Dark Edge Village

Hiroji stands atop the hill he met Udo on a few days ago, expecting him. The lazy dog he acquired is laying on it's tummy next to him.

Udo approaches, his own dog running wild and free nearby.

Udo smiles and bows to Hiroji. "I... am not entirely sure what to do with this dog."

Hiroji gives a slight chuckle. "The Moto truly have an unique mind when it comes to challenges."

"Definitely. I'm sure I'll figure something out."

The dog goes running across the field chasing something unseen, and Udo shakes his head.

"How have you been?"

He scratches the back of his head. "I have been better. The matters of love and death have weighed heavily on me these past few days."

Udo nods. "Hopefully matters of death are behind us for the moment. It would be good. Is there something I can do to assist you?"

Hiroji is silent. "I need to speak to someone. It's about... It's about Chi-pu."

A flicker crosses Udo's face. "That is understandable. I felt similarly."

Hiroji is silent for a moment. "I feel that... I feel like I have failed, Udo-San. My skills and my strength has failed me, and that is why Chi-Pu is dead."

Udo is silent for a time.

"You are not the only one, Hiroji-san. Not all who fought the serpent... if I had been stronger as well. I... was not myself the next day."

He is quiet again. "I, too, feel guilty."

Hiroji is silent for a moment. "I met a wise Lion yesterday. She told me that Chi-Pu would not thank me for carrying the wright of her death... I will never stop carrying that weight, but I think... I think she is right. She died an honorable death, the best any samurai can hope for."

Udo nods. "There does seem to be wisdom there. For myself, her death is a weight, but I am trying to make it a weight for good, like training with a sword a little too heavy, or fighting someone more skilled. It is a weight that I am trying to learn from, so that the weight is something I no longer experience, but it is always there."

Hiroji nods. "You harness your sorrow. That is respectable."

"Perhaps. I'm not sure of another way forward, not at this time."

"Are you okay, though, Hiroji-san? I broke down the day after in front of strangers, and somehow that helped. Is there anything you need?"

He is silent for a moment. "I... I have spoken about this to many people. My clansmen, some others, and Matsu Kogo. She spoke to me wisely... And I have found those words to be of ease to me. She suggests I come to talk to you about this. And I think she is right. It is admirable how you handle this Udo-San."