Rage
"That's not going to help."
Six hits the punching bag harder, putting all his weight behind it.
"Sure it will. It'll make me feel better."
Four watches him from the doorway without saying anything. After a minute he speaks up. "You need to learn to control your rage, stop letting it get the best of you."
"Who says I have rage?!"
Another punch. This time, the bag goes flying off it's hook. Four raises an eyebrow. Six scowls and goes over to the weights, looking everywhere but at him. When he glances back up, the former prince is right there, looking at him intently. He takes the weights from his hands, and sets them down.
"You misunderstand me." He tells him, his voice low and fierce. "I'm not saying being angry is wrong, The General deceived you. You have every reason to hate him, but you're going about it the wrong way."
He stops lifting. Four takes this as his cue to continue. He says, "Hatred is a very powerful tool if you have to know how to use it."
"Use it?"
"Yes. To keep focused. To guide you. But first you have to clear your head."
"How do I do that?"
"By learning discipline. You have a lot of brute strength but no real technique. I will teach you how to fight properly, without exhausting yourself."
The corner of Six's mouth twitches. "You going to teach me how to use a sword?"
"Of course not. You'd look ridiculous." His face remains completely serious but Six swears he sees his eyes glint a little bit.
"Sit down. We're going to do some exercises that will help you control your breathing." Six has never really been a big believer in that sort of thing, but it's spoken as more of a command than a suggestion, and he isn't looking to piss off anyone who carries around a Samurai. So he sits.
After about an hour of strange meditation exercises, he turns to Four.
"Do you think I should kill him?" That's been bothering him a lot lately. Mostly because he already knows what the others would say.
Four doesn't even open his eyes. "Yes. I will help."
"Why?"
"Because you are my family." He says it so matter-of-factly. Six feels oddly touched. Not because he called him family-he's done that before-but because he just offered to help him murder someone. That's some serious loyalty, right there. After all,
A family that slays together stays together.