Haruko and his twin sister Hasana were the children of an Isawa mother who had been cast out for an improper relationship and their father executed. As ronin the family moved far from the Phoenix lands, and one day they slept under the Elder Tree near Nazo Mori. Haruko disappeared and his mother used her gifts to find his trail leading into the forest. A samurai barred their way, unwilling to risk arousing the danger within Nazo Mori, and killed the shugenja-ko.