Kami have mercy on your orphaned souls, because I can assure you that the world will have none."

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Michizane, Kai Province, 1541

"Maru!" Maru jumped when his name was called, calling his attention away from the taiyaki he was staring at from across the street. His stomach growled as he did, but he saw his friend Genji and his other friend Ume sprinting over to him, triumphantly holding sticks of dango in their hands. Genji thrust one into his hands as well, a smug look crossing his face.