The Committee was exceeding expectations, working to maintain peace across the tribes and preserve order. Yet Kamiya felt the heavy burden of Sato's absence profoundly. During committee meetings, he increasingly noticed the void his old friend had left, a gap he found impossible to fill. No one knew exactly what had happened in that final clash with Miki, and the mystery weighed more heavily on Kamiya's mind each day. These questions gnawing at him kept him awake at night.
One evening, he saw Rikimaru sitting alone in silence at one of the lookout points. Kamiya knew he still hadn't come to terms with his father's loss, feeling his pain and helplessness deeply. He approached gently and started to speak with him. "Riki… are you thinking of your family?" Without looking up, Rikimaru replied, "Do you think I could be thinking of anything else, Uncle Kamiya? I can't understand why my father would attack my mother and seal them both away." Kamiya sat down beside Riki. "I don't know. I can't tell you not to dwell on it, but I'm sure your family wouldn't want you to harm yourself with these thoughts. If you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know." The silence between them stretched on, and eventually Kamiya decided to leave Rikimaru alone and quietly walked away.
A few hours later, Sanda appeared. They'd spent much time together as children, but the war had lasted long enough to make strangers of them. Despite the time that had passed, Sanda still held a love for Rikimaru that she had felt since they were young. Though there was only a two-year age difference between them, Rikimaru had always seen Sanda as his equal.
There was a deep sadness in Rikimaru's eyes. He felt the departure of Sato had burdened him with a responsibility he wasn't sure he could bear. The silence that weighed heavily on him was broken when Sanda arrived with a warm smile, "Hey, Riki. Everyone's been looking for you. I was curious too and came to see if you were here."
Sanda's presence brought an unexpected sense of comfort to Rikimaru; a faint smile appeared on his face as he responded. Kamiya, noticing the warmth of their exchange, withdrew quietly. The closeness between the two young people gave him a surprising sense of peace.
After a while, Rikimaru and Sanda went for a long walk around the village. Under the quiet night sky, as they spoke beneath the stars, Sanda's emotions, long buried, began to surface. "Riki, there's something I've wanted to tell you for a long time… but I don't know where to begin." Rikimaru took a deep breath, listening without expecting much from what Sanda was about to say. "Don't worry; you're safe here. Say whatever you want." Sanda hesitated, looking down at the ground before gathering the courage to speak. "Maybe I should never say this, but... Riki, my feelings for you have always been a bit different."
In that moment, Rikimaru, filled with conflicting emotions, looked directly into Sanda's eyes. Her large, black eyes were full of emotion, and her cheeks were flushed; he felt as if he were looking at a flower. Realizing how close their faces were, Rikimaru blushed and reflexively took a step back, looking up at the sky. "Some things might not be right for this moment… Isn't the moonlight beautiful?" Sanda, noticing her closeness, also stepped back, but while Rikimaru gazed up at the moon, she couldn't take her eyes off him. "Yes, the moon is more beautiful tonight," she replied. "Sanda, as I said, what I'm going through now is so heavy for me, but it's comforting to know I won't be alone."
Although she felt slightly hurt by not getting a clear answer, Sanda understood that losing his father weighed on him heavily. She couldn't fully grasp the pain of losing someone so close—her mother had died giving birth to her, and she'd never known her well—but as she thought about her father's death, a tear rolled down her left cheek. Rikimaru, noticing this, gently wiped it away with his right hand.
At that moment, Soma approached from behind, shouting, "Sanda and Riki, what are you two up to? Come on, it's time to eat!" The tension and romance of the moment disappeared in an instant. Sanda, annoyed, yelled, "Get lost, brother! I'll eat whenever I want." The outburst brought back memories for Rikimaru. In the past, Sato would watch over them when Kamiya was busy, and his mother Miki would prepare delicious meals. He realized he might never overcome the challenge of being alone so suddenly.
"Riki! Riki! Come on, let's go," Sanda said, taking Rikimaru by the wrist and leading him home. A little while later, as Sanda was sitting alone on the porch, her brother Soma approached her. "Sanda, no matter how much peace is being negotiated, nothing's truly resolved. Don't spend so much time alone with the enemy." Sanda, though deeply angered by her brother's words, kept her composure. "Enemy? Are you joking, brother? Seven years ago, we'd all play and laugh together, remember? What changed? Rikimaru was always good and still is!" The tension between Soma and Sanda was rising. "Your real issue is with me, isn't it? You've always blamed me for Mom's death, and I know you've wished I hadn't been born!" she shouted. The voices drew Kamiya to the scene. "If you keep fighting like this at this hour, I'll punish you both," he said, clearly having woken up and rushed over. "Go to bed, now." Soma left first, and as Sanda passed Kamiya, he pulled her into an embrace, whispering, "No one thinks that way, sweetheart."
He continued, "Your mother didn't die because of you; she was weak, and she was sick." Sanda could sense the tension in Kamiya, though it wasn't directed at her. Kamiya had always believed his wife Watase had been poisoned, a suspicion that lay at the core of the Naizen clan's motives when war broke out seven years ago.
As the night deepened, her brother's words echoed in Sanda's mind. The mix of anger and sorrow kept her awake, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought. She had never known her mother, a figure that existed only in bedtime stories and her father's silent memories. Her father had told her very little about her mother, but the coldness between her and her brother tied to her mother's death left a deep wound in her heart. While drowning in these thoughts, she heard footsteps and turned around, startled.
"Are you sleep, my girl?" Realizing it was her father, she relaxed, "Not yet, Dad." Kamiya walked up to her bed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I haven't told your brother this, and I want you to keep it between us. I believe someone poisoned your mother. We haven't yet discovered who, but your Uncle Yasue and I were looking into it."
Sanda looked at her father in shock, unable to hide her surprise. "Does that mean she would have lived if that hadn't happened?" Kamiya smiled, "She definitely would have. She was the strongest, most resilient woman I knew." Sanda's guilt eased; at least her brother's words no longer echoed in her mind. Kamiya stood up. "Try to get some rest; we'll be here a few more days. Actually… the village might be rebuilt here, so we might stay longer than you think." As Kamiya walked toward the door, Sanda asked, "When will things finally be settled? Are we really going to live together permanently?"
When Kamiya stepped into the hallway, he replied, "Soon, maybe tomorrow, maybe the next day. And yes, once it's settled, we'll all be together." He felt the weight of those words, knowing that his friend Sato would not be there.