Yuzu

When Hiyashi was 24, he stumbled across a young, six-year-old girl named Yuzu, as she was running from child traffickers. He managed scare off the would-be kidnappers and helped get her out of danger. Though he tried to find somewhere better - and safer - for her to stay, Yuzu had nowhere and no one else to turn to, and had become quite attached to him.

She was loud, rambunctious, and utterly fascinated with samurai and shinobi’s, so she gleefully followed him around, constantly peppering him with questions to try and get him to talk about where he was from, but she never could get him to crack.

The main reason Hiyashi refused to share anything was not only because of his own shame, but because actually knowing the truth would put her in danger. By his clan's laws, if someone is to know of your crime but makes no attempt to turn you in or stop you, that person is automatically made an accomplice, and therefore deserving of the same punishment as the offender. And given that his punishment was death, Hiyashi kept his mouth sealed shut. The Hitomi Clan also requires incredibly little evidence to lump someone in with another's crimes in order to make the mere idea of being an accomplice terrifying to everyone.

However, six years after he'd taken her in, Yuzu developed psychic abilities, which allowed her to read minds. While it was an accident at first, Yuzu ended up listening in on Hiyashi's thoughts while asking questions about his past, and learned what she'd wanted to know.

A few weeks later, Kagiri caught up with them. He chased the two into a festival fun house, where he managed to cut down and pin Hiyashi, intending on dragging him back to Silver Peaks. Hiyashi told Yuzu to run and to let him deal with this, but Yuzu didn’t listen and instead tried to talk with Kagiri, insisting that what Hiyashi had done wasn’t wrong and that he should let them go.

Kagiri, realizing she knew the truth yet hadn’t turned him in, then went to kill her for being an accomplice, as justified by the clan laws. In a panic, Yuzu's magic surged out and caused the building around them to collapse. Shards of broken glass from the mirrors and glass walls ended up imbedded in her stomach, and she slowly bled out as Hiyashi held her.

Hiyashi took her body out to a wide open field with long, tall grass and an endless amount of wildflowers, and buried her underneath a willow tree near the middle. At least once a year, if not more, he returns to clean her grave, leave flowers, pray, and play the pipa for her. He only does this when in the area, so his absence does not alert the others, as it is not uncommon for him to take long walks or get distracted with helping people. There have been many instances where Hiyashi has returned quite late simply because he saw an old woman who needed help carrying her groceries home, then ended up talking with her for hours over tea. So, he is able to come up with reasonable excuses when he visits Yuzu’s grave.

Her grave reads:

***YUZU***

***440 - 449***

***DIED BRAVELY***

***TO GRIEVE DEEPLY IS TO HAVE LOVED FULLY***

Yuzu is now another face that haunts him, he sometimes even sees her with the first man he killed, watching him from balconies or in busy market streets, both with vacant expressions. He often has nightmares with her as well, with her screaming and crying, angry with him for not protecting her. It was a long time before Hiyashi was willing to take care of another child.