Some things can't be forgotten

In the garden of the Zen'in clan, the sun shined brilliantly, visualizing the dirty and soaked figure of a boy laying on grass and leaf. His body had grown pale, and seemed to be shaking a bit, perhaps due to the cold weather.

However, he wasn't the only person that stood in the garden.

"Just give me a branch and we will get this over with."

"Just call him something or touch him a bit. Why do you always want to get us in some trouble?"

"There is no way i will touch that rag of dirt, and i have been calling him, he is a heavy sleeper. Just give me the branch."

The voices of 2 females could be heard, one sounded tomboyish while the other was more gentle and softer, though a bit annoyed.

They both looked just the same, with the same face, same hair length and color, same eye color, they even wore the same colored Kimono and looked the same height. The only thing diffrent was that one of them had bangs while the other had her hair tied from behind.

It was very clear that the 2 were identical twins. Though their personalities didn't quite match up....

After some more arguing, the more gentle girl, gave up and decided to give the branch to her sister, not before reminding her to be gentle.

*Poke* *Poke*

He didn't wake up.

"Yeah as you can see, i tried. Poking doesn't work, so then..."

*Whack*

And with that, the boy finally woke up, violently coughing and trying to catch his breath.

He looked around, confused at the situation.

'Shouldn't i have been in my room sleeping? Did they caught me? This is the method of discipline?' He thought.

While he was thinking of that, the more gentle girl was looking at the unfolding events with blank eyes, as if she had already seen this a hundred times before.

Which to be fair, wasn't that far from the truth, with the exception of the number of times she had actually seen it.

"Oi, even though you are desperate, this isn't a place to sleep. The residents don't treat their family members decently, much less some random hobo. I am saying this for your own good. Find a church or temple to sleep in."

'Huh?'

It was at that moment that a look of realization came over the hobos' face, as he managed to make sense of the situation.

Smiling wryly, the hobo looked at the girls before trying to explain himself.

"I believe this is a misunderstanding. I am not homeless, my house is just behind the garden in fact."

Hearing that, the headstrong tomboy was taken aback.

"Then why were you sleeping here?"

Shit.

'Come on Akira, you are tricking a kid here. You can do this.'

"I just woke up here, so i don't really remember. Though i think i was just sleep walking." He said, though from the faces of the girls, they didn't exactly believe any word that came out of his mouth.

Besides, they had already made a few guesses about him either being bullied out of house, or being thrown out as a form of discipline. It seemed very likely considering how cold it was the previous night.

'Well, i suppose bully victims won't ever come out and admit it.' Thought the girl with bangs, as she shook her head.

"So you said you were from the household right? I think there is still some time before breakfast, if you hurry there you would probably be there in time." The more considerate person of the 2, said to the boy.

In response, the boy looked to his clothes and saw that he really doesn't look that much different from a hobo.

"I think i need to get to wash this. Could you lead me to the ladies who do laundry work?"

It wasn't really anything new that the girls learned to do chores at an early age in this household, so he hoped these girls could lead him there.

Though the tomboy had some other thoughts.

"Huh? Why should we know those ladies? The nerve of this___" She was stopped as her sister put her hands on her mouth, Before continuing:

"We were just about to go there actually, if you want to, you can just come with us."

The boy took a moment to observe the "Fight" in front of him, before accepting the offer and following a butthurt tomboy and an actually respectable girl.

"By the way, name is Akira." Said the boy, taking the chance to make friends.

"Nice to meet you Akira, my name is Mai." The more meek natured girl said.

"Maki." The tomboy said, while giving him a cold shoulder.

Well.....it would seem that friendship still needs some time to form; but still, baby steps.

Going in, they were careful not to walk too close to any of the guards and keep their eyes on the road, not on the people, lest their day will be ruined before it even begins.

Behind one of the houses to the right side, there were a few ladies dressed in casual and cheap white clothes. Some were washing other clothings, while the others were putting them on clotheslines to dry them.

The area around, and even the clothes on the clotheslines were spotless. Clearly showing the ladys' dedication to their duties. They had to prove themselves valuable.

They seemed more or less content with their current jobs. Some could even be seen smiling blissfully. The clans' rules, while being cruel to the ambitious people, don't actually offer that bad of a living condition to women. Simply do the chores and live a calm, uneventful and unfunny life. Not a bad trade, anyone can do chores. Of course, this is ignoring the disdain that most men in the household would typically have towards them, but then again, haven't they already gotten used to that anyway?

The women, noticing the arrival of the group, looked up at them, more specifically, at him.

But the moment he looked up to meet their gazes, they had already opted to look at the ground, or go back to doing whatever they were doing.

They certainly have gotten used to their place in hierarchy.

Getting close to the woman who was washing clothes, i pulled her kimono to get her attention, then pointed my hand to my clothes and spoke:

"While we were playing, i fell on the ground and my clothes got dirty. Would you please take these and wash them and give me something to wear in the mean time? I don't want to waste my parents' time with something like this."

I made sure to put emphasis on that last sentence, as if it was more of a warning to her than to myself.

The woman quickly nodded and gestured for the others who heard my request, to bring me spare clothes.

I looked to my side to see Maki, carrying a big basket of clothes, while Mai helped out the woman working on the clothesline. This seemed to be something of a routine for them.

i sat on the chair that originally belonged to the lady who was washing clothes, lost in my thoughts.

i struggled to understand these women.

*Thud* *Thud*

But if course, this day just wasn't meant to be peaceful. Should've known that when a tomboy with a branch woke me up in the middle of dirt, all soaked up.

As the sound of steps grew closer, multiple mother fuckers made their presence known.

7 of them to be exact. 4 men, a woman, and 2 children, a boy and a girl.

3 men wore the same outfit as the guards, except that theirs was even more plain than the guards. These ones wore white haori and kimonos with black leggings without even an emblem. It is important to note that the more plain they look, the less valuable they are to the clan. In this case, even the female servant accompanying them, was dressed more beautifully with a pink colored kimeno.

The forth man was someone who looked intimidating. That's probably how he sees himself anyway. The truth is, his looks are more disturbing than intimidating. So the feeling of disgust is what makes people divert their eyes from him, not fear.

First, he is bare footed. Anyone who walks bare footed is already in the red zone.

His eyebrows are literally thicker and wider than the size of his eye balls themselves, not even mentioning how narrow his eyes look anyway.

His hair line, looked like a M, with his long hair spiked up in a wild Style. The man also sported a beard that looked disturbing due to the presence of multiple scars, cutting in his beard line. Looking every bit as you would expect from someone who was raised by gorillas at a jungle.

This man is named Jinchi Zen'in. Nephew to the current head.

Yes i do have a grudge. As a child, i didn't consider that a 2 year old kids' words would have hurt a grown mans' pride to the extent that it did. A slight miscalculation on my part.

Aside from them, there was a boy who looked to be 8 or 7 years old. His hair was blonde at the top but grew darker as it came down, and it didn't had a particular style. Simply let free to drop down to his eyes. He looked about average in facial department too. Nothing too impressive at all. An oval shaped face with a big mouth and black eyes.

The girl who was walking a few steps behind him, was dressed marvelously in pink and red colors. She had black hair, brown eyes and a beautiful face with white skin. Her eyes were pointed downwards though. She didn't look as if she disliked being there. If anything, she looked comfortable.

These 2 were Naoya Zen'in and his only sister.

Seeing the group enter, i also decided to follow in the footsteps of the ladies and keep my eyes down.

But...

"Huh? What's with the dirt?Found your place of belonging or something? You are dirtying the clean marbles." Came the voice of an 8 year old boy, all condescending.

*Sigh* Just one day...

I believe this is a fight or flight situation, and it doesn't take a genius to realise which one is more logical.

"No, i apologize for dirtying the grounds. I am now waiting for the servants to bring some spare clothes." I responded.

"Then why are you just sitting there? Go after that servant. Or do you see yourself above a servant?"

Of course, the ladies were completely indifferent to the situation. I would have been indifferent to it too. In the end, we are all on the same boat. Fighting back accomplishes nothing.

Standing up, i bowed and prepared to take my leave, but just as i turned around, the servant i had sent, came back with the spare clothes. She Kneeled to get to my height, then presented the clothes to me.

"Hpmf, please go and take off your clothes at a closed off space. Nobody wants to see your disfigured body." Mentioned the same voice, before the sound of steps echoed once again. Signaling their leave.

It's hard to deal with this in an almost every week basis. But then again, every job, every lifestyle, has its' own problems.

At that time, i could see Maki looking away, continuing to give a cold shoulder, and Mai looking down, not particularly ashamed, but probably shy to look at my eyes.

*Sigh*

I did not expecting anything, and i am not petty enough to take this to my heart.

Taking my clothes, i find a small, secluded room around the area, and went inside to change my clothes. They probably use this place as some kind of restroom.

.....

Having worn the new clothes, i took the old ones to give it back to the laundry woman.

However, opening the door of the restroom, i came face to face to Mai, who, while looking down, stretched her hands and asked:

"The dirty clothes please."

Yeah, this is more awkward than it has any logical right to be. I was just verbally bullied you know?

Handing her the clothes, i looked on as she left and gave the clothes to the women, who were still indifferently working.

Letting out a sigh, i walked out of the area, and went to the center of the compound.

Here, aside from the houses that were connected to each other, to the right, were dojos, warehouses, and other buildings made for training. At the middle most section, house of the current head was placed. To the left side, the most crowded building is where they can make money by accepting requests on exorcism, and behind it, the garden.

Needless to say, this area was spotless, as there were servants cleaning it every hour or so.

Sometimes i wonder if the population of this compound is heavily favored towards women or if it's just because men spend a lot more time at missions.

Anyway, most of these buildings are useless at the moment.

Walking to the left side where my house also resides, i notice the old man from before, Ogi Zen'in is standing there, blocking the door.

Why does today need to be such a pain?

Sometimes i really miss the hallway. At least back then there was no one else interrupting my loneliness.

As i reach him, i bow my head to pay respect, to which he nods and opens the door behind him. He gestured me to get inside for this conversation.

Wordlessly walking inside, he sat on the upper most part of the room in front of me, as i stood there.

"If i may ask, what business do you have with me Zen'in-Sama?" I asked.

"Hmpf, even a fatherless brat has better attitude than my own daughter." He mumbled under his breath.

"The reasoning is simple. It would seem that you had snuck out the previous night, seeing as you were absent early morning. Where have you been?" He asked.

I probably can't get away from this with a lie. He has most likely already guessed anyway.

"Yes, the previous night, after dinner, i went outside to enjoy the rainy weather for a bit. As in this season, it is rare to exprience that kind of weather. I wasn't careful and lost my way in the garden, before deciding to simply sleep there anyway."

Hearing that explanation, he was silent for some time and simply looked at my eyes, before he Unsheathed his sword and threw the steel blade aside, taking the sheath in both his hands.

"You are growing closer to the age of 4 right? That's about the time in which a sorcerer awakens their cursed energy. It might be good to test you out a bit. Take your bokken, show me your worth."

It has to be mentioned that the sheath of a sword is quite different from a wooden sword. While for the most part, it is made to be lightweighted, but it does have an steel end, and the middle section is also decorated with metal.

In other words, this isn't a test. If it is, then it is too harsh and unnecessary. This is just an excuse for discipline. They really need to get better at making excuses. In the first place, what sense is there at testing a near 4 year old? I am barely a meter tall for fuck's sake.

So much for honesty and its' policies.

At the corner of the room, my eyes landed on my small bokken that could not possibly withstand even a single attack, and sighed at my misfortune. This is supposed to be afterlife? It sucks.

I wish today would just pass as soon as possible. I miss the sweet dreams i had while sleeping.