As the events of the past days came to rest deeper into Jihen's soul. He sought peace despite the obvious tumult which surrounded them. For him... the song of the universe was what always brought him peace. So, as he sat overlooking the courtyard beyond his quarters he began to sing from the esoteric teachings of his temple...

“Alas, conditioned states are impermanent, subject to arising and decaying.
Having arisen, they are sure to be destroyed; happiness is to bring them to rest.

“What joy, what pleasure is there in a conflagration?
You dwell having entered into darkness‍—why do you not seek for a lamp?

“Just as clay pots that are made by the potter
All end in destruction, so it is with the lives of beings.

“Just as ripe fruit is forever in danger of falling,
So it is with beings born of conditioned states‍—always afraid of death.

“All that is accumulated is exhausted in the end; what is elevated falls in the end.
Unions end in separation; Life indeed concludes with death.

So said the Little Teacher. The assembly was delighted, and those followers rejoiced at the speech of the Blessed One..."

His voice... inviting the harmony he sought to fill him and the world around him...

----

D5 Perform: Song, VP 4 Raises | 10k7 ⇒ 70 (TN: 35)

Tomaru, wearing white, sits in seiza at the Temple, listening to Jihen sing.

Though his paunchy body sways a little bit in time, he does not leave his seat, but it might be that a tear winds its way down his cheek and into his moustache.

As he finishes the refrain, he looks and sees the Seppun elder listening a short distance away.

Jihen then bows deeply to the world at large... his head pressing against the floor that sits beneath him... His soul reaching towards the heavens in gratitude.

As he lifts himself up from his prostrations, he stands and walks the few meters distance between him and Tomaru.

He bows in deference to the old man and says, "I hope my singing did not distract your evening Lord Seppun."

Tomaru returns the bow, but he says "I am not the Lord Seppun."

Somehow, he manages to get something of his crooked smile onto his face. "I am otherwise happily married, as you know. But I do not doubt whoever becomes Lord to the Lady Seppun will be a happy man."

The smile falls.

"After all this, of course."

Jihen nodded, "I mean it as a term of respect of course. Not a specific title. You are a 'Lordly' man Seppun-sama. One of good heart, and mind, and action..."

He adds, "As is the Lady Seppun... There are few so forthright. Her actions in court and with all this show that the family is in good hands."

He catches himself in the ambiguity of his remarks, "Your family that is..."

Tomaru nods.

"Your meaning was clear, Jihen-san," he says. "But one looks for levity where one can."

He nodded in agreement.

His mind turned to his discussion with Sadako as he had asked the stars for guidance... His mind lingered on the image of her beauty in the dim light just after sunset perhaps a moment longer than necessary before asking.

"How do you and the Lady Seppun fare today? I would assume there is a great deal placed upon the Seppun now."

He adds, "It must not be easy to protect Five Winds blowing in different directions... One of which being centered around you."

"The Lady Seppun stands strong," Tomaru says, "as does the Family around her. It cannot be otherwise. It will not be otherwise."

He sighs.

"But the shifts in duty schedules to protect more than had been anticipated have been somewhat challenging to navigate. I am not as young a man as I was before, you know."

There is a slight shake of his head.

"I am accustomed to having Miharu support, as you might imagine. It is not so large a transition as might be thought."

"And how do you feel of the attention that will undoubtedly come your way from without the family... Both positive and negative?" He asked.

"People riding your wind as it were..."

"I have a duty do to," Tomaru says. "I will do it until it is discharged or I am."

He sighs.

"I do expect assignments to shift a bit, though."

"I wonder if discharging a wind will smell like it does when Master Chou-sin had too many beans for lunch..." He replied with a soft smile.

"I'm sure others will cast a larger stink than you will when that day comes."

Tomaru cracks a crooked grin, gives a puff of laughter.

"One does not usually turn to a monk for earthy wisdom."

He smiled at Tomaru's enjoyment of his play on words... enjoying the brief moment of brevity mixed with truth.

"I don't usually have to drive the masses off from my doorstep seeking for any type of wisdom... And who can blame them? When we more often than not tell them to look within to find the wisdom they seek."

"That, or rice cakes."

Tomaru grins again.

"Or maybe that was just Shinsei."

"The way to a man's heart is often through his stomach." He replied with a smile.

"The Tao has paved quite a wide road to your heart as of late it would seem." He pats his own much more diminutive belly.

That, at least, earns a harsher glance, if only for a moment.

"It's been mentioned," Tomaru says. "It's being addressed.

"Again, I'm not so young as I was before."

"And that is a good thing. Age tempers the soul even as the body weakens." He smiles.

"As my song hinted at... All life is impermanent. Better to value that which will continue on beyond this singular vessel."

"I'm familiar with the teachings," Tomaru says. "But familiarity does not mean ease. Not this time."

"In what way?" He asks with genuine softness to his voice.

Tomaru gestures toward the Tenshu.