Perhaps the fallen could learn to bend.
His master, Lord Akira of the Crane clan, had perished at the Battle of Kasagi Ridge fifteen summers ago. The clan scattered like dry leaves. Samurai without a master are called rōnin , but an ochimusha is something worse: a warrior who watched his world burn and did not follow it into the flame. ochimusha
Kenshin’s hand went to his sword hilt. The weeping came from behind the altar—a child’s cry, raw and desperate. He crept forward, firelight dancing on his gaunt face. There, curled against the rotting wood, was a boy of perhaps eight winters. His kimono was torn. His left cheek bore a fresh bruise the color of plums. Perhaps the fallen could learn to bend
For the first time in fifteen years, the ghost in his chest stirred—not with shame, but with something smaller. Something that might, if he were very careful and very brave, grow into a reason to live. Samurai without a master are called rōnin ,
He looked down at the sleeping boy. Takeshi , he thought. Strong bamboo. A thing that bends but does not break.