Kyojuro Rengoku Ice Heart And Flame Soul

| Chapter Nineteen | A Promise Kept

"I'm so happy you're back." Senjuro said.

Senjuro and I went inside, and he took care of my arm. He examined it and saw where the break was.

"This looks painful. You landed on your side too. Are there any broken ribs?" He asked.

"No, my ribs are fine." I said.

Even if I had broken ribs, he could do nothing about those. This arm would give me enough trouble. I would have to take a break from missions.

Senjuro wrapped my arm so that it would be kept firmly in place while it healed. He smiled while he did so.

"I didn't think I would see you again. I'm happy to see you, but sorry about your arm. Why were you being carried, anyway?"

I looked down. I didn't know how to explain it properly. Before I spoke, I bit my lip and thought about my answer.

"I was brought here to clear things up with Kyojuro. Senjuro, I want you to know that I love your brother. I didn't want to do any of this, but it was the only way I could keep my promise to my Master. I promised I would stay out of Kyojuro's way."

"What puts you in his way?"

"Senjuro, we talked about this."

"What do you have to clear up? Why do you want to do this if you love him? It's only causing you both to be unhappy."

I turned my face away, not wanting Senjuro to see my weakening resolve.

"This is how it needs to be, Senjuro. You and Kyojuro need to accept it. I said.

"I don't believe my brother can do that. I don't want to either. We love you, Rika. And you said out there that you still want to marry him, and now you're saying you can't."

"Because I can't, Senjuro." I said.

I put more bite into my words than I meant to, and he flinched, making me feel bad for being so cold with him. He's the one person who I had a hard time being cold towards.

"Very well. But please take care of yourself. Neither Brother nor I want to see you hurt."

I looked down at my arm and thought of Kyojuro's gentle touch. The way he slowly lifted my sleeve with no pain. The soft looks he gave me, yet could glare at others with such fury. Namely demons. My Kyojuro was very gentle. My Kyojuro? No. I had to let that go. He wasn't mine anymore. I had to give him up.

Kyojuro came inside and sat down at the table. I sat up straight and turned my body to face Senjuro. I avoided looking at Kyojuro, but was very aware of him sitting there and watching me.

"There, it's fixed. But please don't punch anyone with that arm, okay?" Senjuro said, meaning don't get angry and try to punch my brother.

"Alright." I said.

"And no training for now. You need to let that heal. It's going to be a while."

"Senjuro, can you go make lunch?" Kyojuro asked.

"I thought you already ate, Brother." He said with a furrowed brow.

Silence. And I looked at Senjuro. While I didn't see Kyojuro, I knew he looked at his brother. Senjuro's eyes widened, and he nodded frantically.

"Oh, yes, Brother! I'll get right on that. It might be a while, though." Senjuro jumped up and went into the kitchen.

I knew that Kyojuro asked Senjuro to go get lunch because he wanted to be alone with me. After what happened this morning, I was worried about being alone with Kyojuro. I continued to avoid looking at him. I lasted fifteen minutes before he spoke.