Mabo's Mother

Mabo’s mother is the unnamed mother of Mabo, a young boy in Kyoto who befriends Tominaga Sei and later Yamanami Keisuke. She appears in Volume 7 of Kaze Hikaru (manga).

Story
In Kyoto, a public notice is posted by the Sonjo-ha condemning the Shinsengumi for the Ikedaya attack and threatening them with violence. While public opinion of the Shinsengumi sours, apparent random attacks begin on their members, though no one in Kyoto is willing to give up any information.

After Ueno is killed in broad daylight, Okita Souji and Tominaga Sei start asking around. No one is willing to speak up, but Soji notices a young boy, Mabo, agitated at his mother’s side. Mabo’s mother quickly snaps that her son doesn’t know anything, and hurries away. After another member is killed, however, Soji and Sei decide to try asking Mabo for help again. His mother is still uninterested in helping, and tells them that she was working on her needlework while Mabo slept. Later, Mabo finds Sei and tells her what he saw; the man responsible escaped from the Ikedaya attack and wanted to kill Sei, though he is killed by Soji while trying to attack Sei.

A little more less a month later, a great fire breaks out in Kyoto. Over 28,000 buildings were lost, and many people were killed or injured. While traveling through the city, Sei notices an ash-covered Mabo walking in the street. He tells Sei that he needs to get water for his parents, who are both covered in ash and aren't moving. As Mabo points out his mother and father in the wreckage, Sei realizes that both of his parents are dead. Sei tells Soji she’s going to get Mabo to a safe house before rejoining them.