[Day One, Late Afternoon] Studying with the Seven Dragons

Kodama · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:17 pm **Posts:** 404

A brief nod. "Thank you. That is....something to think on."

"May I seek to learn why I've been led here and where I may go from here?"

Kioka · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 10:21 pm **Posts:** 86

"Of course."

She pauses.

"One of the roles of the Asako who originally kept this temple was to preserve knowledge, while recognizing that some of that knowledge should be kept controlled."

She begins to walk toward the temple proper and see the Togashi and bows to her before continuing.

"There is a different between secrets and that which is not ready to be known. You are marked by Void, so your path has led you here to know more. That which you learn may not be ready for the ears of others, though, so this one counsels you to use discretion."

Another monk greets them at the door. "Show this one to the scrolls and let him see what he needs to see, of which only he can be the judge."

She looks back at Kodama. "I shall be outside, if it gets too dark inside." She smiles as if she told some joke, and then moves toward the Togashi.

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

Iko continued to sweep as the monk approached, finding comfort on the repetitive motions.

"Good afternoon Sister. My apologies if my presence interrupted the lesson." She spoke softly with a slight dipping of her head in respect.

Kodama · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:17 pm **Posts:** 404

"If I have need of your light, I will seek you out. Thank you." He bows in thanks and then moves to enter after the monk at the door.

To say he was bewildered would be accurate. What did the Asako have to do with this? Marked by Void?!

Kioka · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 10:21 pm **Posts:** 86

Togashi Iko wrote:

Iko continued to sweep as the monk approached, finding comfort on the repetitive motions.

"Good afternoon Sister. My apologies if my presence interrupted the lesson." She spoke softly with a slight dipping of her head in respect.

"Not at all. All things move in the Tao." Kioka bows to the Togashi.

"The temple is glad for your help. What brings you here?" Something about the movement of the monk's eyes indicate that the question of 'here' could be interpreted in many different ways: the temple, the city, or otherwise.

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

"The tides of war," Iko answered swiftly and simply. In answer to both the broader and more precise interpretations of the monk's question.

"The army that emerges from Morikage Toshi forced me here to this castle. My own compassion carried me here, to pray for the strength to help defend the people of this area from the chaos that is about to descend upon it."

Kioka · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 10:21 pm **Posts:** 86

Kioka nods simply in response.

"You flow with the tides. This one has always thought that wu wei leads to the best results."

She gently takes the broom from the Togashi (assuming she wouldn't resist).

"But your language shows much resistance. The tide may have carried you here, but it sounds as if you may have wanted to swim against it."

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

Iko relinquishes the broom, too busy is she contemplating Kioka's words until she lets out a small laugh.

"To be a samurai is to serve, Sister. It does not mean we should serve blindly, but I am glad that the tides swept me here, for now. Many others were not treated as kindly."

Kioka · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 10:21 pm **Posts:** 86

Kioka smiles slightly at Iko. "We all serve, but many of us serve without knowing the truth of what we serve... and too often we serve ourselves most of all."

Kioka begins to sweep as Iko had been doing. "Is this one serving the temple, the broom, or the walkway?" Kioka shrugs slightly, barely noticeable under her robes. "And the twigs and snow that this one sweeps, do they serve this one or the broom?"

She stops sweeping. "These are challenging questions. This one believes you may ask yourself these types of questions on your journey, so hear what gives comfort to many: while the broom may be sweeping the twigs, it is the twigs that show the broom where to sweep."

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

"All questions are challenging to one who doesn't know the answer." Iko retorted grinning at the game.

"And I know enough to know I have more questions than answers, but in seeking them I find not answers for myself but provide answers for others."

Pausing for an almost prescient moment, Iko looks to Kioka intently.

"The broom serves both the twigs and the temple, but can it do both equally?"

Kioka · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 10:21 pm **Posts:** 86

"Is equality balance?" She tosses the broom back to Iko.

"This one has swept this path far more than you. It is unequal. But, it is in balance. There is harmony."

She bends down and picks up a twig on the side of the walkway and tosses it aside.

"The broom serves in balance. The temple most of all, but the twigs some, too. A twig on the path may get stepped on and broken."

She frowns a bit and looks at Iko. "I believe you said many swept aside were broken like the twigs?" She looks in the direction of the city gates. "From the path this morning, it seems like many were swept aside too forcefully, with no care for where they shall land."

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

Iko deftly catches the broom, balancing it lengthwise atop her hand she shakes her head. "Balance, but not equality."

She replies commenting on the fact that while the weight in each side balances the broom, the length is unequal due to the weight of the broom head.

"Duty, at the price of compassion. The tenets of Bushido are supposed to be held equal, but are never in balance that I have observed. One must seek balance within, before one can serve balance without?"

Kioka · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 10:21 pm **Posts:** 86

The monk pauses for a time, thinking. The silence drags on, but the monk seems content to continue considering the question.

"Which you is more you: the you which follows the Way," she raises her left hand. "Or the you which does not?" She raises her right hand while lowering her left.

In an instant, she claps them together and clasps them tight. The noise of the impact seems loud in the quiet outdoors of the temple.

"Both are more you, for you can be nothing but you."

She thinks for another minute.

"Balance within is the left hand, and balance without is the right. Balance is balance."

She looks closely at Iko. "If something cannot be balanced, it is flawed." Letting the words hang for a few moments, she continues: "But even that which is flawed has its uses."

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

"You give one much to think on Sister. I don't think the wisdom of your words will find me today, I think I must contemplate on them more." Iko admitted humbly as she thought deeply, and instinctively went back to sweeping.

Deep inside, all she could think though, was that she was sick of being used.

Kioka · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 10:21 pm **Posts:** 86

"If you said you understood them now, this one would know you for a liar. Let us speak no more of it for now; any more would not allow you to see truth for yourself."

Kioka begins to work alongside the samurai, finding simple pleasure in the tasks of the day.

"Are you looking forward to spring?"

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

"A new year brings new possibilities. I look forward to seeing what new tasks will be assigned to me after I return home, I had the honor to help instruct some of the next generation of Dragon samurai last year. It was personally rewarding." Iko replied as the two women worked together.

"Does the Shrine see much traffic through the warmer months, or do the new caretakers of these lands have other diversions in those times?"

Kioka · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 10:21 pm **Posts:** 86

"When it gets warmer, there are fewer Lion that come. Those who are interested spend more time in the cold. There are more visitors, though, particularly from the Phoenix, so the temple stays about the same."

She works for a bit before continuing. "This one enjoys the changes, like with the seasons. Change can bring about new thoughts that may reveal new truths to an open mind."

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

"There is a certain comfort in repetition," Iko answered, as she genuinely enjoyed the simple tasks she was performing here.

"But as my music instructor at Kyuden Kakita told me, without change, music is just one long note. It may be a perfect note, but without the change it is not music."

Kioka · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 10:21 pm **Posts:** 86

Kioka nods. "Thank you for the gift of your wisdom."

She continues doing menial tasks with a positive attitude.

[Happy to continue to talk or not, but she's not got anything much to say here.]

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

The pair chat and work, and work and chat for about an hour before Iko thanks Kioka for her time and heads about her day.

/exit

[Day One, Late Afternoon] Studying with the Seven Dragons

Who is online