THE DAY HAD COME TO HOLD KADAINA’S FUNERAL. Six pallbearers carried the casket that Kadaina's body had been placed in. These people were Yukan, Ite, Zenpan, and three other members of the Aotoshi military. Oba Meiji was reached out to as an option, but she decided against it. Once the funeral rites were read out, Zenpan walked over to seven gunmen and commanded a twenty-one gun salute. As the last shots rang out, the casket descended gracefully into its final resting place. Oba consoled her niece and nephew, whose noses ran as they witnessed Kadaina's descent into the earth upon which they stood with tears flooding their eyes. King Yokina even attended but stayed at a distance. His head hung low in grief and disappointment, as the vow Yukan had made to him was broken. One of the three would never return home. The attendees then began to slowly leave, with Yukan departing not too long after, finding the situation to be too much for him. Ite followed him closely into the vehicle.

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Once Yukan returned to the military camp, he went straight to Kadaina's planning room. The entire world at that moment was bleak and lacked any color. Traversing through this monochromatic environment, Yukan went to the table and pulled all of his late friend's plans out of the drawer underneath the south head. He laid them out on the table as he scanned them over. During this time, he felt something in his pocket. After taking it out, he noticed that it had been Kadaina's pawn. He set the pawn beside him on the desk, letting that be a vessel through which he could be with Kadaina, albeit in a figurative manner. Not too long after, Ite gently opened the door behind him and joined the grief-stricken man in his room.

"Yukan," she tried to muster out amidst the sorrow, "what are you doing?"

"This has been going on for far too long," Yukan growled under his breath. "We need to take out Kunshu once and for all. We need a plan, and without-" he paused trying to regain his posture and keep the tears back before continuing with what he was saying, "without Kadaina here. We need to win this war. Too many men and women have already given everything they had to win. We need to end this."

"You're grieving, Yukan," Ite whimpered to him, barely containing her own emotions. "Please calm down and forget about the war for an afternoon. You need time after a loss to regroup-"

"No, I CAN'T!" he yelled out in frustration as he slid all of the plans off of the table in a devastating crash, not in its loudness but its power. "I can't, Ite. Not right now. I just can't. I owe that much to him."

"We owe many things to Kadaina," she continued, trying to console him once more. "We will never be able to pay him back for his kindness. He wouldn't want this though. You're sad and hurting right now, Yukan."

"I'm responsible," he carried on, breaking down under the weight of his guilt. "It's my fault, Ite. I should have been there when he needed backup the most. He was always there watching my back and I was here behind the safe lines. I wasn't there for my best friend. I wasn't there for him, Ite."

"Yukan..." Ite cried out as she pulled him into a hug. The world once more seemed to slow around them. Yukan's conscience, however, was still not clear.

"It should've been me, Ite," he lamented. "But I know I can't die. I would do anything to trade places with him so he could see Oba, Shisuta, and Ani again. But I can't. Not while this rose marks my skin. Both a blessing and a curse."

"You may feel cursed because of your uncle," she tried once more, "but never blame yourself for your bloodline. Never. You can't die. Don't ever forget that you're the only thing keeping Kunshu from taking anything over. Kadaina was a very smart boy; he knew what he was walking into. He knew the risks and he knew it needed to be done. Kadaina is still here, just cheering from the sidelines. We ensured you wouldn't be killed when you were captured and now he has left it to me to keep you breathing. I will not let you die, Yukan."

"I'm scared, Ite," Yukan began to let his guard down even further. "I don't know what to do without him here telling us the answers."

"I know," she continued, stroking his golden blonde hair, trying to calm him down. "Things are only going to get harder, but we have to keep going. Remember who fought this war and never forget their heartbeat."

"I won't forget," Yukan calmly said to her. Just then, he kissed her. The world had gone from slowing down to stopping entirely for the two of them. They'd once more managed to find peace within one another for the time being. Yukan began to take up the mantle that his friend had once held and began to lead strategic matters, filling the gap that Kadaina had left.