Love Unexplained

Scroll 1: A father lost

Long ago, on an island nearly secluded from the mainland Kingdoms, there lived two sisters. The two sisters were twins; many said that they were one in the same, but they were very different. The elder sister, Utsukushi, had long dark hair with a ruby shine while Shugyoku, her younger sister, had long brown hair with a golden shine. They lived in a beautiful forest by the sea. The forest they lived in was called, "Hana Fragrance."

The girls were the best of friends. Other than their father; they only had each other to rely on. It was only ten years before that their mother, brothers, and village had perished.

Shugyoku and Utsukushi were both happy living with their father; Yūkan'Na. Yūkan'Na had long dark hair that was always put up in a tight ponytail and his eyes were like the moon lit sky, and would do anything for his daughters.

Yūkan'Na loved his daughters with all his heart, especially Utsukushi, he loved her the most. To some, it would be considered wrong and unfair to pick favorites out of one's own children, they may even see it as selfish. Shugyoku on the other hand was quite glad for the lack of attention. She wasn't mad, jealous, or sad of him to make that decision. In fact, she thought Utsukushi deserved to get all the attention. She knew that her sister was more athletic, musical, and artistic than her and would be able to earn her father's love without doing much.

What Shugyoku truly cared about, was Utsukushi's love. Utsukushi loved her and taught her every lesson their father had previously taught many fierce warriors, and she did so with absolute perfection.

She was taught from hunting and shooting arrows; to combat and sword fighting, and foraging for herbal medicines. But Shugyoku could only do as well as shoot arrows, but she still wasn't upset or jealous.

One day Utsukushi, Shugyoku, and Yūkan'na were deep in the forest by a little river in a small clearing practicing their arrow shooting, sword-play, and hand-to-hand combat. Shugyoku watched every technique carefully and with much interest, though she couldn't help but smile whenever her sister tried to show-off.

When it was time to practice their hunting, she joined in. In the middle of practice, the sky turned dark with clouds of gray. Yūkan'na decided to stop for the day.

As they began to pack-up, something caught Yūkan'na's attention. A looming figure emerged from the trees, it spoke almost maniacal.

"My my, Yūkan'Na. You certainly don't make it easy to find you. But now that I have, it's SO nice to see you again. I assume you're happy to see me?"

Yūkan'na was quite confused at what he was saying, but was well aware of the man's false kindness and sinister smile.

Finally Yūkan'na, unpleased with the current situation, replied sternly, "Who are you, and why do you speak as if you know of me?"

The man had quite a smile on, and it made both of the girl's skin crawl.

"Why dear Yūkan'na, don't you remember me? I'm your elder cousin, Hōfuku." The man replied innocently.

Yūkan'na thought a moment before recalling his relation to the man, though he kept his suspicion.

"What is your reason of business?"

He was careful not to welcome him too soon, for the man seemed hostile and distant.

Hōfuku grinned for a bit before answering, he didn't want to play the nice guy for too long.

"I am here to kill you and take everything you hold dear. I mean, it only seems fair." He stated bluntly, still grinning away.

Yūkan'na stood ready, staying cautious of his opponent and any actions that may cause a fight.