A Cook, A Doctor, A Ghost and A Ronin.

Flashback

My father was a wood cutter. As his son, I helped him cut down the trees. Mother got pneumonia from a bad cold and died. It was a stormy day. Father went to pick herbs and fell off a cliff. He also died. Both of my parents died when I was ten. I was alone. 

......

No.

That's wrong. I wasn't alone until I was eleven.

I had a twin.

----------------------------------------------------

My older brother's name was Yuichiro. He was a short young boy with long, straight hair of a dark black color that fades to pale turquoise the closer to his waist it goes. He also possessed large, pale turquoise eyes, a trait, like his hair, that he shared with me.

"They said that by being compassionate you're only helping yourself. So even if you're really helpful, it doesn't really accomplish anything." Yuichiro stated with a gloomy expression.

"You're wrong. That expression means that doing something for others comes back to benefit you too. That's what dad said." Muichiro disagree with his older brother's point of view. Both of them could be seen carrying wood back to their house, continuing their father's job as a woodcutter.

"You can't trust the word of a man who died trying to do something for someone else." Yuichiro replied with a harsh tone. 

"How can you say that? For mother, dad was-

"In her condition, herbs weren't going to cure her. It was completely foolish" Yuichiro knew that his dad was doing something completely meaningless and throw his life away all for nothing.

"You're being mean" Muichiro can't fathom how his brother could say such words.

"If he hadn't gone out in the storm, only mother would have died. " Yuichiro stated the fact. If their dad didn't go out in the storm, he would still be here with both of them.

"Don't talk like that! That's terrible!" Muichiro had enough listening to his brother.

"I'm just telling the truth. And keep your voice down. You're so loud! The boars will come." Yuichiro only saying the truth in his perspective.

"The "Mu" in Muichiro is "Moo" like a big dumb cow. And this conversation is pointless. Nothing can change the past." Muichiro was left speechless. My brother had a harsh tongue. I feel like lately I may have been kinda like him.

It was stifling living alone with Yuichiro. I thought he hated me....and I thought he was cold. In the spring, someone came to visit. It was the Master's wife. She was achingly beautiful. At first, I thought that she was the spirit of a white birch tree. 

Yuichiro spoke as roughly as he always did and turned Lady Amane away.

"Wow! She said that we're descendants of swordsmen! We're from a family of incredible people who used the very first form of Breathing Techniques!" Muichiro exclaimed over his brother. Both of them we're making a meal in the kitchen.

"Who cares? Hurry up and wash the rice." Yuichiro told his brother to stop and focus on cooking.

"Hey! Let's become swordsmen! We can help people who have trouble with demons!"  Muichiro is tempted on becoming a demon slayer and wants to help the weal and defenseless who can't fend for themselves.

"If we did that, I'm sure-

*Tak!*

*Tak!*

*Tak!*

*Tak!*

"What could you do?!  You can't even boil rice yourselves! But you're gonna become a swordsman to help people?! Quit talking nonsense! You're exactly like father and mother!" As Yuichiro is cutting white radish, he had enough of his little brother's fragile dream and lashes out on Muichiro.

"You're a dreamer! What's wrong with your head?! Like mother, who didn't say she was sick and kept on working until it ruined her health! And father, who went out to gather herbs in a storm despite how much I tried to stop him! Despite how much I told mother to rest!" Muichiro is stunned.

"Helping people....is something only a certain people could do! We're just kids! Even if our ancestors were swordsmen, what can we do?! You wanna know what can we do? What can we do is to die pointlessly....like dogs! Because of our parents!" Yuichiro continued. 

In the end, that woman will just use us! I'm certain she's plotting something! This conversation is over! Got it?! So let's just make dinner!" Yuichiro ended the conversation right away. Muichiro was left speechless with tears forming under his eyes.

We no longer spoke to Lady Amane who continued visiting the house. And we only fought that one time when Yuichiro shot my idea. Summer came. The weather was hot that year. We were irritable all the time. The nights were humid and the cicadas buzzed. 

That night, I woke up and feeling thirsty. It was hot at night so I went for a drink. A demon came in from a door that we left open. With his claws sharp, he strikes at me.

*Slash!*

Yuichiro went in front of me and guarded me from the attack, costing his arm to be slashed by the demon. He screamed in agony of pain. I grabbed my brother and pulled him away from the demon. We were scared.

"Be quiet! Stop your fussing! Poor woodcutters like you have no value anyway! Whether you live or die, nothing will change! Your lives are worthless!" The demon stated. 

I saw red. I had never felt that way in my life. Fierce anger was boiling up from the pit of my stomach. I really can't remember anything after that. It's hard to believe that tremendous roar came from my own throat. 

The next thing I knew, the demon lay dying on the ground. But it was suffering. Even with a crushed head, it couldn't' die. It wasn't-

*Slap!*

"There's no time for flashback dammit! We're getting invaded for fuck's sake!" Zoro slapped Muichiro in the face interrupting the flashback of his memories and his sad upbringing, bringing him back to the real world. 

"You're good kid?" Zoro extended his hand. Muichiro looked at Zoro. He grabbed Zoro's hand an proceed to stand. 

"You can fight?" Zoro asked Muichiro. He's worried for the kid. He looks pale due to lack of oxygen and his body that is pierced with so many poison needles.

"I could still fight." Muichiro grabbed his sword and insisted that he could fight. In reality, he's pushing himself to his very own limit. 

"Well, better keep up kid." Zoro smirked.