Mikoto had been quiet throughout the conflict between Shiba and Daigotsu. She was literally in the middle of things, making sure to be out of the way enough so she wasn’t blocking their conversation, but close enough to prevent any swings from one to the next. At least that was her hope. The Lion fought, not as often as the Crab, and more times than not it was just words being thrown around during a rowdy night drinking. It rarely led to anything. The Phoenix weren’t like that, always saying what they mean, at least that‘s what she was told. And the Spider? Mikoto really had no idea. She assumed they were constantly battling amongst themselves, they were tainted and even Lost, and the firm grasp of Jigoku surely had something to do with their violent nature. She had watched the two cautiously, until they suddenly started talking about uniforms. The fight had just died.
Shortly after that she learned of this Dragon’s name. Kitsuki. She wasn’t certain if she trusted him or not. He was pretty pathetic, being crippled and frail looking. It wouldn’t have taken much to just stab him and end his life if he turned out to be something other than what he appeared. She had suggested it to Daigotsu, to show her support in being wary of newcomers that just pop into existence. But now Daigotsu was cordially conversing with Kitsuki, saying more to him than she had said to Mikoto over the last few days. Come to think of it, Daigotsu had also run off with Asahina when Mikoto was making her intentions clear earlier that morning.
Mikoto sighed inwardly. That would just be her luck, to pick the one woman her charms wouldn’t work against. She sized Kitsuki up. He wouldn’t be much of a challenge to overcome if it came down to swooning Daigotsu; he was a cripple after all. Daigotsu surely wouldn’t be interested in someone so frail. Especially not when she could offer so much more to Daigotsu, things Daigotsu probably hadn’t yet imagined. Asahina wasn’t even a consideration; there was no way Daigotsu was interested in him. She was a Spider, and he a Crane, that’s like oil and water. It would never happen.
Asahina ushered Kitsuki a few steps away from where Shiba, Daigotsu and she stood. They were talking in hushed whispers about something she couldn’t quite put together. Honestly, she didn’t care too much about what sort of secrets those boys kept between themselves. Asahina didn’t say much to any of them besides where to go and what to do. Yes, Mikoto wanted to get out of this place too, but he too, seemed to be talking to Kitsuki more than he had the entire group since they met. Maybe there was something to this Kitsuki, or maybe Daigotsu and Asahina felt badly that he was a cripple. Perhaps it was something else entirely for Asahina; maybe he was like her and preferred the company of the same gender. Mikoto smiled and looked over Daigotsu again. She was squinting at something in the distance, towards the cave they were headed to. Daigotsu did that. Stared at things, and people, and nothing. Now that Mikoto was thinking about it, she had noticed Daigotsu doing it more than a handful of times over the last day. Unlike normal people who took in their surroundings, Daigotsu just looked at one spot when idle.
“Hey, everyone.” Daigotsu’s voice actually startled Mikoto a little. She hadn’t noticed how quiet everyone and everything had gotten, until Daigotsu demanded their attention.
“I think we have to get going. There’s a child and I’m pretty sure that’s not someplace they should be.” With that Daigotsu began a slow jog towards that spot she had been looking just moments ago. Shiba took off after her. Mikoto strained and saw what looked like the form of a hazy child, standing by the mouth of the cave. She saw Shiba catch up to Daigotsu, then they both stopped, turning back towards her, Asahina, and Kitsuki.
“Why don’t you go ahead? I’ll stay here with Kitsuki, and I have my bow if anything should happen.” Asahina suggested.
Mikoto nodded and tapped her leg to have Hikaru follow, only Hikaru wasn’t next to her. Quickly she searched the area, locating Hikaru about fifty yards away standing next to Daigotsu. Hikaru was nuzzling her! What in the Celestial Heavens was going on? Hikaru was bonded with her. They had lived a life together that no one else could share. And now Hikaru had run off with Daigotsu, showing affection that should be reserved for her. She shook her head in disbelief and made her way towards Shiba, Daigotsu, and Hikaru. He was going to get a stern talking to later tonight.
“Asahina suggested we continue without him and Kitsuki. That way we aren’t slowed down.” Mikoto grumbled as she reached the group.
“Is he sure?” Daigotsu peered past Mikoto to the men folk below.
“Yes. Let’s go.” Mikoto tapped her fingers against her leg, giving Hikaru a disappointed stare.
As they approached the cave Mikoto could make out more details pertaining to the child. She was young, perhaps four or five, wearing Scorpion clothes, but young enough to not have a mask. She was standing, sobbing at the entrance to the cave. Mikoto shifted her weight from one foot to the next, not sure what to do. Shiba got close to the shadow girl and nudged his foot into her. They had found out the previous day that by touching the shadow people you could hear their thoughts, especially when they were upset. Shiba’s face softened as she listened. Suddenly the Noise picked up.
“We have a problem.” Shiba said. It was probably the first time Mikoto had heard Shiba say something definitive. No stutter, no trailing off.
“Calm her down.” Daigotsu said. “Like you did with the Dragon at the tournament. You seem to know how to deal with these imprints.”
Shiba looked around nervously. “Um… I don’t know what to say. Matsu-san, you handled the other Scorpion, you take this one.” She stared at Mikoto with pleading eyes.
Mikoto didn’t know what to say either. It was an upset child. She basically raised herself, never receiving much affection growing up, so what she had to go on for comforting and consoling probably wasn’t what a child would require.
“Strong people don’t usually fold under pressure. It’s a child, just talk to her.” Daigotsu was goading Shiba.
“She’s lost and doesn’t know where her parents are. What am I supposed to say? I don’t know where they are either.”
“Why don’t you tell her to go towards the camp?” Mikoto really didn’t want to get involved with this. She wanted to help the girl, but there was a difference between finding the child’s parents and calming her down. She would rather do the former.
“Yeah, come do that.” Shiba stepped away from the girl.
She sighed, knowing she wasn’t going to be able to pass the burden off on Daigotsu and begrudgingly approached. Barely immersing the tips of her fingers on the girl’s shoulder she heard all the sadness the child had. It was quite emotional and almost brought Mikoto to tears. She could feel the pain of possible abandonment, the fear of never finding her parents, the confusion as to where to go, and the desire to just be held. Mikoto could relate with all of those feelings, even if she wasn’t experiencing them through the shadow child, she knew the way each and every one felt from her own life.
“There are people down below, little one. They’ll help you find your parents.” She said as gently as possible. The girl sniffled and started moving towards town. It had worked! Mikoto, comforter of children. Silently she followed the little girl. The pain and torment she experienced growing up quickly smothering her elation for helping. It was a cold life, and this child would learn it someday. Mikoto gazed forlornly at the ghostly image walking in front of her.
Even lost in thought she could hear the Noise, it had steadily been growing as they moved closer to the camp. Quickly she placed her hand on the child’s head, attempting to gain some insight into why she wasn’t feeling better, but instead worse. Being lost was at the forefront of the girl’s mind, but a gnawing feeling of nervousness was blotting out the sadness, ushering in fear related to the strangers she would have to approach. People she didn’t know that she would have to speak to.
“Is it me, or is the sound getting louder?” Daigotsu asked casually.
“I noticed that too.” Mikoto responded. “She doesn’t want to talk to people she doesn’t know. I’m trying to locate a Scorpion group, or tent, or something else so at least she’ll be with people that look familiar.” She looked around but colors were pretty hard to discern in this gloomy world. Many people had already left, and no one looked to be searching for a child.
“Matsu, what’s going on?” Asahina joined their small party, now that Daigotsu, Shiba, the child and herself had made it nearly to the tournament grounds.
“She’s lost, and afraid of speaking to someone she doesn’t know, so I’m hoping we can find someone from the Scorpion clan.” She was starting to get tired of being the go between. If everyone was so curious, they could come and find out themselves.
“Matsu-san seems to have a way with children.” Daigotsu informed Asahina. “Something that Shiba-san froze up on. We should keep that in mind the next we have to confront a child.”
“This… little girl is part of… the real world. And we’re sending her, the Noise at the moment, directly towards others.” Observed Shiba. “This could be a very bad thing.”
“You think we should just leave her to cry by a cave.” Mocked Daigotsu.
“Not at all. But maybe we should… cheer up the little girl? Instead of sending the horrible terrifying monsters towards the camp.”
“How do you expect to do that? You wouldn’t even talk to her.”
“What about the cave?” Asahina broke in. “The Noise got louder the further from the cave she went, maybe that’s where she’s meant to be.”
Mikoto glared at Asahina. He couldn’t be serious. “You want to send a child into a cave?”
“We could go in. We could check it out.” Asahina offered.
“That’s not the problem.” Mikoto blurted. “She’s a child missing her parents, afraid of strangers. It’s not about where she’s meant to be, it’s about cheering her up. How would you cheer up a distraught child?”
She could see Asahina was getting annoyed. “Maybe her parents are in the cave. How did she get there in the first place?”
“Asahina-san?” Daigotsu timidly interrupted. Asahina shot his annoyed face at Daigotsu, waiting for her to finish. “Do you know any… what are they called? Songs mother’s sing to their children to soothe them. Lullabies, right?”
Mikoto smiled at Daigotsu dreamily, that was spot on for solving this issue. She could see Asahina also shake himself from the tension that arose because of her and his recent arguing. He nodded and pulled out his flute. “I could give it a try, I suppose.”
Asahina scooted towards the girl, brushing his leg against hers and began to play. It was actually a beautiful song. Mikoto hadn’t heard it, but she could just imagine sitting in a blanket while her mother hummed it and swept her fingers through Mikoto’s hair. She had never known her mother. Apparently her birth was not an easy one and her mother didn’t survive. Even so, Asahina’s lullaby conjured images of a childhood Mikoto never knew, and she felt like she belonged there. When he finished Mikoto came back to reality, the Noise had all but disappeared and the child along with it. They were still in the same spot, but nothing remained in the area except for the buildings and tents. All the people had simply faded away at some point during the melody.
“Asahina-san, perhaps it is you we should have deal with children in the future. That was…” Daigotsu left it open ended, as if she couldn’t bring herself to give a sincere compliment.
Beautiful. Mikoto filled in the rest in her mind. Beautiful would have been a good word to use, Daigotsu. Soothing. Lovely. Wait… She pushed those thoughts back. She was betrothed to another, and his memory brought up the bitter feelings towards men Mikoto had grown accustomed to. Asahina just played a nice song; it held no reflection on him as a man.
“Have you figured it out yet?” Joshua’s voice filled the air. He appeared in the middle of the group in the partial seconds that it took her to blink.
“You mean music versus the Noise?” Asahina scratched his neck, unsure of himself.
“That’s part of it.” Joshua smiled.
“The child‘s agitation. The more upset she was, the louder that noise was.” Kitsuki pointed out.
“That’s a very good indicator. But, have you figured out the question?” He clasped his hands behind his back waiting. Everyone stayed silent. Asahina made a move to speak, but closed his mouth with a second thought. Shiba fidgeted. Daigotsu stared at the ground
“Oh, let’s catch you up.” Joshua pointed at Kitsuki. “You’re part of a game. Every ten thousand years I get to judge humanity. If humanity fails, I wipe them off this planet.” He smiled evilly and swept his hand across the air as if pushing away a bug. “Now to clarify, you’re dead. If you fail this portion of the game, if you fall to the Noise, you are removed from the cycle of reincarnation. You don’t get to go to your heaven. You don’t get to see your ancestors. You’re gone. Forever. Erased.
“In addition to that,” Joshua raised a finger and began pacing. “In order to participate, you wagered the most important thing to you in the world. It is on the line. If you lose, it is also gone. But you get your life restored to you, you will no longer be dead, if you win. Whether or not you win, humanity will be judged and you will get to live for as long as humanity also gets to.” He stopped pacing and steepled his fingers together. “Now, what is the question?”
“How do we get rid of the Noise?” Shiba almost whispered.
“Correct.” Joshua nodded towards Shiba. “So what is the Noise?”
“Negative emotions.” Responded Shiba.
“Fear” Both Kitsuki and Daigotsu coined together.
“Negative emotions and fear. And how do you get rid of negative emotions and fear?” Joshua raised his brows and looked around at each of them.
Mikoto looked down. “Comfort.”
“Maybe.”
“Joy.” Shiba cooed.
“Maybe.”
“Companionship.” Came Daigotsu’s voice.
“Maybe.”
“I would say Bushido.” Asahina said with confidence.
“Bushido is passable, I suppose, but Shurido is just as passable. And with all the others, isn’t there still a negative side to it?”
“Bushido imbues all things.” Asahina attempted to defend his answer.
“We get rid of the noise by existing.” Stated Daigotsu. “We impact everyone, whether we’re in the Realm or not. But at least in the Realm we have more of an impact.”
“That’s an interesting conclusion.” Joshua seemed to be considering Daigotsu’s words.
“The choices we make and the actions we take.” Asahina paraphrased.
“In a way, yes. I can see that. That could be acceptable.” Joshua nodded. “You’ve proven to be entertaining so far, but I have one more question. Out of all the people in the Rokugani society, who do you think produces the least amount of Noise?”
Mikoto looked around at the group. She was aware everyone was from a different clan, but it wasn’t until now that she even considered they were so different. Breaking the group up into individuals who have their own cultures and customs, she started ranking them from least likely to make Noise to most likely. Shiba seemed to be doing the same. Asahina chewed on his lip, considering the question. And Daigotsu was staring at Kitsuki, who in turn was lost in his thoughts.
“The balanced.” Kitsuki said, thoughtfully.
“Correct.” There was a pregnant pause that Mikoto took advantage of to scold herself for not thinking of the answer. “I’m impressed.” Joshua began to pace again, placing his hands in the small of his back. “Two days. That’s all it took to figure out what the Noise was and what causes it to stop. Now that you know, what do you plan on doing?”
Asahina spoke first. “I would like to find some balance.”
“How, what are you going to look for?” Posed Joshua.
“Problems to solve.” Daigotsu answered for him.
“You look for things that upset balance and offset them.” Kitsuki expanded upon Daigotsu’s answer.
Joshua turned to Daigotsu, a smug smile touching his lips. “I think you need to find balance yourself.”
Mikoto felt the need to add her input. “I will live a full life living the Bushido way.”
“If that’s what you take from this.” Joshua shrugged. “Two days. Pretty close to a record. I’ve tried this in other places and they don’t tend to find balance or peace so quickly. Now, none of you have actually obtained balance or peace yet.” The group shared glances with each other. “But I think it will come. Some of you are close.” Another round of glances. “But I suppose it has been long enough, I will let you get back to your tournament.”
He snapped his fingers and Mikoto’s world went dark.
Shortly after that she learned of this Dragon’s name. Kitsuki. She wasn’t certain if she trusted him or not. He was pretty pathetic, being crippled and frail looking. It wouldn’t have taken much to just stab him and end his life if he turned out to be something other than what he appeared. She had suggested it to Daigotsu, to show her support in being wary of newcomers that just pop into existence. But now Daigotsu was cordially conversing with Kitsuki, saying more to him than she had said to Mikoto over the last few days. Come to think of it, Daigotsu had also run off with Asahina when Mikoto was making her intentions clear earlier that morning.
Mikoto sighed inwardly. That would just be her luck, to pick the one woman her charms wouldn’t work against. She sized Kitsuki up. He wouldn’t be much of a challenge to overcome if it came down to swooning Daigotsu; he was a cripple after all. Daigotsu surely wouldn’t be interested in someone so frail. Especially not when she could offer so much more to Daigotsu, things Daigotsu probably hadn’t yet imagined. Asahina wasn’t even a consideration; there was no way Daigotsu was interested in him. She was a Spider, and he a Crane, that’s like oil and water. It would never happen.
Asahina ushered Kitsuki a few steps away from where Shiba, Daigotsu and she stood. They were talking in hushed whispers about something she couldn’t quite put together. Honestly, she didn’t care too much about what sort of secrets those boys kept between themselves. Asahina didn’t say much to any of them besides where to go and what to do. Yes, Mikoto wanted to get out of this place too, but he too, seemed to be talking to Kitsuki more than he had the entire group since they met. Maybe there was something to this Kitsuki, or maybe Daigotsu and Asahina felt badly that he was a cripple. Perhaps it was something else entirely for Asahina; maybe he was like her and preferred the company of the same gender. Mikoto smiled and looked over Daigotsu again. She was squinting at something in the distance, towards the cave they were headed to. Daigotsu did that. Stared at things, and people, and nothing. Now that Mikoto was thinking about it, she had noticed Daigotsu doing it more than a handful of times over the last day. Unlike normal people who took in their surroundings, Daigotsu just looked at one spot when idle.
“Hey, everyone.” Daigotsu’s voice actually startled Mikoto a little. She hadn’t noticed how quiet everyone and everything had gotten, until Daigotsu demanded their attention.
“I think we have to get going. There’s a child and I’m pretty sure that’s not someplace they should be.” With that Daigotsu began a slow jog towards that spot she had been looking just moments ago. Shiba took off after her. Mikoto strained and saw what looked like the form of a hazy child, standing by the mouth of the cave. She saw Shiba catch up to Daigotsu, then they both stopped, turning back towards her, Asahina, and Kitsuki.
“Why don’t you go ahead? I’ll stay here with Kitsuki, and I have my bow if anything should happen.” Asahina suggested.
Mikoto nodded and tapped her leg to have Hikaru follow, only Hikaru wasn’t next to her. Quickly she searched the area, locating Hikaru about fifty yards away standing next to Daigotsu. Hikaru was nuzzling her! What in the Celestial Heavens was going on? Hikaru was bonded with her. They had lived a life together that no one else could share. And now Hikaru had run off with Daigotsu, showing affection that should be reserved for her. She shook her head in disbelief and made her way towards Shiba, Daigotsu, and Hikaru. He was going to get a stern talking to later tonight.
“Asahina suggested we continue without him and Kitsuki. That way we aren’t slowed down.” Mikoto grumbled as she reached the group.
“Is he sure?” Daigotsu peered past Mikoto to the men folk below.
“Yes. Let’s go.” Mikoto tapped her fingers against her leg, giving Hikaru a disappointed stare.
As they approached the cave Mikoto could make out more details pertaining to the child. She was young, perhaps four or five, wearing Scorpion clothes, but young enough to not have a mask. She was standing, sobbing at the entrance to the cave. Mikoto shifted her weight from one foot to the next, not sure what to do. Shiba got close to the shadow girl and nudged his foot into her. They had found out the previous day that by touching the shadow people you could hear their thoughts, especially when they were upset. Shiba’s face softened as she listened. Suddenly the Noise picked up.
“We have a problem.” Shiba said. It was probably the first time Mikoto had heard Shiba say something definitive. No stutter, no trailing off.
“Calm her down.” Daigotsu said. “Like you did with the Dragon at the tournament. You seem to know how to deal with these imprints.”
Shiba looked around nervously. “Um… I don’t know what to say. Matsu-san, you handled the other Scorpion, you take this one.” She stared at Mikoto with pleading eyes.
Mikoto didn’t know what to say either. It was an upset child. She basically raised herself, never receiving much affection growing up, so what she had to go on for comforting and consoling probably wasn’t what a child would require.
“Strong people don’t usually fold under pressure. It’s a child, just talk to her.” Daigotsu was goading Shiba.
“She’s lost and doesn’t know where her parents are. What am I supposed to say? I don’t know where they are either.”
“Why don’t you tell her to go towards the camp?” Mikoto really didn’t want to get involved with this. She wanted to help the girl, but there was a difference between finding the child’s parents and calming her down. She would rather do the former.
“Yeah, come do that.” Shiba stepped away from the girl.
She sighed, knowing she wasn’t going to be able to pass the burden off on Daigotsu and begrudgingly approached. Barely immersing the tips of her fingers on the girl’s shoulder she heard all the sadness the child had. It was quite emotional and almost brought Mikoto to tears. She could feel the pain of possible abandonment, the fear of never finding her parents, the confusion as to where to go, and the desire to just be held. Mikoto could relate with all of those feelings, even if she wasn’t experiencing them through the shadow child, she knew the way each and every one felt from her own life.
“There are people down below, little one. They’ll help you find your parents.” She said as gently as possible. The girl sniffled and started moving towards town. It had worked! Mikoto, comforter of children. Silently she followed the little girl. The pain and torment she experienced growing up quickly smothering her elation for helping. It was a cold life, and this child would learn it someday. Mikoto gazed forlornly at the ghostly image walking in front of her.
Even lost in thought she could hear the Noise, it had steadily been growing as they moved closer to the camp. Quickly she placed her hand on the child’s head, attempting to gain some insight into why she wasn’t feeling better, but instead worse. Being lost was at the forefront of the girl’s mind, but a gnawing feeling of nervousness was blotting out the sadness, ushering in fear related to the strangers she would have to approach. People she didn’t know that she would have to speak to.
“Is it me, or is the sound getting louder?” Daigotsu asked casually.
“I noticed that too.” Mikoto responded. “She doesn’t want to talk to people she doesn’t know. I’m trying to locate a Scorpion group, or tent, or something else so at least she’ll be with people that look familiar.” She looked around but colors were pretty hard to discern in this gloomy world. Many people had already left, and no one looked to be searching for a child.
“Matsu, what’s going on?” Asahina joined their small party, now that Daigotsu, Shiba, the child and herself had made it nearly to the tournament grounds.
“She’s lost, and afraid of speaking to someone she doesn’t know, so I’m hoping we can find someone from the Scorpion clan.” She was starting to get tired of being the go between. If everyone was so curious, they could come and find out themselves.
“Matsu-san seems to have a way with children.” Daigotsu informed Asahina. “Something that Shiba-san froze up on. We should keep that in mind the next we have to confront a child.”
“This… little girl is part of… the real world. And we’re sending her, the Noise at the moment, directly towards others.” Observed Shiba. “This could be a very bad thing.”
“You think we should just leave her to cry by a cave.” Mocked Daigotsu.
“Not at all. But maybe we should… cheer up the little girl? Instead of sending the horrible terrifying monsters towards the camp.”
“How do you expect to do that? You wouldn’t even talk to her.”
“What about the cave?” Asahina broke in. “The Noise got louder the further from the cave she went, maybe that’s where she’s meant to be.”
Mikoto glared at Asahina. He couldn’t be serious. “You want to send a child into a cave?”
“We could go in. We could check it out.” Asahina offered.
“That’s not the problem.” Mikoto blurted. “She’s a child missing her parents, afraid of strangers. It’s not about where she’s meant to be, it’s about cheering her up. How would you cheer up a distraught child?”
She could see Asahina was getting annoyed. “Maybe her parents are in the cave. How did she get there in the first place?”
“Asahina-san?” Daigotsu timidly interrupted. Asahina shot his annoyed face at Daigotsu, waiting for her to finish. “Do you know any… what are they called? Songs mother’s sing to their children to soothe them. Lullabies, right?”
Mikoto smiled at Daigotsu dreamily, that was spot on for solving this issue. She could see Asahina also shake himself from the tension that arose because of her and his recent arguing. He nodded and pulled out his flute. “I could give it a try, I suppose.”
Asahina scooted towards the girl, brushing his leg against hers and began to play. It was actually a beautiful song. Mikoto hadn’t heard it, but she could just imagine sitting in a blanket while her mother hummed it and swept her fingers through Mikoto’s hair. She had never known her mother. Apparently her birth was not an easy one and her mother didn’t survive. Even so, Asahina’s lullaby conjured images of a childhood Mikoto never knew, and she felt like she belonged there. When he finished Mikoto came back to reality, the Noise had all but disappeared and the child along with it. They were still in the same spot, but nothing remained in the area except for the buildings and tents. All the people had simply faded away at some point during the melody.
“Asahina-san, perhaps it is you we should have deal with children in the future. That was…” Daigotsu left it open ended, as if she couldn’t bring herself to give a sincere compliment.
Beautiful. Mikoto filled in the rest in her mind. Beautiful would have been a good word to use, Daigotsu. Soothing. Lovely. Wait… She pushed those thoughts back. She was betrothed to another, and his memory brought up the bitter feelings towards men Mikoto had grown accustomed to. Asahina just played a nice song; it held no reflection on him as a man.
“Have you figured it out yet?” Joshua’s voice filled the air. He appeared in the middle of the group in the partial seconds that it took her to blink.
“You mean music versus the Noise?” Asahina scratched his neck, unsure of himself.
“That’s part of it.” Joshua smiled.
“The child‘s agitation. The more upset she was, the louder that noise was.” Kitsuki pointed out.
“That’s a very good indicator. But, have you figured out the question?” He clasped his hands behind his back waiting. Everyone stayed silent. Asahina made a move to speak, but closed his mouth with a second thought. Shiba fidgeted. Daigotsu stared at the ground
“Oh, let’s catch you up.” Joshua pointed at Kitsuki. “You’re part of a game. Every ten thousand years I get to judge humanity. If humanity fails, I wipe them off this planet.” He smiled evilly and swept his hand across the air as if pushing away a bug. “Now to clarify, you’re dead. If you fail this portion of the game, if you fall to the Noise, you are removed from the cycle of reincarnation. You don’t get to go to your heaven. You don’t get to see your ancestors. You’re gone. Forever. Erased.
“In addition to that,” Joshua raised a finger and began pacing. “In order to participate, you wagered the most important thing to you in the world. It is on the line. If you lose, it is also gone. But you get your life restored to you, you will no longer be dead, if you win. Whether or not you win, humanity will be judged and you will get to live for as long as humanity also gets to.” He stopped pacing and steepled his fingers together. “Now, what is the question?”
“How do we get rid of the Noise?” Shiba almost whispered.
“Correct.” Joshua nodded towards Shiba. “So what is the Noise?”
“Negative emotions.” Responded Shiba.
“Fear” Both Kitsuki and Daigotsu coined together.
“Negative emotions and fear. And how do you get rid of negative emotions and fear?” Joshua raised his brows and looked around at each of them.
Mikoto looked down. “Comfort.”
“Maybe.”
“Joy.” Shiba cooed.
“Maybe.”
“Companionship.” Came Daigotsu’s voice.
“Maybe.”
“I would say Bushido.” Asahina said with confidence.
“Bushido is passable, I suppose, but Shurido is just as passable. And with all the others, isn’t there still a negative side to it?”
“Bushido imbues all things.” Asahina attempted to defend his answer.
“We get rid of the noise by existing.” Stated Daigotsu. “We impact everyone, whether we’re in the Realm or not. But at least in the Realm we have more of an impact.”
“That’s an interesting conclusion.” Joshua seemed to be considering Daigotsu’s words.
“The choices we make and the actions we take.” Asahina paraphrased.
“In a way, yes. I can see that. That could be acceptable.” Joshua nodded. “You’ve proven to be entertaining so far, but I have one more question. Out of all the people in the Rokugani society, who do you think produces the least amount of Noise?”
Mikoto looked around at the group. She was aware everyone was from a different clan, but it wasn’t until now that she even considered they were so different. Breaking the group up into individuals who have their own cultures and customs, she started ranking them from least likely to make Noise to most likely. Shiba seemed to be doing the same. Asahina chewed on his lip, considering the question. And Daigotsu was staring at Kitsuki, who in turn was lost in his thoughts.
“The balanced.” Kitsuki said, thoughtfully.
“Correct.” There was a pregnant pause that Mikoto took advantage of to scold herself for not thinking of the answer. “I’m impressed.” Joshua began to pace again, placing his hands in the small of his back. “Two days. That’s all it took to figure out what the Noise was and what causes it to stop. Now that you know, what do you plan on doing?”
Asahina spoke first. “I would like to find some balance.”
“How, what are you going to look for?” Posed Joshua.
“Problems to solve.” Daigotsu answered for him.
“You look for things that upset balance and offset them.” Kitsuki expanded upon Daigotsu’s answer.
Joshua turned to Daigotsu, a smug smile touching his lips. “I think you need to find balance yourself.”
Mikoto felt the need to add her input. “I will live a full life living the Bushido way.”
“If that’s what you take from this.” Joshua shrugged. “Two days. Pretty close to a record. I’ve tried this in other places and they don’t tend to find balance or peace so quickly. Now, none of you have actually obtained balance or peace yet.” The group shared glances with each other. “But I think it will come. Some of you are close.” Another round of glances. “But I suppose it has been long enough, I will let you get back to your tournament.”
He snapped his fingers and Mikoto’s world went dark.
No comments:
Post a Comment