Sanoji
Legacy Name: Sanoji

For the first few years of his life Sano had a fairly happy existence. Born the second son of a samurai father in service of the region's daimyo, Sano took to following his father's profession like a fish to water. He was trained in many of the samurai arts; the workings of weaponry as to defend his master, and of softer, more cultured things as well, finding great pleasure in the art of ikebana flower arrangements. As he turned to his teens he was given his own master to serve under, the lord's young son Mamoru, who resided in his own estate several provinces away.

It was not until he was already under his service did Sano learn of the rumors surrounding his new master. That the youth was nothing if fickle and show off-ish, caring more about adding birds to his steadily growing aviary than the wellbeing of his own subjects. And though easily the youngest and least experienced of the numerous samurai serving under him, Mamoru seemed to take a special interest in Sano. An interest that led to him forcing himself on him, knowing full well that Sano couldn't fight back again his own master.

Shaken and ashamed by the event wild thoughts ran through Sano's mind. He contemplated running away, or even killing himself; but whatever he thought of he could not shake the nagging sense of dishonor that would come to his family should he commit such acts. And so he stayed, biting back his feelings and keeping as much distance from his lord as he could manage. As if sensing that Sano could not leave him Mamoru instead brought forth a deal to him. Three years of his servitude for each time he willingly entered his lord's embrace.

It took Sano a full month for him to accept his deal, slowly whittling away the years he would be forced to serve. The first few times were rough, as he continued to contemplate alternative options to such degradation, but slowly, ever so slowly it became easier to entrust himself to the man. As time went on, and as much as Sano had hoped to deny it, he had developed feelings for his master. One day, when Mamoru had proclaimed his services fulfilled and thus he was no longer bound to him, Sano spoke only one sentence.

You are my master, my lord, and it is my duty to serve you until this body breaths no more.

Sano continued to serve under Mamoru until he was twenty-five, when a series of unfortunate and cataclysmic events occurred. Mamoru's father, the daimyo, decided it was high time for the boy to be married, and as such arranged a wife with nary so much as a message to his son as to what was to be expected of him. Taken aback by his father's actions, Mamoru refused the lady's hand, insulting not only her but her entire clan in the process. Not even a week after his rejection was his estate attacked, its walls quickly overrun by the larger attacking force and Mamoru himself felled by an arrow. In desperation, Sano and the last few remaining samurai sought the help of an onmyōji, begging for his help to restore their lord. They were told it was possible, but at great sacrifice; one of them would have to die for Mamoru to once again live, a soul for a soul.

Without even an ounce of hesitation Sano volunteered his life; he would gladly give it away for even a slight chance that his master would live again. Had the samurai been more careful as they fled, and seen the group of invaders following them, then perhaps it would had been more then just a chance that it would work. At the critical moment when the onmyoji began to separate Sano's soul from his body he was interrupted, by an arrow to his throat. It was at that moment that Sano met Izanami, Mamoru's soul already in her clutches, furious that Sano had tried to steal it back, and in her anger cursed him.

Because of your actions you shall never share the realm with this soul. As long as you are in one, he shall be in the other, and your body shall never know rest.

When their attackers stormed the room they found its members lay dead, all save for Sano, who sat hunched and weeping over Mamoru's body, his body peppered with arrows but still very much alive. They were perplexed; no human could have survived such an onslaught. And so that meant only one thing; he was not a human, but a thing, an object. Something they could claim as a spoil of war, and, given with how easily they could manipulate his master's lingering remnants in this world, manipulate him as well.

He would go for months without being given food or water, his body growing thinner and thinner yet never dying. After all, why would an object need to eat? For their amusement he was forced into fights he could not hope to win, his body becoming bruised and battered, but never breaking. They forced him to become their simple tool, cutting down their opponents without even flinching, his emotions becoming buried under an uncaring and static facade. Each time one of his holders passed away he was forced to commit tsuifuku, under the threat of mistreatment of Mamoru's simple grave. Each time praying but never dieing and being released himself, his ownership moving to the next in line. For over three hundred years Sano was treated as a mere possession.

It was not until a random chance of luck that he was spared from his continued servitude. A family feud, with the eldest brother intent on spiting his younger sibling, set Sano free. These days he prefers to live in his own solitude, deep in a simple mountain home. He spends a large bulk of his time caring for an aviary full of birds, trying to recapture one of Mamoru's favorite pastimes, and tending his own flower garden to once again try and sooth his soul through ikebana. Every so often, however, he will be seized by immense feelings of regret over the death of Mamoru, and at these times will often try to kill himself, though not once has he come even close to succeeding. Izanami's curse lingers still.

In the last few years, however, his life has not had much solitude in it. Come across by a family of demons, he quickly became a trusted and beloved friend. He has seen their children grow and mature, offered shoulders to cry on, and put his body on the line to protect them. Yet still he is overcome by his feelings of regret, and no matter how much his new friends plead he still tries to embark for the realm he should have become part of long ago. Only time will tell if he ever succeeds in his attempts, or find something to make him want to remain in this one.