Chapter Text
“I’ll be off to gather some food.” Hunger comes in the form of a burning pain in his stomach, making Kazuha yearn for delicacies such as tonkotsu ramen, sakura tempura or perhaps something sweet, like sakura mochi …
He shakes his head. Craving such worldly intricacies at a time like this simply won’t do. The Kazuha of now is a different person; neither is he burdened with the responsibility of being the Kaedehara Clan’s sole heir anymore, nor is he entitled to material delights. All is fair, he supposes.
Kunikuzushi tilts his head upwards to look up at Kazuha, light surprise evident on his face. “You need not worry about me.”
The samurai frowns now, clutching the scabbard of his sword. He tucks it into his belt and makes his way towards Orobashi’s mouth. A flash of lightning strikes the ground close to his feet as soon as he does so, radiating bursts of heat. Kazuha gulps and the other boy smirks at him in a show of self-satisfaction.
“Around here, it’s hard enough to worry about oneself.”
“Do you not eat or something?” Kazuha murmurs under his breath, not really meaning for Kunikuzushi to hear it. He does so anyway.
“Only when my heart desires,” he says, and Kazuha decides to leave it at that. Perhaps Yashiori Island was a bad idea, he begins to think for the first time as his eyes scan the rutted landscape. Maybe he should’ve stayed in Tatarasuna – a place with unknown dangers plenty, but hey, at least it was habitable. Climbing all the way up to the serpent’s head was a feat in itself; foraging for food in a place unfamiliar to him amidst rain that will never cease … Kazuha doesn’t want to think about it.
He can’t truly leave the island unless the Tatarigami thins down, however slightly that change may be, and a part of him finds that he doesn’t want to leave so soon. Perhaps it’s the vagrant’s spirit inside him, drawn to the natural world, or perhaps it’s because of a certain boy who keeps raising more questions than answering them.
Besides, he needs to eat.
“I’ll be bringing enough for the both of us.”
“Be safe!” Kunikuzushi calls out (Archons, Kazuha can see the sneer in his voice, even though he has his back turned) as the samurai tightens the strings of his kasa and heads out, out, out: out into the open where he needs to brave the storm.