Chapter 4
" Ahou! Wait for me!!" Hikaru yelled to the dashing Sanosuke. "You're going to drop the tofu!" Sanosuke laughed cheerfully; he loved to tease her. It had been about a year now since the Betrayal Incident and Sagara Sanosuke had finally learned how to deal with his imaginary guilt. He had lived the lie as he was told, learning the mix ways of the Sagara family. He had begun sword training from Shunzo-sensei in their dojo/home to become heir to the 300 year-old land. Sanosuke didn't like this idea; after all he wasn't even a part of the bloodline. But his life was a good one.
" Baka! WAAAAIIITT!!!!" Hikaru yelled once more. Sanosuke stopped his running and looked back at the six-year-old and laughed. Hikaru had grown since the first time they met, and each day her beauty grew in the simplest ways. From her once traditional double braids, she now wore her hair loose and barely ever bothered to brush it. She hated kimonos and wore hakamas over them like a man, a pure tomboy. Suddenly Sanosuke's eyes saw a flash of skin and Hikaru's hand scarred his cheek.
" Ororo! Why couldn't you wait for me?! And look at what you did to the tofu! Mama is going to murder you!" She even spoke like a man. Sanosuke looked down at the small bucket and saw the broken lid with a mush of tofu on top. He laughed and looked at Hikaru in an uncaring manner.
" I guess we have to go back now!" He said with a smile. Hikaru wasn't up for jokes, so she snatched the bucket from his hands and sat on the dirt road. Picking up the lid, she removed the piece of tofu on top of it and with a woman's touch molded it back to the original square it once was. She placed the lid back on the tofu and glared at the snickering Sanosuke.
" I'll carry the tofu now," she sighed, " I can't trust you with anything anymore." And with that, she stood and began to walk slowly down the dirt trail. Sanosuke stared at Hikaru. Though she acted like a man, there was still some of that gentleness a woman has inside her. He smiled to himself and followed his cousin.
" Mama, we're home!" Hikaru yelled as she entered the garden. The dojo was a small building with an immensely large yard where most activities took place. Sanosuke looked at the sakura trees and smiled. The petals were going to fall either tonight or tomorrow, marking the coming of summer. He looked at Hikaru who made her way to her mother with the bucket of tofu. Sagara Hanako's hands rose in the air in hopelessness and yelled something to her boyish daughter, snatching the bucket of tofu from the girl's hands and storming into the kitchen. Hikaru looked down and sighed, a bit depressed for upsetting her okasan. Her eyes wondered to the daydreaming Sanosuke and glared at him.
" Sagara Sanosuke! You have a lot of guts! You just stood there and let Mama put the blame on me? Oh, what a wonderful role model you are!" The girl bickered. She raised her hands up in the air in the same manner as her okasan and stormed into the house, probably to train with her bokken. Sanosuke laughed. He broke his own musings and began to walk to the back of the dojo, where the sounds of clashing swords, screams, and bokkens being hit against straw dummies could be heard.
"Ah Suke-chan! I was wondering when you would be returning," Sagara Shunzo greeted his greatest pupil. "I need your help, deshi. It seems these beginners still can't get the proper way of holding the bokken. Would you be willing to teach them?"
" Sagara-sensei," Sanosuke wined, "do I have to?"
" I am not hearing this! Kuzou! That's all you are! Your skill does not deprive you of your duties! Now, follow what your sensei commands!" Shunzo hollered. Sanosuke's immaturity still irritated him. The boy had much talent, for he learned and almost mastered a bokken in only a year and was the youngest pupil he had ever taught to hold an actual katana. The boy had had previous experience before, from the Sekihou Tai of course, but even with that he was too gifted. It was rare for a sensei to stumble on such a prodigy.
Suddenly, screams broke the training environment. Shunzo turned his head to the direction the screams came from. They came from the front gate, and the scream was from his wife. Shunzo ran quickly to the gate, unsheathing his katana on the way, but a puzzled look came upon his face to see his wife not only fine, but also with her hands around a man's neck. He wore a tan western suit with a Western cape and hat of the same color. He had long black hair that resembled his daughter's; neatly tied in a black lace and shiny patent leather shoes. His face was very long for a Japanese man, but his eyes were like Shunzo's own. His skin was the strangest thing. It was pale! It was just as pale as moonlight, like sunlight had never hit his face or hands. The man towered a good foot over Shunzo's wife, keeping a tight grip in his hug. Noticing her husband standing in puzzlement, Hanako smiled and let go of the stranger. She walked gracefully toward her husband and led him to the entrance of the garden.
" Don't be shy, anata. Can't you recognize Ikomoda Arata?" Shunzo's head snapped toward his wife.
" Ikomoda? Isn't that your old last name? Is he your brother?" Hanako laughed, amused.
" No, anata. That's my father!"
" Ahou! Wait for me!!" Hikaru yelled to the dashing Sanosuke. "You're going to drop the tofu!" Sanosuke laughed cheerfully; he loved to tease her. It had been about a year now since the Betrayal Incident and Sagara Sanosuke had finally learned how to deal with his imaginary guilt. He had lived the lie as he was told, learning the mix ways of the Sagara family. He had begun sword training from Shunzo-sensei in their dojo/home to become heir to the 300 year-old land. Sanosuke didn't like this idea; after all he wasn't even a part of the bloodline. But his life was a good one.
" Baka! WAAAAIIITT!!!!" Hikaru yelled once more. Sanosuke stopped his running and looked back at the six-year-old and laughed. Hikaru had grown since the first time they met, and each day her beauty grew in the simplest ways. From her once traditional double braids, she now wore her hair loose and barely ever bothered to brush it. She hated kimonos and wore hakamas over them like a man, a pure tomboy. Suddenly Sanosuke's eyes saw a flash of skin and Hikaru's hand scarred his cheek.
" Ororo! Why couldn't you wait for me?! And look at what you did to the tofu! Mama is going to murder you!" She even spoke like a man. Sanosuke looked down at the small bucket and saw the broken lid with a mush of tofu on top. He laughed and looked at Hikaru in an uncaring manner.
" I guess we have to go back now!" He said with a smile. Hikaru wasn't up for jokes, so she snatched the bucket from his hands and sat on the dirt road. Picking up the lid, she removed the piece of tofu on top of it and with a woman's touch molded it back to the original square it once was. She placed the lid back on the tofu and glared at the snickering Sanosuke.
" I'll carry the tofu now," she sighed, " I can't trust you with anything anymore." And with that, she stood and began to walk slowly down the dirt trail. Sanosuke stared at Hikaru. Though she acted like a man, there was still some of that gentleness a woman has inside her. He smiled to himself and followed his cousin.
" Mama, we're home!" Hikaru yelled as she entered the garden. The dojo was a small building with an immensely large yard where most activities took place. Sanosuke looked at the sakura trees and smiled. The petals were going to fall either tonight or tomorrow, marking the coming of summer. He looked at Hikaru who made her way to her mother with the bucket of tofu. Sagara Hanako's hands rose in the air in hopelessness and yelled something to her boyish daughter, snatching the bucket of tofu from the girl's hands and storming into the kitchen. Hikaru looked down and sighed, a bit depressed for upsetting her okasan. Her eyes wondered to the daydreaming Sanosuke and glared at him.
" Sagara Sanosuke! You have a lot of guts! You just stood there and let Mama put the blame on me? Oh, what a wonderful role model you are!" The girl bickered. She raised her hands up in the air in the same manner as her okasan and stormed into the house, probably to train with her bokken. Sanosuke laughed. He broke his own musings and began to walk to the back of the dojo, where the sounds of clashing swords, screams, and bokkens being hit against straw dummies could be heard.
"Ah Suke-chan! I was wondering when you would be returning," Sagara Shunzo greeted his greatest pupil. "I need your help, deshi. It seems these beginners still can't get the proper way of holding the bokken. Would you be willing to teach them?"
" Sagara-sensei," Sanosuke wined, "do I have to?"
" I am not hearing this! Kuzou! That's all you are! Your skill does not deprive you of your duties! Now, follow what your sensei commands!" Shunzo hollered. Sanosuke's immaturity still irritated him. The boy had much talent, for he learned and almost mastered a bokken in only a year and was the youngest pupil he had ever taught to hold an actual katana. The boy had had previous experience before, from the Sekihou Tai of course, but even with that he was too gifted. It was rare for a sensei to stumble on such a prodigy.
Suddenly, screams broke the training environment. Shunzo turned his head to the direction the screams came from. They came from the front gate, and the scream was from his wife. Shunzo ran quickly to the gate, unsheathing his katana on the way, but a puzzled look came upon his face to see his wife not only fine, but also with her hands around a man's neck. He wore a tan western suit with a Western cape and hat of the same color. He had long black hair that resembled his daughter's; neatly tied in a black lace and shiny patent leather shoes. His face was very long for a Japanese man, but his eyes were like Shunzo's own. His skin was the strangest thing. It was pale! It was just as pale as moonlight, like sunlight had never hit his face or hands. The man towered a good foot over Shunzo's wife, keeping a tight grip in his hug. Noticing her husband standing in puzzlement, Hanako smiled and let go of the stranger. She walked gracefully toward her husband and led him to the entrance of the garden.
" Don't be shy, anata. Can't you recognize Ikomoda Arata?" Shunzo's head snapped toward his wife.
" Ikomoda? Isn't that your old last name? Is he your brother?" Hanako laughed, amused.
" No, anata. That's my father!"