Ronin (An Interactive Story Event) Part 4

Adding up all the votes (including the votes not present in the comments below but communicated via word-of-text) the answer is C: The village is full of children but no adults.  And the adventure continues! 

The first thing the Ronin noticed as he approached the outskirts of the village was the laughter.  It was exuberant with that unmistakable care-free element that can only be found in children.  The Ronin quickly found himself marching into the village, which was nothing more than a dozen huts clustered together.  The forest crept right up to the edge of the village with the branches of the trees stretching out as if to grasp the thatch roofs of those huts nearest.  To the west of the village the forest transitioned into a large field of cherry trees, their pink petals seeming to glow vibrantly.  It was now growing later in the afternoon with the sun bearing down on the land as though it intended to burn itself out before sinking below the mountains once more.

                The road turned into nothing more than a worn path of dirt once it reached the city.  The Ronin looked around and watched as over two dozen children, none apparently older than ten, ran around, rolled in the dirt, and played games amongst themselves.  The Ronin was surprised to see so many children in a town so small.  He imagined the various families had to work hard in the farmland – which was in the opposite direction of the cherry trees – to grow enough food to support so many and meet their tax requirements.  Even as he thought this, the Ronin scanned the surrounding huts and saw no sign of any adults watching over the children.  In fact, he saw no signs of any adults at all.
                The Ronin turned himself towards the farmland stretching out over the hills to the east of the village.   There was not a single figure visible working the fields.  The Ronin found this very odd, considering that it was still early enough in the day for farmers to be at work.
                The children had begun to notice the Ronin now and were running up alongside his horse.  The beast shuffled nervously and the Ronin patted its neck to coax it into stillness.  He glanced around at the beaming faces of the children.  He didn’t sense any threat from them but found their overly healthy faces and sheer numbers unnerving.
                “Are you a samurai!” one of the children, a girl, cried out suddenly.
                “I am a Ronin,” the Ronin replied.  “Where are your parents?”
                “A Ronin, what’s that?” another child, a boy this time, cried out.
                The Ronin frowned.  He realized now with certainty that none of the assembled children could have been older than ten or younger.  His uneasiness began to grow.
                “Have your parents not explained the Code of the Samurai to you?” the Ronin asked.  “To any of you?”
                The children all shook their heads.  None of them were playing any longer.  They all crowded around his horse, giving him no room to move, and starred up at him eagerly.
                “Upon the death or fall of his master, or should he lose his masters favour, a samurai is required by the Code of the Samurai to commit hara kiri and take his own life.  A Ronin is one who has chosen not to honour this code.  It means that one is ‘on his own’.”
                “So you’re alone?” the girl who had first spoken asked.
                “All alone?” the boy who had spoken before repeated.
                “Y-yes,” the Ronin hesitated.  “You could say that.”
                “Why?”
                “Why didn’t you kill yourself?”
                “Why bother living?”
                “Why bother coming here?”
                “Your shame is endless, Ronin.”
                “You should have died by the sword you killed your Master with.”
                The Ronin felt his heart become lodged in his throat as the children spoke.  There was no malice behind their words but the Ronin felt like a cruel beast had reared its head.  He suddenly sensed danger all around him.  His horse reared up and the Ronin felt the reins slip from his grasp.  His armoured seemed heavier than ever before, dragging him to the ground amidst the children.  Their voices engulfed him and he felt small hands crawling over him.  Panic began to grip him and reached desperately for his sword.  But small claws dug into the grooves of his armour and pulled them away.  The Ronin roared, feeling rage fill his chest.
                Then, as abruptly as it had begun the voices ceased, the hands pulled back, and the Ronin felt the children pull back.  He rolled around and lifted himself up.  The children had pulled back, opening a path back the way the Ronin had come.  But he saw that it was not meant for him.  Instead, the child he had passed earlier, tattered clothes identical, stood there facing him.  For the first time, the Ronin got a look at the child’s face.  It was empty.  No eyes, no nose, no mouth.

Were you expecting that?  Time to develop some of the Ronin’s past.  What darkness lies in the Ronin’s past?

A)     He grew up as part of the street children gangs in Tokyo.
B)      He was sold as a serving boy to a cruel and wealthy nobleman.
C)      His sister died while he was supposed to be protecting her.
D) He has no memory before his tenth birthday.