Gentle Old Eyes

21

Zeno didn't think the first time he saw Hakuji and Keizo that he would see them ever again. But it just so happens that the village they live in is in an area Zeno passes through often to get home from missions.

After the third time they had seen each other passing through town they had become somewhat more acquaintanced. Hakuji was 15 when they first met and as such older than Zeno by 2 years, that age difference makes the black-haired boy always look at Zeno in concern.

It isn't exactly odd to see young children on their own but well-meaning people will always be concerned. Hakuji is one of these people. As a result, he had dragged Zeno back to the Dojo he lived in one time when Zeno was passing through and mentioned he hadn't eaten in days.

During that time, he got introduced properly to the older man he had seen the first time with Hakuji and to the man's sickly daughter. Keizo and his daughter Koyuki seemed both like very nice people at first meeting.

They proved to be even better than just nice people with time.

Most of the time when Zeno traveled through the village, he stopped by the Souryuu Dojo. He helped them out with what he could. Helping watch Koyuki so Hakuji could train, go run errands for them and other simple tasks to help with. And in the 3 years of knowing these 3 people Zeno had grown quite fond of them.

Zeno is pretty sure they saw him as another well-meaning town folk person. To Zeno they were just another acquaintance family like the Suzuki's down in Hokkaido or the Moriyama's in capital Edo.

It was still a somewhat devastating surprise to come to the village as a 16-year-old and expect everything to be fine when it was not.

Keizo and Koyuki had both died from the well being poisoned by a rival dojo. Hakuji had gone and killed off everyone in the dojo responsible before disappearing.

Even after Zeno went to Keizo and Koyuki's funerals and kept thinking back to Hakuji.

Just where could the boy have gone off to?