The arrow unleashed with a loud twang, forcing their raft backwards a little.
"Ah!"
Akiko jumped at the sudden splash of water.
The trajectory of the arrow was true, and it flew the 60 paces remaining on course. The target from this distance was rather small, so anywhere near it could be considered good.
But this arrow did not only get near, it also managed to scrape the top.
Gengyo nodded with satisfaction.
'Good. The earlier shots have proven to be rather transferrable, and even this distance and instability don't affect me too much. Of course, I need to practice so that I can consistently get a bullseye from such a range, but this is a promising start.'
"Miura-kun, the wind is picking up a little…"
Gengyo acknowledged her words, and his attention went to the water.
With the increase in wind, waves were starting to build up across the lake, taking their little raft up and down with them.
"Hmm… Let's continue on to the island and hopefully the waters will get less choppy in a little while."
Akiko was still a little apprehensive.
"Are you sure…? It's meant to be dangerous to be caught on the water when the wind picks up."
"I'm not an expert, but it should be fine for us. If the lake was a little larger, perhaps we could worry. But here even if anything went wrong, we'd be able to swim back fine."
"Mhhh… But I can't swim…"
Gengyo tutted slightly, for he'd figured as much.
'There's a limit to how much you should shelter your daughter – even if she is the child of nobility.'
"Even so, you'll be fine. It's worth the risk – let's go and explore that island of yours."
Still unconvinced, Akiko nodded reservedly, allowing Gengyo to pole them forwards.
'I wonder how Masaatsu's getting on with his bowmanship. I should test him sometime in the future to make sure that his progress is as expected.'
Gengyo thought to himself. He had been lending Masaatsu the bow each morning – as Masaatsu tended to wake earlier than the rest of the family – so that he could train. It was a rather good arrangement, in which both of them could practise the bow at the time that suited them.
A few ducks swam by the side of the raft, curious as to what this new creature was.
They quacked away, and some even jumped on the side of the raft, before immediately jumping back down again.
Akiko giggled at their antics, attempting to pat them on the head.
They grew closer to the island, and a few nesting swans were revealed. It would make their exploration troublesome – as they would have to do so without offending such residents – but it was still doable.
Gengyo jumped off first, holding a length of twine to secure the raft.
He promptly tied it around a small tree before turning to offer Akiko a hand in disembarking.
"Well, what do you think? This is the island you've always wanted to get to."
"Mm… It feels strange. A little underwhelming I suppose. There's not much here."
"Ah, but perhaps you're looking at it in the wrong way. We already knew that there wouldn't be much to the island – it's tiny after all. Instead, look around us at the water. Look towards the shore, does it not feel a little strange?"
Her eyes widened as she followed his instructions, before a contended smile began to decorate her face.
"Ah… It's being able to look at where we came from whilst enjoying where we are."
Gengyo turned to her, surprised by the sudden eloquence.
"That was remarkably well put, Niwa-san."
She blushed, waving away his compliments.
"Well, I read a lot of poetry, you know… So it'd be embarrassing if I wasn't able to do that much."
"Ho… The sheltered young lady is not a dim as she first seemed."
She looked away with mock disdain.
"Hmph!"
Gengyo recalled something that he'd thought earlier.
"You seem like you've always wanted a pet."
Akiko turned sharply at his words, impressed by his perception.
"How did you know?"
"The way you interacted with the ducks earlier. It just surprises me that a samurai – someone who would have no problem paying for a little dog or rabbit or something of the like – did not get one for you."
She breathed in deeply, collecting her thoughts as she stared at Gengyo admiringly.
"Well… He always said it would be cruel to get me attached to a pet only to have it die later on."
"That's a rather pessimistic stance. Everything will die at some point, but that doesn't mean we should avoid getting close to people – or things."
Akiko turned away from Gengyo to observe the nesting swans.
"He has every right to be… Because of mother."
Gengyo did not need to turn around to see the emotion expressed on her face, for he could already feel it in her voice. A deep, numbing sadness.
He knew that his next question was insensitive, but he felt he had to ask it.
"How?"
She crouched down, running her hand through the long grass before softly whispering her response.
"Poison."
Gengyo tutted, feeling a good amount of distaste.
'Poison, and on a woman. I can guess why it was done: to hurt the husband. It's disgusting though. It's no wonder her father's become as he is.'
He sighed, moved by this new emotion.
"When I look at a man, I do try my best to seek out his goodness. But there are some people, that are so twisted – so vile – that the only honourable thing to do is to rid them from the earth."
Akiko's reply betrayed a voice raw with emotion.
"Is it not possible to see such evil when they are born? And to put an end to it all before it even begins?"
Gengyo put a hand on her shoulder, attempting to reason with her, for that was not a healthy line of thought.
"I'm afraid not. The path a person chooses is oft as a result of the life that they have suffered – but undoubtedly some people are more inclined to one route than others – and as such it would be wrong not to give them a chance."
"You see, no matter how twisted the tree may have ended up growing, it always had the potential to be straight. So when we see the twisted man, and are forced to end his life, we should not be gleeful but sad, for the world was robbed of great beauty."
"…Like pulling up rice infected by blight."
"Your poetic heart speaks once more."
"But by feeling sorry for the twisted, won't that mean that more good men die? It doesn't seem right to me, Miura-kun."
Her words betrayed a bitterness, and her watering eyes told of her anger.
"Oh, you are right. We should always deal with them at our full strength, and only when we have fulfilled our task should we allow emotion to weaken us."
"Do you truly think that you could kill a man, Miura-kun?"
Gengyo spared no time in his response, for it was a question he had oft considered. In his many years spent alone, there was nought he could do to quell his unrest except consult philosophy, and with those readings his moralities grew in strength, allowing him to distinguish unambiguously between what is right and wrong.
"If that man poses a threat to me, or those I love, then I would be able to kill such a man."
He said resolutely.
Akiko looks turned fearsome, as she named her own target.
"There is one that I can definitely kill."
He felt a slight shiver at those words, for they seemed authentic.
Daring not to ask more, for he already knew the answer to whom, he remained silent. There was no way he could pass judgement on a man he did not know – nor would it be his right to do so.
"The wind is picking up even more… I feel like it's going to rain."
Akiko wrinkled her brow at the prospect of getting wet.
"It's a shame, but perhaps we should go home for today?"
He nodded in agreement.
"That seems wise."
He unbound the raft and hopped on, gathering the pole in his hands to push them off after Akiko jumped on behind him.
"Niwa-san. Would you mind holding onto my bow and arrows? I'm worried they might get swept away in these waves."
"Okay… but are you sure this is safe?"
Her words were followed by a flash of lightning that bore a crack in the sky.
A rumble of thunder then followed a few seconds later.
"It's safe enough, assuming you don't want to be caught out in a thunderstorm?"
Akiko bit her lip, evidently nervous.
"Okay… but please hurry."
Gengyo poled them away from the shore, and it wasn't long before they had their first wave to negotiate with.
It was not what one might call huge, but a wave of any sort was difficult to handle when you were perched atop a flat wooden raft.
Their feet were thoroughly drenched as the raft was covered in a layer of water. Akiko found herself gripping Gengyo's sleeve, trying to retain her balance.
The waves were more numerous than one might hope, propelled on by a vicious wind.
The same wind had nearly enough strength to throw them off their feet, and still, they had the waves to contend with.
Very soon the first few drops of rain began to fall – at first a mere light dusting, sending relaxing ripples in the water.
But it did not take long for such a gentle down poor to transition into a barrage of a billion heavy water droplets.
Within seconds they were soaked, but they could do nought but grit their and grip onto their lifeguards tightly – for Gengyo it was his pole, and for Akiko, it was Gengyo.
They neared the shore without having capsized and let out a sigh of relief, for the worst had been dealt with.
Still, the rain had not let up in the slightest, and the moaning of thunder and the flashes of lightning were enough to make them feel unsettled.
Gengyo disembarked hurriedly, helping Akiko down who held his tools.
"Man, this is grim."
Akiko could not agree more.
"I'm really cold…"
She looked to be even more drenched than Gengyo, with her long dark hair sticking to the side of her face, revealing her defined features. It was a rather beautiful sight, and one that Gengyo could not help but appreciate.
"I imagine. Let's quickly get you home, and that maid of yours will draw you a nice hot bath, eh?"
"Mmm, that sounds nice."
She was lifted onto Gengyo's back, and her ice-cold hands found their way around Gengyo's neck, causing him to flinch slightly.
'Damn… she really is cold.'
Urged on by the relentless weather, he moved through the forest with haste, only slowing enough so that they would not slip on the slick mud.
Akiko began sneezing on their way back, causing him to worry slightly.
'A sheltered girl like her has no chance when it's this cold.'
They arrived, and took shelter under the gate's roof, waiting for Akiko's maid.
A woman spotted them through the slightly ajar gate doors, and quickly came towards them.
Gengyo turned to Akiko for confirmation, and received a nod in reply.
The maid looked Gengyo up and down curiously, and the thoughts in her head were clear.
'What on earth is the young lady doing with a peasant like him?'
He ignored her stares, and handed her a shivering Akiko, offering a few parting words.
"She's ice cold. Make sure she gets a hot bath, else she's liable to fall ill – well, that's if she hasn't already."
The maid did not reply, but instead turned to Akiko, and began to help her inside.
The young lady turned around to offer her farewells, before disappearing into the dark courtyard.
"See you tomorrow, Miura-kun."