Reason for Hatred

The wind whistled it's malevolent song along the hills and flats of the countryside. Unaware of the existence of others' lives, Sanosuke lay flat on his back in the cushy grass.

"Daydreaming are we?" Rorokko whispered from behind him. Without even sitting up, he pushed away the distraction of his own heart. He felt the girl's presence as she sat down beside him.

"It's been such a long time since I've felt this peaceful..." She said.

Opening his eyes, Sanosuke watched from the corner of his eye as Rorokko pulled her knees up and tucked her chin against them. He felt a sudden flutter like none other as he gazed upon her. Here, she sat as the wind blew her long, glowing hair as it wisped all around her face. When she pushed it aside he saw the sadness that lurked just below the surface. Just as he thought she would cry, she spoke again.

"My brother and I used to train together. He would teach me swordsmanship, and I would teach him what it was to have a younger sibling. We used to have so much fun, until..." Rorokko stopped short, unable to continue. She had told Sano before about how her brother had been murdered ruthlessly. How she would never forget that day and never forgive those demons that called themselves men. One day she would get her revenge.

"HEY! What did I tell you about blaming yourself? As you said, you tried to stop those guys," Sano interjected.

"Sano, did I ever tell you about my sister?" Came the somewhat happier voice of the girl. Sano shook his head, not really interested in the conversation, but going along with it anyway. I would never be doing this if it were one of the brats...

"She was very beautiful, she even had a fiancé. He was so nice... He used to pick me up and say 'what beautiful eyes you have. If only you were older.' Then he would laugh and tell me that one day maybe I would grow to be as pretty as my sister," Rorokko giggled as she recalled these memories, but her face grew sad once again as she continued.

"But, sadly he had to go into the military. They were like a group of farmers or something... And they won a lot of the other farmers on their side, but then the government started saying they were telling lies to the people. They were executed, every single one of them..." One solitary tear escaped and rolled hotly down her face.

Sanosuke dosed as he tried to listen to her, but no matter what he did, that last explanation would not settle in his mind. Why did this sound so familiar?

Finally it hit him. Sanosuke sat straight up, and looked at Rorokko as if he had just seen her for the first time.

He sat there studying her until she said, "What?"

Sano cupped his hands to his face and closed his eyes. Long ago he had heard something like this from a close friend; that is, about having a fiancé.

"Captain Sigara..." Were the words that fell like rain from his mouth. Why hadn't he seen it before? The Captain has shown him and the others a very descriptive painting of him and his fiancé. Also, their had been two kids in the picture; a boy and a young girl.

Letting his hands fall away from his face, Sano turned his head to Rorokko. He couldn't read the expression she now showed, but she would be the first and last to speak.

"So you knew him too...? He was a great man, and my sister would have been a great wife for him. I guess I am cursed in this world, for both she and my brother are dead. She died a few months after hearing about your Captain's death. She always told me that he had been murdered..." With that, she got up and walked back to the Dojo. At the last moment she seemed to change her mind and thus headed to the forest of trees that lay just outside of town.

Seeing no reason to go home at the time, Sano just lay back down on the grass and closed his eyes. To his astonishment, his stomach growled viciously, and he left his sadness behind and headed home.