Chapter 30: Love’s Sacrifice
Kazuki and Yuji made their way into Mumarch’s house, climbing over the pile of rubble as he had done. The remaining part of the house held what was left of the cooking area and the family room. A fire burned in the stove and a pot boiled on top, but inside they found only clear water. The family room was barren of any furniture it might once have held. Now there was only a jumbled blanket and a thread-worn pillow, to indicate where Mumarch had slept.
A framed picture sat on the floor beside the sleeping spot. A pretty tanuki[57] stood with a smaller version of herself snuggling in her arms. Beside them, a fawn-haired man smiled with his hand on the shoulder of a young boy who had his mother’s eyes but his father’s skin-tone and hair. The man in the picture ba
