"Your mother was a woman fairer than the most beautiful geisha of all Japan" Hiko told Miryu over a cup of Sake. "To add to her beauty was her talent with the sword, especially the Gatotsu techniques passed to her by your grandfather, Reiyama Reiji"
"Wait a minute" Miryu interrupted. "Reiyama Reiji is the founder of the Shinsen-Gumi… How can he be my grandfather?"
"I didn't tell you that your background was pretty, Miryu" he said. "Both of your parents were on the same side, their allegiances were with the Shogun"
"WHAT!" Miryu was in shock. She couldn't believe what Hiko has told her. Not one single word of it. There was no way that her parents were on the Bakufu's side. Why would they uphold the tyrants who kept running down the people during the hardest of times?
"Ryumiko was the captain of the Shinsen-Gumi's first division, a post which she held for only a year. She gave the job to Okita Shoji after she married your father" As he said this, he was surprised that he could remember the name of the child who had tuberculosis that went long uncured. "From the latest news I've heard, the boy is still remarkably still alive and still holding the same post after so long. Also, your mother had a sworn brother, whose name I did not care to ask. That guy was the one who most resembled a wolf…"
It was then when Miryu interrupted Hiko's tale. "I met that man at Oka-san's grave the other night! He was so good at hiding his Ki that I couldn't feel his presence. I whipped his right leg and ran from him just before he could attack"
"You'd best be careful about that man, Miryu. He's as good as your mother, and could take you out if he gets serious during duels"
Miryu nodded. Then, she decided to change the subject. "How about my father, who was he?"
"As you know, your father was a part of the Tsubasa clan. The son of Tsubasa Akarou's gaijin chief-concubine, he was generally Akarou's favorite son, and was named his heir before Akurou died under your mother's katana" Hiko said, and saw that Miryu was on the verge on interrupting. Nevertheless, he continued on, "Tsubasa Akurou was his name and a lousy alcoholic-slash-opium addict if I might add. Your grandfather chose Akurou as Ryumiko's husband because he was being blackmailed by Akarou. To protect the family and the Shinsen-Gumi Reiji gave your mother to Akurou, who abused her in every way imaginable. When Reiji knew that she was pregnant with you, he thought of a way for her to escape and come to me. That was when the trouble started; he got in a serious duel with Akarou and severed the man's arm. As a result, Okita, your uncle and I had to track down the scum and kill him before he reached the Shogun, loaded with dirt on Reiji"
"Shishou, I did not know that you were into politics of the Bakufu" Miryu noted. Her sapphire-amber eyes blinking with curiosity as more of her anti-social master's personality was revealed to her.
"I did it because of your mother…" Hiko said, a little irritated at the teasing from Miryu. "She kept me safe from both the Ishin-Ishishi leaders and the Bakufu for as long as she could. In the last moments of her life, she killed your father as a form of revenge, and to keep anyone else from knowing that I existed. Mostly, she wants you to be shielded from the life that the Tsubasa family has led, so she gave you to my care just minutes before she died"
"How did she die, Shishou?"
"She led your father's katana into her stomach, less than the second from when she drove hers into your father's"
Never before has she heard such an act of selflessness in her life, which strengthened her resolve to bring down the Bakufu. Miryu could not believe that her mother died so valiantly, but her death was not acclaimed by the Bakufu, whom she served with her blood and soul through the Shinsen-Gumi.
"This katana was your mother's" Hiko said, handing a katana with a white snake-skin sheath, adorned with a small bell, to Miryu. The katana itself was made of titanium, much like the one held by Reiyama Reiji. There was an inscription written on the blade: I am a free woman. No one can capture my heart and my soul. "Now, it passes on to you" he continued.
Miryu bowed low as she received the katana. "Thank you, Shishou" she said.
