KEY: *italics/ thoughts* ^^^flashback^^^ ~see glossary at end for definition~

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CHAPTER FIVE: Hana no Junshin [Flowers of Innocence]

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^^^The four-and-a-half-year-old girl laughed aloud as her older brother chased her through the flower fields near the hill by their house. Her bright red hair had come partially loose from the pink ribbon holding it up, and her pink-and-purple yukata had numerous grass-stains smeared across the knees and front.

"You'll never catch me, ~onii-chan~!" she called over her shoulder.

"Yes I will, ~Jun-chan~!" her brother's voice came from somewhere close, but out of sight.

But even as he said the last word, ~Junshin~ spotted a particularly bright orange flower, and bent to pick it. It reminded her of the color of mother's best kimono that she used to wear for outings. Every seventh day, she and father would leave Junshin and her onii-chan at home to go visit friends.

But one day they never came back.

Her onii-chan had finally told Junshin to stay put, and went into town to see if he could find them. When he came back, he sadly explained to Junshin that they were very sick, and wouldn't be coming home for a few days.

They died a week later.

That had been two months ago. Ever since then, she and her brother had lived alone in their old hut, waiting until he was big enough to get a job somewhere, maybe harvesting rice.

Junshin missed her parents dearly. Suddenly angry, she tossed away the flower and rose to go back to the tiny house.

"Found you!"

Junshin's ten-year-old brother leaped from seemingly out of nowhere and tickled her in the ribs. Junshin collapsed in a heap of giggles, trying to talk while he tickled her mercilessly.

"No, stop!" Giggle. "Onii-chan, don't do that!" Giggle. "No fair, I wasn't ready!"

She burst into laughter again. Shin-chan jumped away and started running again.

"You're it!" he called back.

"Hey!" Junshin called. "I'm gonna get you for that!"

She raced ahead. Seeing a flash of her brother's red hair, she slowed down and tried to sneak up on him. But she was confused at what she saw. Her brother was standing at the head of the hill that looked over the hut where they lived, stock-still and staring.

"What's the matter, onii-chan?"

He didn't answer, just kept looking downward. Junshin frowned at her brother's lack of playfulness and looked down, too. She gasped at what she saw.

"Onii-chan! Why are there men down there? And why do they have swords?" She looked again. "They have guns, too!"

"Hush, Jun-chan. I don't know why they're here, but they probably just want to talk." He smiled reassuringly. "I'm going to go find out what they want. You wait here until I come back."

"But I want to go with you!" She looked up at her brother. "I'm scared, onii-chan!"

"No, ~otomo~. You need to hide right here and wait." He patted Junshin head and smiled again. "Don't worry, everything will be okay."

"Do you promise you'll come back?" She tried to wipe a tear out of her eye before onii-chan could see.

"I promise, Jun-chan. Now hide in the bushes and don't come out unless I tell you to."

Once Junshin had hidden herself behind a screen of underbrush, he turned and began walking down the hill. Almost immediately, however, several of the men spotted him, drew their swords, and approached him. She was too far away to overhear their discussion, but she could tell that the men were not being friendly. Junshin was horrified when two men grabbed her onii-chan by the arms and tried to tie his hands.

"Onii-chan!" Junshin pushed out of the bushes and called out to her brother. "Let go of him!"

"No, Junshin!" Shin-chan tried to distract the men, but they noticed her anyway. "Run! Head to the village!"

Junshin hesitated for just a second, but it was enough for one man to point a gun at her and another to put one to her onii-chan's back.

"Don't move an inch, girl, or I'll shoot!" said the one pointing the gun at her brother. Junshin stopped dead, eyes wide with fear.

"No, don't listen, Junshin! Run! Go to the vil-"

His cries were muffled as the man covered her brother's mouth with his hand.

"Come here quick, girl, and we'll go easy on you," the man said. "Now, or we'll come and get you!"

Junshin took a deep breath. "Will you let onii-chan go?"

"What?"

"Onii-chan! My brother," Junshin said, pointing. "I'll only come if you let him go and promise not to hurt him!"

"Of course," said the man, smiling in a sickly-sweet way. "We would never hurt him. Now come down here."

"No, let onii-chan go first!"

"But how will we know that you'll come down here? You might run away, and then we'd be very sad."

"Well...okay, but only if you promise!"

Junshin began to climb down the hill. Her brother, however, managed to get his mouth uncovered for an instant.

"Junshin, they're tricking you! Go, now!"

"Quiet, boy!" the man said, aiming his gun at Junshin.

"NO!" Shin-chan leaped on top of him, trying to move the gun away. He called to Junshin as he struggled. "Junshin, run to the village, and no matter what happens, don't stop until you get there! Now! Promise you won't stop! Please, Junshin!"

"I promise," Junshin shouted, turning around and running back up the slope.

She made it to the top of the hill and looked back for an instant. The men weren't chasing her any more, but she thought that they were getting Shin-chan. It was too far away for Junshin to see properly. Suddenly, she heard a gunshot and saw a small figure fall.

"No! Onii-chan!!!"

Junshin took a step toward her brother, but slipped on the grass. The ground came rushing up to meet her, and her head hit something hard and solid. After that came nothing but darkness and nightmares of Shin-chan dissolving into thin air, amidst a river of bullets...^^^

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^^^Junshin awoke slowly. She was in a dark room so she couldn't see very well, but she felt a futon beneath her. She tried to sit up, but her head throbbed and her eyes watered.

"Oww," she exclaimed, rubbing her head, which made it hurt even more. "Oww, oww, oww..."

"~Shojo-chan~? Are you all right, dear?"

"Mmm?" Junshin looked up, and saw a middle-aged woman wearing a servant's ~montsuki~ leaning over her futon and holding a candle.

"Are you all right? You have quite a nasty bump on your head, dear. Here, this should help," the woman set the candle down on a low table, and pressed a cool cloth to Junshin's forehead.

"But – who are you?" Junshin asked. "I don't..."

"Never you mind, dear. I work for Master ~Hachisu~, the local government official, and he'll be taking care of you from now on."

"What?" Junshin was confused. Her throbbing head made it hard to think, but she thought that there was something she should be doing... something very important. "No thank you, I need to go and look for someone: my onii...oni-cha... His name is Shin...Sh..." the name was slipping away from her, as well as the memory.

"That's very nice, dear," The woman said, pulling off Junshin's torn yukata, and slipping a brand-new kimono made of silk over her head, splashing images of toys, ribbons, and flowers eternally marching across the front and sides. "But we must get you nice and pretty and clean for now."

"But what happened? How did I get this bump?" Junshin winced as the new kimono brushed against the wound above her left ear.

"Oh, you poor dear," the woman said soothingly. "Master Hachisu found you out in the middle of nowhere while he was out riding, with blood and dirt all over you. He brought you back here, and said that he was going to take care of you."

"Oh." Junshin said softly. "But I don't want to live here, I've got to search for...for..." The name was gone. Junshin suddenly felt a great sense of loss, and sadness welled up within her. She began to cry, not even knowing what she was crying about.

"What's all this?" a male voice asked commandingly. A tall man with dark brown hair and a large moustache had entered the room. Junshin stopped crying a little.

"Ahh, so it's our little mystery girl, and she's awake, too!" He smiled warmly. "What's your name, little one?"

"Junshin, ~Hachisu-san~," she said politely. "But I want to go home, and..."

"Nonsense!" said the man. "Oh, you will call me ~chichi-ue~ from now on. And we'll have to find you a proper name. Junshin just isn't proper for an officer's daughter. We shall call you... ~Kimiyo~. Yes, that seems about right. Kimiyo ~Takasen-Hachisu~-"

"NO! I don't want to change my name!" Junshin shouted, frustrated that no one seemed to be listening to her. "And I don't want to live with you, either! I just want to go home!"

The man was quiet for a few moments. "Please leave us, Maruko-san."

The serving woman bowed and left.

"I'm afraid that's not possible, Kimiyo." Hachisu said. "The only house within miles of where I found you was just a burned-down old hut. And even if the living there was suitable, I've already adopted you as my daughter and heir."

"Adopted...?" Junshin wiped away her tears and sniffing. "Does that mean you'll take care of me? Forever?"

"That's about right," said Hachisu, smiling. "What do you think, Kimiyo?"

"Well..." Junshin - Kimiyo – looked into the smiling man's face, and felt a small bit of warmth spread. Surely this nice man would take care of her. "Okay...I guess..."

The middle-aged man picked up the candle and held out his hand to Junshin.

"Come along, now, Kimiyo, we have to sort out some things."

"Okay, chichi-ue."

Kimiyo smiled at her new father and took his hand.

But she still felt an incredible feeling of sorrow in the bottom of her heart... And, though her inexperienced emotions did not recognize it, there was a hair's worth of anger...^^^

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Miyuko woke suddenly, and sat up.

"Wha...what?" she muttered, eyes slightly larger than usual in puzzlement. "That... that was Hachisu-san... And Maruko..."

She stood and drank some water from one of two nearby jugs, then leaned against the wall. She wore only her nagajuban, a thin type of yukata used as an undergarment, which was cut off a few inches above the knees to allow for extra movement. The night air chilled her skin and rose goosebumps along her arms and legs, but she made no move to dress further.

*Why?* She reached for the water-jug again, but decided instead on the other. She sipped some ~sake~ and let it warm her. *I haven't allowed myself to think of them for years. So, why now? I was so sure that was Maruko, and...Hachisu.*

"The fool," Miyuko smirked. "I don't know why I didn't see it then. The stupid, biased one. Just like all officials, neh?"

She laughed grimly and downed the rest of the sake jug's contents and sat back down on her futon. She lay there, wrapped in black humor and sorrow, comforted only by the sake.

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-onii-chan: a friendly or familiar was of saying older brother

-chan: added on to the end of a child's or friend's name to show affection

Junshin: "Innocence"

otomo: younger sister

Shojo-chan: "young girl", plus the added "-chan"

montsuki: a kimono with a family or house's crest on it

Hachisu: a formal word for "Lotus Blossom"

-san: added on to a name; equivalent to "Mr.", "Mrs.", or "Ms."

chichi-ue: formal word for "father"; the added "ue" is also used to address people of high rank

Kimiyo: a name meaning "righteous"

Takasen: "Thousand-Talon"

sake: Japanese fermented rice wine