Marrow-Gnawer

<b>Marrow-Gnawer</b> was a leader of a large gang of nezumi in the city of Numai. He was strong, cunning, and overall exceptional for a nezumi. It is told that he slew three leaders of three separate gangs in one night and united them into one.

He was contacted by soratami, who wanted to infiltrate the Numai's underground society. The parley was, however, disrupted by Toshi Umezawa, and the nezumi fled wounded.

After Toshi's return, Marrow-Gnawer was brought in front of Uramon beaten and tortured, in order to give a testimony about his dealing with soratami. When Toshi escaped with the help of Myojin of Night's Reach's blessings, Marrow and Kiku were sent to bring him back. However, Toshi tricked Kiku and Marrow to join the hyozan reckoners gang by exposing them to a lethal danger in the form of the yuki-onna. Bound by the hyozan oath, neither Marrow nor Kiku can hurt Toshi now, and moreover, they were now compelled to help him. They did so when they helped Toshi to neutralize Uramon and steal her Shadow Gate by faking his capture and then turning against Uramon when unexpected.

Toshi then left to pursue his own goals, and when he returned once more, he demanded the hyozan help for the last time. It was unknown to both Marrow and Kiku that Toshi actually left the oath-brotherhood with the help of his myojin. He collected Marrow and Kiku and brought them to Minamo. Here, he left Marrow to guard his battle moth and went inside to reclaim That Which Was Taken and face Hidetsugu. Hidetsugu and his yamabushi captured Kiku and Toshi, and the ogre grabbed both of them and showed Toshi how to avoid the hyozan curse by slowly choking Kiku (killing her without spilling any blood). Marrow's hyozan tattoo burned with pain, and the nezumi raced to help his oath-siblings. When he saw Hidetsugu holding Toshi and Kiku, he made an incorrect conclusion - he thought that the hyozan oath was broken by Hidetsugu, and that the pain comes from Toshi's and Kiku's suffering - and that he can attack the ogre without invoking the curse. He did not know that the one who he could attack was actually Toshi, and that the tattoo burned only because of Kiku. He launched himself to the ogre and stabbed one of his eyes. By doing that, he saved Kiku and Toshi, but invoked the hyozan curse upon himself. Paralyzed and twitching with pain, he was beyond any help. After the fight was finished, Toshi asked the ogre to dispel the curse and save Marrow. Hidetsugu could not. Once invoked, the curse was irrevocable. Grieved, Toshi granted Marrow a last mercy of ending his suffering with his sword.