[ What happened? It's a question he doesn't particularly want to answer. His past is a matter of historical record and personal pain.

So he'll answer it in the most flippant way possible after take a long drink. ]

Kept killin' for Takechi-sensei, got kicked outta th' Tosa Kinnoto for my trouble, stayed in Kyoto to try'n save my own skin, got arrested and tattooed for bein' a vagrant, and got released right into Tosa custody. Got th' worst torture outta anyone and Takechi-sensei tried t' poison me on top of it.

[ He shrugs. ]

An' I got beheaded at th' end of it all. Manslayers don't live long.