Never had he seen her be cruel to anyone. Yet others avoided her as if she were pox-ridden. He had no idea why she chose to remain in their village when she had no family here. If he had his freedom, he’d leave and never return to this godforsaken village.

Yet Keiko stayed for reasons only she knew.

He’d always wondered what had happened to her family. She never spoke of them, and no one else seemed to know anything about them either. It was awful to be alone in the world. That made him ache for her, and it was why he went out of his way to be nice to her whenever their paths crossed.

With a ragged sigh, he darted into the shadows as he saw Uchida Hitoshi and Niwa Kin heading toward him, laughing together in their finery. Like two evil little oni out to menace whatever innocent victim they could find. He even imagined them with horns growing out of their heads.

While they were the same age as him, they thought themselves his superior in every way. And everyone else’s, for that matter.

Even though he knew that neither of them was nearly as good with a sword or even chopsticks as he was. Something proven every day when they trained, and he knocked them on their rumps and they screamed that he’d cheated—which he never did. He didn’t have to, as they were just that incompetent.

Still, everyone thought they were great, and that he was nothing.

Because of the honor and reputations of their fathers.

Last thing Ryuichi needed right now was another encounter with either of their scathing tongues. Or worse, their fists.

“I wish they’d trip.” Those whispered words had no sooner left his lips than Hitoshi’s sword slipped and tangled with his feet. He gasped and fell into Kin. Entwined, they both landed in a disgraceful lump on the ground.

Ryuichi gaped at the sight as their sensei hastened forward to scold them for their clumsiness. “Dishonor on you both! Get up and clean yourselves before someone sees you!”

Still, Ryuichi stared at the fulfillment of his whispered desire. What were the odds?

It’d happened just as he wanted . . .

So focused on them and what had happened, Ryuichi wasn’t watching his own steps, which carried him straight into someone else.

“Excuse me! Hello?”

Stunned, he realized he’d collided with an incredibly beautiful girl. One with dark brown eyes that were filled with intelligence and humor. Her black hair was in a geiko shimada similar to a samurai’s chonmage . . . except the top of her head wasn’t shaved.

She also smelled like cherries and almonds.

When she smiled, two deep dimples flashed in her cheeks. “Are you all right?”

Ryuichi could barely think to answer. “Um . . . yes.”

“Then may I please have my arm back?”