Once inside, with the tension from outside still lingering in the air, Kokoro gently tended to Grandma Haruko. She dipped a rag into warm water and began to softly dab at the swollen spot on Haruko's lip where the warrior leader had struck her. The quiet sounds of water dripping from the cloth into the bowl echoed in the room, but it did little to drown out the anger boiling inside me.
I tried to wear a mask of calm, but it was useless. Kokoro and Grandma Haruko could still see the rage simmering behind my eyes. It hung over us like a storm cloud, threatening to break at any moment.
For a few minutes, no one spoke. The only sounds were the faint crackling of the fire and the soft sighs of Grandma Haruko enduring the pain. But I couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Who were they?" I finally asked, my voice cutting through the silence like a blade. "And what do they want with your village?"