A/N:  This chapter is sponsored by Jessica P.  Thank you for your continued support.  Enjoy!  xoxo -ptd

By the time they arrived to the outer barracks, the sun had set and the baths were prepared.  The three of them went to the public bathhouse and washed the dirt and blood off of them.  

After changing into clean clothes, dinner was served inside of Ren’s private quarters.  

Three sets of rice bowls with three sets of chopsticks surrounded a round table.   Five different dishes with a steaming pot of soup was spread out for them to enjoy.  

“Let’s eat before we talk.”  Ren said as he let Yasu and Shiro sit down at the table first.  

The whole way back, no one spoke of the past.  The calm and quiet air around them was comforting.  They didn’t want to break the delicate atmosphere that hung lightly around them.  

They ate in silence, wanting to prolong the quiet before the storm.  The clinking of silverware was the only thing that could be heard.  

 Afterwards, with only the three of them, Shiro was the most eager to speak first.   

“What happened to you?”  Shiro asked as he poured hot tea into Yasu’s cup.  “That day, you left to go forage for medicinal herbs with General Soshu.  Did General Soshu also survive?”  

Yasu’s lips tightened into a frown and shook his head no.  Once he began retelling his story, he became lost in his memories.  Reliving every moment as if it happened yesterday. By the end, Shiro had cried while Ren broke the teacup in his hand from squeezing it too hard.  

“Can you believe it?  That man who killed and burned everyone.  That man who didn’t show a baby mercy nor let anyone go asked me to become his plaything and he’ll let me live.”  Yasu said with a sneer. “I asked for his name so I can find him and kill him.” 

“Did he give it?” Ren asked.

“What’s his name?” Shiro asked at the same time.  

“He said his name is Hiraga.”  Yasu told them. “He tried to coax me to be his man, instead I jumped off the cliff and straight into the roaring river.  I knew there was a chance I would die immediately after I jumped. But I would rather die than become Hiraga's plaything.  There was also a chance for me to drown in the rapids. My body could hit a boulder and I could break skin, flesh and bone.  But there was also a chance that with all those injuries, I could still have a chance to live.”  

“What happened to you afterwards?”  Shiro asked.  

Yasu quickly went over what happened to him, leaving the little Goddess out of the story.  Tsuki was his trump card should anything happen to him. It was only Tsuki who could save him if he was in a tight spot.  Although he trusted Ren and Shiro, he still needed to keep his cards close to his heart.  

“I felt someone watching at us when we went to the capital.”  Ren said as he sighed. “Had I known it was you, you wouldn’t have to suffer so much alone.”  

“I’m not the only one who suffered.”  Yasu said as he looked at Ren’s scars on his face and the scar on Shiro’s neck.  “What happened to you back then, Doctor Shiro?” 

Shiro closed his eyes and cried silently before he slid off of his chair and knelt in front of Yasu.  His head came down and kowtowed to Yasu with a loud bang.  

“Please forgive me.”  Shiro begged.  

“Get up.”  Yasu said as he pushed his chair back to help Shiro up.  “Get up.”  

Shiro fought Yasu’s hold on his shoulders, but failed.  Yasu haulled Shiro to his feet and let go, however Shiro clug to him and cried harder as he told his story.  

“That day started off as usual.”  Shiro said between sobs. “They attacked the city so quickly and viciously that by the time we found out that something was wrong, it was too late.  Doctor Jiro had me help the patients leave through the back door, as I helped them escape, Doctor Jiro began to fight back. I wanted to help, but Doctor Jiro kept shouting for us to run.  

“A soldier kicked Doctor Jiro and he flew into the pharmacy room, that was the last thing I saw as the other patients pulled me away to run.  But we couldn’t run far. We were soon surrounded and killed. I thought I died. But when I opened my eyes, I was still laying where I fell. The bodies around and on top of me were cold, but the pressure on my wound was compressed tightly from the weight of the dead bodies.  

“I had just enough life and breath within me to reach for the life saving pill that was gifted to me by the Empress Dowager.  I waited for a few minutes before I slowly and painstakingly crawled my way out of the dead bodies. Once I was freed, I stripped the robes off of the dead bodies and wrapped it around my wound to stop the bleeding.  

“With the little strength I had in me, I quickly made my way out of the city and to the forest.  By the grace of the Gods, I didn’t run into anyone. Everyone was dead and the world was burning.  I could only see the green forest as my haven.  Once inside the forest, I walked and walked, not knowing which way I was going or how far.  I remember telling myself to keep walking. Even when I fell down due to blood loss and a fever, I still didn’t know where I was.  

“When my eyes opened I was in a cave.  My wounds were cleaned, medicated and bound.  But my savior was nowhere to be found. I stayed in that cave for two days, but no one returned.  There was enough food and water that my savior left for me for five days. After I recuperated for five days, I made my way out of the cave and began wandering around.  I gathered medicinal herbs when I found them, and chewed on them when I needed them.  

“But my luck wasn’t so good.  I was soon captured by slavers.  No matter what I said or how much I pleaded, they turned a deaf ear to me and everyone else.  I became a slave and was sold off to a noble family. Their young master was sick and they bought me because they found out that I was a Doctor.  I was a slave for that family for 11 months. I tried my best to keep the young master alive, but his sickness was incurable. His body had become immune to medicine.  

“When he died, the family blamed me.  They accused me of poisoning the young master and beat me until I was almost dead.  Afterwards they dragged me out of the house and ordered the guards to take me into the woods to kill me.  The guards hung a noose around my neck and pulled on the rope as I dangled above the ground.  

“I prayed for death for the first time in my life.  I prayed that I would no longer feel pain. I prayed to see you once again in the afterlife so I could beg you to forgive me for leaving Doctor Jiro behind.  My prayers were instead answered by General Ren.

“He came down from within the darkness and slayed everyone there.  As I gasped for breath and the darkness receded back, his face was all I saw when I came to.  From then on, we’ve been together trying to figure out what happened all those years ago.” Shiro said as he cried.  “It wasn’t until after everything happened that we learned that we’ve all been played. All of us. Even the Emperor.”