Under the Sun

Chapter Four

The days passed quickly for Rena. She had so much to attend to between two needy patients that at times she wholeheartedly regret involving herself in the affairs of outsiders. She had learned new things however and was acclimating to the cramped conditions they were all subjected to while living under one roof. For one, she now knew when it was safe to walk around without disturbing one of the two men. And she also had discovered the name of her companion - Seiichi.

Seiichi was about her age but younger by two years. Fresh from the clan of his ancestors, he knew very little about the world beyond his home village. He had been traveling with several others and had become separated from them. His eyes, which were still healing but no longer covered by bandages, had been marred during a heated argument between him and one of his party.

Rena had acquitted this information to memory with the hopes that one day she could persuade Seiichi to tell her more. His story was as awful as it was fascinating. She used to belong to that world of secrets and shadows but it was so long ago. Seiichi brought it all back, the memories of what it was like to have companions, allies, and a real home to return to whenever one went away.

As she sat picking herbs, Rena smiled to herself. She'd done well to help those she'd taken in. Her new patient was recovering quickly as well. His bodily injuries had all but healed, except for one - a deep gash made by a kunai. And his strength was beginning to return to him. Like Seiichi had been when they first met, he was keeping quiet about his identity. He had allowed for Rena to call him by whatever name she fancied and so she had taken to addressing him as Satoru. It was a fine name by her standards and not lightly bestowed upon the man, for it had once belonged to a dear friend of Rena's who had perished in battle. Her patient accepted it graciously and whenever they spoke (which was very little under the circumstances) responded to it as if it were his real name.

Rena pressed an assortment of leafy stalks into her traveling basket and placed a thin cloth over them when she finished. It was still early, only midday, and she needed to be getting back to check in on Seiichi and Satoru. Pleased with what she had managed to hunt down, she rose from the ground and started back towards the house. The forest was quieter than usual, which caused Rena to feel most at home. She moved between the trees, brushing a hand against the trunks of the ones closest to her.

Every forest giant had the strong and sturdy wooden armor she required. The bark mixed into ointments could soothe muscle aches and do her recovering patient a great deal of good. Stopping, she reached for the small knife she had tailored to her belt and used it to strip the choicest pieces from the trunk. When she had a handful gathered, Rena tucked her knife inside it's leather sheath and placed the bark into her basket.

By the time she reached the house her stomach had started acting up. Her last meal had been taken with Seiichi around daybreak and since Satoru had been sleeping at the time, Rena was sure he'd be hungry as well. She hurried inside, deposited her basket on the table, and proceeded to look in on Satoru. After his first night with them, Satoru had been moved to a side portion of the house that Rena was using for extra storage. She had created a place for him to sleep out of a spare mattress and blankets, and Seiichi helped her move him from one room to the other.

Stealing into his room quietly, Rena saw that he was wide awake. "How are you feeling today?" She asked as she came to sit beside him in the chair she had left close to his bed.

From the bed, Satoru gazed up at her. "No better than last night."

"Is that so..." Rena muttered, suddenly disappointed. She had hoped his appetite would have distracted him from the lingering pain in his side.

"Did ya think I'd be up and walking already?"

Rena shook her head. "No, of course not. You should wait until you feel ready".

She'd never admit it, but she actually had expected Satoru to be making more progress than he was.

"Can't tell you when that'll be but some help to the toilet would be nice."

Rena's face flushed.

"Right away," she stammered, rising and then running out of the room to fetch Seiichi.

She returned with her companion in tow and they both assisted Satoru as best they could. When he was ready, they helped him to the dining room and seated him at the table.

Rena proposed to cook up something they could all share. A plate of thinly sliced pork and lettuce wraps made its appearance not twenty minutes later, along with a sauce for coating the meat and a jug of water. Rena served the dish and made a mental note to head into the village sometime soon to restock her pantry.

Seiichi reached for the water jug. Looking uncomfortable and out of place,

Satoru waited and watched. Rena was expecting for one or both to go for the meat first but neither one seemed eager to take anything from the plate she'd prepared. Being quite hungry, she ignored this and helped herself to a generous portion of pork. Then, as if they had been simply waiting on her, both men grabbed what they could from what was left.

Rena laughed and right on cue, Satoru and Seiichi turned to look at her, slices of pork pinched between their chopsticks.

"You're both so alike," she told them.

Satoru stuffed his pork into some lettuce, drizzled sauce over it, and stuffed the entire thing inside his mouth.

"How so?," he asked, chewing between talking. "I don't even know this kid."

Seiichi followed suit. "I agree. We're not alike."

"Just similar then," Rena insisted, lifting a wrap to her open mouth.

Though they hardly made time to interact with one another, Seiichi and Satoru's mannerisms were oddly in sync. She'd noticed this only a bit at first. They each had an air of mystery about them, were quiet for the most part, and had overpowering aura's that made them appear unapproachable. But Rena didn't start piecing the puzzle together until she noticed that they also shared a number of behavioral traits one would typically attribute to two persons related by blood.

Seiichi shook his head in denial and resumed eating. Across from him, Satoru was busy separating his meat from his lettuce. He created a gap between the ingredients, using his chopsticks. Immediately, Rena was drawn to inspect Seiichi's plate. And sure enough his meat and lettuce were divided to either side. She resisted the urge to point this out to the two.

Seiichi for one couldn't actually see all that clearly what was going on around him but Satoru was either ignoring it or simply didn't care to comment. Maybe they're long lost relatives Rena theorized, as she was washing down her first few bites with a drink of cool, refreshing water. Then, as Satoru picked out a hunk of pork and shoved it into the sauce dish wildly, tipping the entire thing over so that it made a mess all over the table, Rena sighed and decided that she was probably wrong.

"Someone pass me the sauce," Seiichi demanded suddenly.

Rena observed the mess and raised her eyes in time to meet Satoru's. He appeared to be silently wondering how to explain the incident to Seiichi.

"Anyone?" Seiichi asked, his foot beating the floor impatiently from under the table.

Rena placed her chopsticks over her plate and pushed her chair back.

"I'll just have to go make more," she said, settling for covering up Satoru's mistake.

Being fast to act, she left the table. When she was back in the kitchen mixing ingredients, Rena couldn't help but ask herself once more why she ever felt the need to involve herself in the affairs of outsiders.