Jirou was not thrown into the world with a fair hand. Born unwanted, he was left to be found or to die in a port not hours after his birth. He very well may have perished had it not been for his cries being heard and his infant self being discovered. Two men in uniform rescued him from his impending fate and brought them to their commanding officer as they were unsure what to do with the child himself. As it turned out, The Shogun residing was looking to indoctrine children into his group of destructive ninjas known as the Emerald Kiss. Jirou was the name the troupe gave him and he was raised knowing two things. He belonged to this organization and that he owed them his life. He was raised around a multitude of children his age; they were far from friends. More so rivals than anything. Always told to outdo one another. He was not one to face the worst of it though. The only girl in this division was named Yuuna and she was relentlessly harassed. Jirou had no idea what drove this kind of behavior but the rumor was that the Shogun and his associates were cruel and unfair to women. Yuuna herself belonged to a family that opposed the Shoguns iron fist. Her father was likely slain and she was taken to become a kunoichi under his rule.

In their formative years they spent training, Jirou was not one to shine above the crowd but was sufficient enough a ninja. Yuuna on the other hand proved herself to be undeniably remarkable. Sparring she would snap the arms of her peers without so much a blink from her eyes. She was unparalled in stealth, ninjutsu, and combat. This was visibly infuriating to the others except for Jirou, who began to find enjoyment watching these bigots squirm. He had no love for them nor did he have any morality himself. Everyone was equally foul. Yet he couldn't bring himself to hate Yuuna. He wondered why this was.

As they grew into adults their missions began in full force. Jirou was paired not so coincidentally with Yuuna, as no one in their troupe would willingly work with her, for an assassination against a small group who had opposed the Shogun. Each child brought up this way was given a distinct code name and it was dictated on their first mission. Jirou was given 'Orchid' and Yuuna 'Sunflower'. Their mission was carried out with ease. Unprepared soliders had no way to handle the shinobi that striked them. Their hideout and bodies were burned together and perhaps never remembered.

Except by one.

After their success they built a small camp in the wilderness to take rest. Whilst attempting to sleep, Jirou heard a voice speaking.

"Yuuna, what have they done to you." Over and over. Jirou instinctively shot up from his rest with his blade in hand. When he looked over to his sleeping comrade what he saw filled him with horror. An ethereal man who seemed to whisp with the wind sobbing over Yuuna as she slept. Jirou froze, unable to determine what was happening.

The spirit looked up and peered through Jirou's eyes with intensity. Without the slightest notion of movement the apparition appeared just centimeters away from the terrified shinobis face.

"Do you see you me, you monster?"The ghost beckoned. It pointed back towards Yuuna. "That is my daughter. They killed me and stole her from our family who now hides in fear of execution everyday. Your people did this."The ghost held a palm out and Jirou felt his breath begin to shorten. He was being suffocated by the vengeful spirit of his partners father, and his mind went blank at the thought. As Jirou's eyes bled fear the phantom samurai let go his grip with a sigh almost as quickly as he had initiated the violence.

"I cannot be like you, that is why I opposed you."It spoke. "I have watched your troupe for a long time and I recognize your gaze. You've shown no resentment to my dear Yuuna because of her birth. Why do you fight alongside those so misguided?" Jirou explained all he knew and the father seemed to have a deep understanding of his situation.

"Some of us are thrust into a world we do not belong before our flesh enters this world. Many face fates as unfortunate as yours. You have not been taught things correctly, and I will show you what I know of this world. If you are to be the one who pairs alongside my child, then you will change." Jirou was still dumbfounded by all of this. What could the spirit mean by any of this?

It became very clear soon enough. Missions continued but the apparition did not dissipate. He followed Jirou relentlessly. It began with fear. Inciting horror in Jirou's mind with magic and vocal manipulation such as implanting words in his thoughts and even giving the illusion that Jirou had gone mute. This allowed the spirit to gather whether or not the young shinobi could still feel. It seemed not all was broken in Jirou. Once that routine had concluded, he spoke with Jirou quietly when they were alone. Jirou very often said nothing since his personality was not vibrant. The spirit of Yuuna's father spun stories to him and eventually something sparked among their conversations. Jirou laughed. For the first time in his entire life he laughed. In this moment, the from infancy ninja learned humanity. Made sense of why he loathed the ninjas in the troupe but not Yuuna. He questioned the things he was surrounded by.

Orchid and Sunflower became trustworthy names for the troupe to send on the Shoguns errands. At the end of one of their bloody missions a child was left as a witness. Yuuna raised her hand to clean what was left of them but it was stopped by the grasp of her partner. Astonished, she turned back to see Jirou gripping her wrist with tears welled in his eyes. Empathy. Knowing what it was to not have the choice of your destiny as a child. Yuuna was shaken by his face, and unable to comprehend what was happening.

"Please. Let's just leave. I beg of you." The shinobi was bawling. The spirit that had followed him truly had made an impact. The sight of a lone child about to be slain was the final straw for the breaking of his conditioning. They fleed and had their first conversation. They argued intensely. Jirou tried to explain to her that her father had been following him, her birth father. This was met with a foul look and scolding, she berated him and told him she was born to serve the Shogun, and no such father existed. As this contest of word continued a phenomenon occured. Jirou's blade was removed from its sheathe without his doing and thrust into the ground between the two. Yuuna audibly gasped, bewildered by what had just happened. Jirou looked up with his tear stained face and spoke.

"It is the truth, Sunflower. You were forced into the life you live. Your family still breathes but with the threat of the Shogun's assassins, us, taking that from them. Are you not tired? Tired of the prejudice, tired of the mistreatment shown to you? Things do not have to be this way. They recognize our talents which means we should use that to our advantage. Do you wish to know where you came from? I know that I do. Let's run. They cannot catch us." He was frantic, and speaking mostly out of emotion since it was so overwhelming for him to feel this way. Yuuna stood silent for a moment. She thought for a long time before meeting his eyes with hers again.

"Okay." Was all she could muster. "You are the only one I trust, Orchid." Though she couldn't possibly decipher what it was to feel, this much was true. He had been her partner for so long at this point and he'd been the only one to show her any ounce of respect. If she returned without him there may be hell to pay.

And so they did exactly that. They fled. Several years passed as they survived on the land and on their skill. Thieving, aliases, and wit kept them alive. In this time, Jirou's ability to interact with the realm of yokai manifested very powerfully. Yuuna's father never left his side as he helped the two carve their own fate and question the world around them. Yuuna remained cold for that was all she knew. Through all his attempts, Jirou was seemingly unable to break the conditioning. They were much crueler to Yuuna and it was likely she could not be fixed.

One evening they went to rob a market store of food that they'd hit often before. Something was different this time though, and they both felt it immediately. In a moments notice an arrow flew into Jirou's shoulder and he fell to the ground. He could not move his body. Poison. It had to be. He began convulsing on the ground as they both made the realization that this was a trap. Yuuna stared as Jirou flopped into his final stages of life and a tear appeared at her lids. Like lightning a kunai flew from her hand into the forehead of the archer behind them as she screamed in frequencies only the wild could hear. She rushed to Jirou's side and ripped the arrow from his shoulder. She placed her lips to it and began sucking the poison from his body. She spit it to the ground and his body slowly but surely calmed. She laid both arms and her head on his chest and spoke.

"Don't you dare leave me. You do not have the right to leave. Do you understand me?" She tried to hold her composure as she was so talented at but there was no mistaking it. She drenched Jirou's tunic in tears. She finally broke.

She began listening to the things he said about the spirit world. She showed belief that her father was out there and assisting him. She wished that she could seem him too but was not gifted in the same ways. She started to express as well. Showing joy when he woke up and when he'd return. Sadness at the cruelty of the world surrounding them. They were both finally human again. And with this journey being their own, they both were able to feel love.

A year passed and it had been bliss. The couple was deadly and unstoppable as long as they were with one another. The father finally told Jirou his name, too. Ono Masahiko. He told Yuuna her family name and she was belated. She felt whole, as if her identity was fully restored to her. Their next journey was hopefully to be their last as they planned to find the remnants of her family and start their lives all over again. It was a grueling and long venture as they explored every inch of the country until only one city was left.

The world, however, had no plans to let happiness fester.

On their way to this nearby city on a winding road they were attacked. It was Emerald Kiss and they'd finally caught up to them, even after all this time. The ambush went off without a hitch as they were both distracted by the thoughts of their new lives. They found themselves brought to their knees with blades against their necks.

"Cowards will die a cowards death." One of the troupe members whispered vengefully. "And you." He gestured towards Yuuna. "I was told to make you suffer."
They forced Jirou's eyes open as they beat her senseless in front of him. He screamed and screamed but they made him watch. As an Emerald Kiss shinobi placed his foot on Yuuna's head and raised his blade with intent to pierce, she spoke to Jirou with muffled words.

"You cannot leave. For me and for yourself, you have to live. My beautiful shining Orchid. I will always lo-"Her sentiment was cut short by a katana thrust through her temple.

Jirou cried in front of the assassins and they reveled in his suffering. Bound by his hands and about to die they mocked him and insulted his dearest even after her passing. "Well, you heard her." A sobbing voice rang in Jirou's ears. It was Masahiko. He too had watched the horrifics of this event and though full of tears the spirits words were that of hatred. "Live, young ronin. And show these fools just how deep Hell runs."With that, Masahiko entered the body of Jirou, possesing his abilities but allowing him to retain control. Jirou snapped from binds and kicked the man behind him holding his neck in place in the stomach, sending him reeling.

"Cowards will die a cowards death."Is all Jirou said before the massacre ensued. In a bloody symphony the ronin displayed his prowess amplified by the yokai who dwelled within him for the time. The ninjas laid there as a heap of marrow and limbs after he was finished. He paid it no mind. As the spirit left him he was exhausted, but he had one more thing to do. He picked up Yuuna's corpse and carried her for what must have been miles deep into the wilderness surrounding them. He laid her in soft soil and begged for her to appear to him. For her to show herself as a spirit now and be with him again in eternity. She never did. Jirou and Masahiko came to the conclusion that despite her horrible death she must have felt peace when she passed. He couldn't fathom how that would be possible at first, but Masahiko explained that she must have known that Jirou would survive this and that was enough for her to find calm in her demise.

He buried Yuuna in this forest and laid a sunflower and an orchid on he grave. He must have stayed in that woods for days.

Once his composure returned, he carried onward towards the village and ended up at the port in which he was born. He and Masahiko scoured the town until there was a bite. A woman, buying fish from a trader stopped the father spirit in his tracks and he began sobbing.

"My wife. That's her." Jirou did not hesitate to approach her. Once the explanation had been given she reeled in disbelief. How did this random stranger know her husbands name? Her daughter was his lover? So much information delivered at once. She invited him to come see her and her mother as well as Yuuna's brother at the shop they owned. As it turned out, they accepted him. And for giving them closure offered him hospice.

From there, Jirou made extraordinary changes. The brother who was about his age taught him the ins and outs of the cafe and in no time the ronin was an excellent chef. Yuuna's mother was soft hearted and taught him poetry and how to be a stronger writer in general. He made it a point to swiftly change his name to something unrecognizable. He decided on Xyrix since it had no origin and was a thought of his own as opposed to anything he'd seen. Another year, and Xyrix was a completely new man. He went about exorcising and meeting with spirits to help others and his own pocket. He would do mercenary work that was much less gruesome and even offered his cooking abilities to shops in need. Though he loved his home he decided he would spend most of his life traveling now, and he had heard about the uprising that left the Emerald Kiss hopelessly defeated and the Shogun slain as well meaning he was free to see the world and use his once dead name. He took Jirou back as a reclamation of his life.

Though it was cruel and unforgiving, he would set out to change parts of the world. Masahiko eventually faded which left Xyrix lonely, but he met a lot of people on his adventures and made friends wherever he went.

For himself and for Yuuna, he would live on. And he would show kindness to those he encountered.