14 Flashback

A strong and vivid person who scorches everything as if he was the sun. That's the person who Yoriichi is.

Gentle and kind, she was like the flower who everyone can't help but be attracted. That's who Kiyomi was.

During the period when we were born, my brother and I, twins were considered bad omen because they cause successor conflicts.

My father was the one to name both of us. I was named Tsugikuni Michikatsu, and my brother, Tsugikuni Yoriichi.

Yoriichi was born with a hideous birthmark, and thus, my father ordered him to be killed.

However, our mother, Akeno Tsugikuni was outraged at his announcement, and an agreement was made that instead of being killed, Yoriichi would be sent to the temple and become a priest upon turning ten.

After a year, our mother gave birth again. This time, a girl. Our mother named her Tsugikuni Kiyomi.

Like Yoriichi, she was born with a weird mark, but on her neck. Though, unlike Yoriichi's mark, her's was remarkably beautiful.

A crescent moon, bright stars, and the mysterious night sky. Everything that symbolized the moon goddess.

Our father was overjoyed at the discovery, and everyone regarded her as the reincarnation of the moon goddess and respected her.

She was a quiet child, timid, too. But everyone liked her, she was very sensible, and just like her name, her face was very refined and delicate.

She followed around three people the most.

Our mother, Yoriichi, and I. She was a very spirited child, and she would give us gifts, accompanied us when we were sad and talked to us when we wanted company.

Even our father, who was never seen to be gentle with anyone except our mother, doted on her.

He gave her the best of the best, going as far as to ask for her opinions on clan matters.

Lots of clan elders almost went crazy once they heard the news. But the results all shut their mouths, and they started to respect her, perhaps even more than they did our father.

If it weren't for the fact that women weren't allowed to be the successor, I'm sure Father would have appointed her. Since everyone's treatment of her was even better than I, the true successor.

But I wasn't jealous, she has earned what she deserves. Reading books in the middle of the night, and learning hard whenever she got the chance.

Speaking of treatment, despite being brothers, our rooms, our kimonos, our educations, even our food, were almost completely different from each other's.

I had thought it was because of our difference in treatment, that Yoriichi had never left our mother's side. Every time I saw him, he was hugging our mother's left side.

Kiyomi was also always following by our mother's side, though that seemed normal, as girls are to learn from their mothers.

I always thought of Yoriichi as childish, and pitiful. He never talked until he was seven, so everyone thought he was deaf.

Kiyomi must have thought the same because one day, she suddenly went to our father to protest. She got what she wanted too. Yoriichi had a much better living condition than before.

Seeing my own brother so pitiful, I would go to Yoriichi's small but clean three-tatami room when my father wasn't looking.

One day when I went to visit Yoriichi, I was startled to hear footsteps behind me. I thought that father had found out, and I just stood there, petrified.

"What are you doing? Onii-san?" A quiet and silky voice sounded behind me.

Surprised, I instantly turned around, still holding the wooden flute I was planning to give Yoriichi.

The little girl who was just a few inches below my height was standing there silently, with her head slightly titled to one side.

I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that it was Kiyomi. She was kind, and would never actively get anyone in trouble.

"Hello??" She waved her hand in front of my eyes.

Patting her head, I replied, "I'm just visiting our brother."

"Yoriichi? Well then let's go together!" Happily skipping in front of me, Kiyomi had a bright smile on her face.

She would always smile, no matter the situation.

Catching up with her, we walked towards where Yorichii resided.

"Yoriichi~! Your kawaii little Imouto came to visit you! Hehe!"

The door to the small three-room tatami opened, and a small boy, unsmiling, stood there.

We invited ourselves in, and Kiyomi talked nonstop about her day.

Around the time when we were about to leave, I gave Yoriichi the flute.

"Yoriichi, I made this wooden flute for you. Here you are." I said, while giving the flute I held in my hand to Yoriichi.

He just sat there, looking at the flute I gave him.

"Huh?!! No fair! You're making me look bad Onii-san~! I didn't know that we were supposed to bring a gift!" Kiyomi pouted and crossed her arms.

"Eh? ...But you never asked?" I looked at her, dazed.

"But.. but... hum! You're a bad brother!" She aggrievedly pointed her finger at me.

Scratching my head I tried my best to pacify her, "Well... you can always give him a gift at another time.."

"Hmph! It's not the same! No matter! I want to give a gift anyway!" she said while turning her face towards Yoriichi.

"Watch closely Yoriichi!" Kiyomi said, and Yoriichi had his eyes on her without blinking.

I don't know what she did, but Yoriichi suddenly muttered a fluent sentence that shocked me.

"Thank you, Imouto... I'll remember it in my heart."

That was the first time I saw Yoriichi speak, and so.. fluently, even though he didn't receive a good education.

Kiyomi was delighted, and she beamed at the words that Yorichii said.

It was after Kiyomi's meeting with Yoriichi that I then realized he was different around that time.

When I was practicing my sword swings in the garden, Yoriichi was just standing soundlessly behind the pine tree.

It chilled me to the bone.

Still standing behind the pine tree, Yoriichi asked, "Brother, is your dream to become the strongest samurai in the country?"

I glanced at him and replied, "... yes."

I then continued to practice, but his next words shocked me.

"Then... I'm going to become the second strongest samurai in the country!" Yoriichi burst into a smile for the first time.

What he said disgusted me.

He was supposed to be sent to the temple once he turned ten. He was supposed to become a priest, not a samurai.

Did he not understand that?

'A samurai fights with his life on the line. A kid who runs to his mother the moment he caught sight of her, could never become a man like that.'

At that moment, I despised my pitiful brother.

But after that, during my practices, Yoriichi started to linger around, saying he wanted my teacher and I to teach him.

One day my father's subordinate, my teacher who was teaching me the way of the sword, gave Yoriichi a small shinai.

All he told him were basic instructions on how to hold the sword and form a stance.

*Crunch*

Hearing the sound of footsteps crunching on twigs, and I turned around.

Kiyomi was not smiling at this time, and she looked... sad.

My father's subordinate, seeing Kiyomi coming towards us, instantly bowed down and greeted her, "Kiyomi-Sama!"

Doing her best to smile, she waved her hands, "Don't mind me, I'm just taking a look."

"Yes!" replied my teacher, more enthusiastic than ever.

Then, he told Yoriichi to come right at him.

*Swoosh*

In a blink of an eye, Yoriichi released four strikes, broke my teacher's shinai in half, and knocked him unconscious.

I was astounded, I was never able to hit this subordinate's body no matter how hard I tried.

Not even once.

Yoriichi dropped his shinai on the ground, "I don't want to become a samurai anymore.. I don't like the feeling of hitting someone. It feels horrible.."

After this incident, I hounded Yoriichi and pressed him for an answer.

I really wanted to know the secret to his strength.

And he said something really bizarre as we were talking.

"Your opponent's lungs expand before they strike, so just watch their bone movement, muscle contraction, and blood flow closely. She said... it was called the 'Transparent World'."

It took me a moment to understand his words, that Yoriichi could see through a living creature's body.

Just like with his mark, he was born with special vision as well. And he had the physical capabilities to immediately respond to that sight.

Yoriichi, who I thought was pitiful this whole time, was clearly stronger than I was.

"But rather than talking about the sword, I want to play sugoroku and fly a kite with you and Kiyomi, brother."

I wanted to devote myself to the sword. The way of the sword comes with pain and suffering.

However, I had a talent that everyone around me accepted. So I could become stronger just by putting in more effort.

But that pace is akin to the pace of a turtle in the face of a one-of-kind prodigy.

It would be great if the desired talent was given to someone who desired it. But Yoriichi looked extremely bored when he talked about the sword.

He had a talent that towered over others, and yet, he didn't look the slightest happy.

After that day, my father's subordinate reported what had happened to everyone, and our positions completely reversed.

Yoriichi was going to be the next-in-line, and I was moved into the small three-tatami room.

I was the one who was going to be sent to the temple at the age of ten, and my dream of becoming a samurai would never come true.

One day at three in the morning, I heard Yoriichi calling my name.

"Brother."

I didn't want to respond, but I did anyway, "... What?"

"Mother has passed away." Yoriichi passed the horrid news.

"What?" Confused, I rose my voice.

I quickly came and opened the door.

"Why did this come so suddenly? What happened?"

But I didn't just see Yoriichi kneeling on the floor, Kiyomi was there too.

But now, her smile completely disappeared, her face looked haggard, and she liked as if she had cried.

"I'm very sorry. Please ask our Imouto what happened. I just wanted to say goodbye. I am departing for the temple right now.. and... this flute," Yoriichi took out the wooden flute from his kimono.

"I think about this flute as if it were you, brother. No matter how far we are, I will never lose heart. And I will work diligently every day." Yoriichi smiled.

He had a flute that could only make off-tune sounds in his bag. And he kept it next to him like it was his treasure.

That thing was trash. I didn't understand why he was so happy.

Disgusting.

But I couldn't say a single word back to him.

"Yoriichi. Take this too. I made it myself." Kiyomi, who was sitting behind Yoriichi, took a very nicely sewn haori from out of nowhere and gave it to him.

I felt Jealous. I felt angry. I felt shame. I felt Irritated.

Suprised, Yoriichi held the haori in his arms, "Thank you Imouto.. I'll cherish this gift. I hope we would be able to meet again one day.."

Then, he trudged off to someplace on the road, only bringing what he had on him and the haori worn on his body.

I turned to Kiyomi, "So.. what happened?"

She looked at me in my eyes and gave me a book.

It was our mother's diary.

I flipped through the pages.

And at that moment, I heard the sound of my body searing with envy, and hate. I despised the prodigy known as Yoriichi from the bottom of my heart.

Yoriichi had known everything about our mother's illness, he knew the increasing weakness of the left side of her body and planned accordingly.

He wasn't clinging to our mother, he was supporting her because her sickness made her weak.

"Brother? Are you okay?" asked Kiyomi, concerned at the expression of Michikatsu.

"GO AWAY! You make me sick! Your fake smiles, everything!" I felt the need to release my expanding anger.

Kiyomi was stunned and droplets of tears accumulated under her eyes, "You.. you.. You're a bad brother! YOU'RE A BAD BROTHER! Hic! Wuuuwuu~!"

She ran into the darkness, not caring about which direction she went.

*Growl*

I heard a low beastly growl, a scream, and then everything was silent.

My face went pale. I instantly ran in the direction where Kiyomi ran off.

After searching for an hour, I saw it. Her mangled body, full of bite marks, bits of flesh were still scattered on the cold, dead, ground.

Blood flowed everywhere, her eyes were dim, and her eyes were still crying.

Regret. I wasn't feeling right. I shouldn't have yelled at you. Please... come back.. I'm sorry.

Kiyomi.