[Day Ten - Early Afternoon] Chaos Without, Peace Within

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

Wasako had opted out of her midday meal and had instead chosen meditation to enrich her soul over her stomach. With the ever-increasing rain, she had retreated to the interior of the Phoenix shrine for a dry spot to assume her meditation. She could be found in lotus position with her eyes closed. Her mind drifted off between the present and a place with no time, all while trying to ignore the drumming of the rain overhead and an empty stomach. That was perhaps the least of it, there was enough chaos all around her and perhaps the only peace could be found was within herself but only if she allowed herself to find it.

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

When scouts said the enemy was on the horizon and would be here within a few hours, and she'd just been asked to do something insane by demanding yet understandably concerned Cranes who wanted their daimyo back where they could keep tabs on them, what did you do? You went to Bishamon's shrine to get down on your hands and knees and pray 'Oh great Bishamon, please save our asses.'

If you were smart, you phrased it better than that...

Regardless, the sentiment was exactly what brought a slightly spent Mari to the temple far earlier than she normally came. She preferred it in the middle of the night, getting ready for her last hours meditation in the night. When she clapped outside the door, she hadn't expected anyone except maybe that abbess to be here, but low and behold, there was a Dragon. She remembered her. The meditative bumpkin who didn't use both swords like most Dragon. She was a pleasant enough woman in her own way.

Stepping in, she approached and drew near, starting to settle herself into a meditative pose not far from the Mirumoto and giving a bow in the process. "I hope you don't mind the company, Mirumoto-sama..."

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

Wasako wished she could concentrate but the morning had been rather ominous, to say the least. There was the word that the enemy would be making their way to the front gates although there was no telling when they would arrive. Rather than spend her time worrying, she thought meditation was best. However, she was still young and there was the urge to jump to her feet and be proactive was her natural instinct. She opened her eyes easily when she was greeted by the ronin.

"Mari-san, good evening," she said before bowing back in greeting. "No, please, you're more than welcome to sit with me. I might be more of a distraction to you than anything."

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

She chuckled as she settled into a seated position opposite the other woman, her eyes twinkling with a little bit of mirth. "Isn't that something of a twist of expectation there? You, the Dragon being the distraction for me the ronin as we try to center ourselves?" she mused, clearly a little amused by the other woman's statements. "What is on your mind, if I am permitted to ask." She suspected she had leave, but it was best to ask.

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

"It might be? I don't think that either role are set to certain walks or affiliation in life. Sometimes, it's the Dragon on the roof who is most distracting of them all?" She gave a shrug of her shoulder.

"Well," she gave a shake of her head before widening her eyes for a blink. "I suppose, what isn't on my mind? It's perhaps easier to point to current events than anything else."

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

"Dragon on a roof? Is that actually something that happens? I've heard stories, but..." She'd never actually met an Ise Zume in person before. So, she had no idea how ... quirky they could be. She nodded and gave the young woman a sympathetic look. "Ah, but I suppose I know of such chaos. There's been quite a bit more of it than I ever expected when I came here, after all. Having a little trouble finding your center, I take it? It might help to ... release the thoughts first."

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

"I can't be too sure, it's just something I've heard on my way the mountain," she gave a hapless shrug at that. "Perhaps that is something you could ask of the other Dragons? There are a few Togashi in attendance last time I've checked but I don't think any of them have actually sat on a roof."

"It's always been a little hard since I've got here," she said with a somewhat distance look in her eyes before she gave a shake of her head. "I suppose getting used to all of this...war is part of it."

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

"War is not something I think anyone ever really gets used to. They believe that they do, and they can sometimes pretend it, but the reality is that it scars the heart every time one fights. Most bushi just close their hearts off to the sight of the bloodshed. It can make them very cold." Admittedly, she'd seen a few very compassionate souls here, so... that wasn't always true, though most of them looked ready to crack under the strain of this place. "Had you ever had to raise your blade against anyone before, or was this war the first time?"

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

"I doubt the sound mind would get used to war..." she said as she took a pause to gaze outside of the temple, wondering about those denizens from the Realm of Slaughter who supposedly lurked in the background and were destined to descend on them soon. They were used to war, at least.

"I haven't drawn my blade here but I have. Sometimes the mountains do roam with those looking for trouble on smaller settlements, thinking that they were easy prey...or some of the exiles attempt to return through the mountains. They often leave before too much blood is shed, probably know they won't get very far in the snow if they put up a real fight," she shrugged at that.

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

"I suppose the difference is between the dead and the living. The living wish to continue to be so, generally. Flee while they have their lives. The spirits have already passed on. We are merely sending them back, in the end. They have nothing to lose." Whereas a bandit had everything to lose, no matter how rotten they were. "But someone who is afraid... never does put up as much of a fight, no."

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

"Their fearlessness should be admirable but hardly because they are fuelled by honour," she frowned. "They aren't human anymore and I've heard among their numbers, some were never human to begin with."

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

"They... are still human. Where they are sent is not the same as the realm of Evil. They are not twisted beyond recognition. They're simply what's left of a judged soul." A shake of her head. "But what do you mean by things seen within their ranks? Are there monsters among them as well? Would this Steel Chrysanthemum go that far?" Deep down, she had a suspicion on that subject.

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

Wasako looked begrudgingly grim. While she hadn't seen the creatures for themselves, she had testimony that they existed. After all, they did just recently kill a good acquaintance of hers. "...Tsuno? Hai, those are the monsters who've also found their way into this realm."

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

"I'm afraid that I've never even heard of such a creature at all," she said carefully, shaking her head. She really hadn't. Those things were incredibly unusual and unexpected. There was so little that was said about them in any text at all, that they were entirely new creatures to those who were present in this place that the odds weren't good of being aware of them. However, the thought of a creature made her frown.

She looked about to ask something but held back. No, she knew better than to say such a thing of an imperial, even a fallen one. "It's disturbing. That much is true."

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

"Hai..." she said, not knowing what else to say in the matter. After a shake of her head, she said something that was on her chest at least. "I recently had a...acquaintance? Friend? Attempt to fight one of those things. He didn't make it."

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

She nodded. No sorrow. Death came in war. It came above all in war against 'things.' "I see. I suspect they will not be the last, but creatures, beasts of our history have taken far too many of us from the empire. It is always the best of us who seem to go first, is it not?" That might explain some of the girl's confused mind set. The loss of someone close, or at least a pleasant acquaintance didn't help one's mind much.

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

"I...don't know," she said with a shake of her head, completely unsure about the validity of that statement. "I suppose death happens in a war but I guess this came as...sudden? I just had a conversation with him some time ago prior to him venturing off. We talked about some thoughts and had things planned. Maybe sudden isn't the problem. My grandmother had been ill for some time before she passed, peacefully in her sleep. I had an uncle who died suddenly when died when a house collapsed on him but I was too young at that time. It's not quite to same as hearing someone you knew suddenly get..."

She grimaced, the ludicrous and tragic nature of it made it hard to say it normally. "...get eaten by a monster-beast."

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

She breathed in and out, considering for a moment. There was a sigh on her lips and she nodded. "I... would not talk too much with the less compassionate of our bushi brethren. I doubt that they would understand. They are trained to let such things wash off their backs. To admit that they do not actually do that would be seen as weakness, or worse dishonor," she murmured, glancing down. "But you aren't necessarily wrong. Death can be sudden. Whether in war, or an unexpected battle that preluded what came upon us all later."

"I know something of sudden death, so ... I can understand why it would stick with you, why the fact that one moment you have plans, and then there are none." She glanced away, considering for a moment. "I had a ... similar situation with my cousin once. But I do not know that it is right for me to speak all the details of it. When it is far beyond what you expect, that can destroy your whole look on the world, tear your center to pieces. Some of us never recover."

Mari, for example, had not.

Mirumoto Wasako · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:56 pm **Posts:** 945

"Hai..." she nodded in acceptance with a frown. "I already do know I'm not in the same standing as other more traditional and martial bushi. My path is considered usual and completely unorthodox, even in my Clan. Of course, I wouldn't be surprised if that was part of the intent of why my uncle thought it would be best to send me here. It's jarring...but if I am to find myself in the same standing as the bushi who've fought wars or seen active service in the military, it something I must come to terms with very quickly..."

She looked at Mari very cautiously regarding the tale about the cousin. If it was as dangerous as it sounded, should she even dare ask?

Mari · **Joined:** Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:43 am **Posts:** 702

"You are not wrong. You will not have a choice. The person that you are speaking to today may not be there tomorrow. Such is the nature of war, and with a foe who drops monsters in on us without warning, it may be even more sudden." She nodded, reaching up and tapping at her lips. "Have you reflected much on the impermanence of this life in the past? It at least gives me some peace in times when my mind is fraught with too many thoughts as it sounds like yours is right now."

As for her past, she was neither volunteering more, yet she was not refusing to say more. It was just tricky to know where and what she could safely say.

[Day Ten - Early Afternoon] Chaos Without, Peace Within

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