8
Kazuko
It was all arranged. Her family owed his family a favor, and so Kazuko would marry today.
There was nothing gentle about Kaito Onizuke. He was rough inside and out. Kazuko found him not at all attractive. Yet it hurt her that tomorrow he would board a ship and go to the war. Perhaps
he would not return. She did not know if, as an obedient bride, she was blessed or cursed. Less than twenty-four hours after their marriage, her husband would vanish from her life.
All during the ceremony, Kazuko stared at Onizuke’s hands; even they were hairy, large and not made for his short body. His hands betrayed his intention to touch her.
The honeymoon night was short, that was the only blessing. Kazuko would remember little. “Take off your kimono,” he barked at her the moment they were al
