Post by Toku Hirotomo on Aug 4, 2011 14:20:55 GMT -5
Toku Hirotomo was quietly meditating in his family shrine. He was trying to purge all negative feelings from his mind, though it was not working quite as well as he had hoped. This new life was completely his. Toku Sanjuro was no more. Yoritomo Sanjuro replaced him. His thoughts of simple custodian of his clan until his champion's return were replaced with the grim realization that he was the last heir of Toku. He was abandoned. All the men that he had looked up to had let him down. Hirotomo sighed. He would not find peace tonight. As he rose, he felt a sudden gust of wind. Sensei was behind him, still in his light blue kimono, but his mon was gone this time.
"Sensei, it is good to see you again." The kenku smiled at his student and walked over to Hirotomo. "It seems your fate has led you to your current station. Tell me, how does it feel to be a leader of men?"
Hirotomo shook his head. "I am no leader of men sensei." The old man cocked his head to one side. Perhaps the movement betrayed his real form, or perhaps since Hirotomo knew the kenku's true identity, he was imagining things. "There are many of your kind that would disagree with you. There are men who are following what you command this very moment. Men who would follow you to their deaths. Is that not the description of a leader of man?"
Hirotomo shook his head slightly again. "I'm sorry I was not clear, Sensei. I meant that I am not worthy of leading men." "I see. May I inquire who you are to determine your own worthiness?" "I don't understand Sensei. One should respect one's limitations." "Bah. Limitations are placed by others and one's own imagination. They are not the true measure of one's worth, nor should they ever make you stop. Limitations should spur you to rise above them, boy, not give you something to wallow in."
"Sensei, I have no training in how to lead. I could send good men to their deaths for no reason. I could lead them to ruin. "Then you had better learn how not to lead them, as much as you should learn how." The kenku's words resounded in Hirotomo's mind. A Scorpion's voice then floated through his mind. "No matter what actions you take, you always do so to honor your ancestors. For good or ill it is the Kami's way of doing things. As long as you are pleased by the results then you have done well. Be content with this and become stronger because of it." Hirotomo looked a little less uncertain.
"It seems you're begining to understand. That is good. Perhaps you will soon see that what others call limitations are merely impediments to knowledge. They can slow you, but they can only stop you if you let them."
Sensei, something unusual happened to me." Hirotomo said slowly. He told the tale of his battle with the creature, his wound that should have killed him, his brush with Emma-O, and his sudden return to the living. "I do not know what to make of it. I can't find very many people who reported seeing what I have seen. What little I can find contradicts itself." The kenku smiled. "Not very often is one pulled back from death's jaws. Everyone sees things from a different perspective. It's not surprising that you would find no clear answer on a scroll. You have changed boy. Karma flows from you like a sieve. Some good, some bad, it depends on the choices you make. Your destiny is still not clear, you have yet to make the choices you need to." "I choose to become a monster or a hero?" Hirotomo said bemused. "That is hardly a choice, I'll always choose to be the hero." "You should know better boy." The kenku said reprovingly. "It's never as clear as you seem to think. What if you saw an unarmed man being beaten by a strong looking man?" "I would run to the unarmed man's defense." Hirotomo said at once. "What if the man is a criminal? What if he stole from the man who is beating him?" Hirotomo fell silent. "What if the man only stole to feed his family because his attacker taxes him too much and they starve? Can you tell what is in another man's heart from a glance? Do you stand frozen because you can not determine the truth? These are not easily answered questions, boy. It may take you a lifetime to understand their meaning. You were raised to follow. The transition to leader is a hard one. Some get too set in their ways. Some spend all their time following that leading seems to alien, too strange, and they give up without truly trying. You don't' choose a fate of benevolence or tyrant. You become them through your actions. You worry about something that has yet to happen and has already happened. No man can know what he is to become at the end. You have the freedom make it happen however. Now come, another lesson with your sword, to the dojo."
Hirotomo was glad for the lesson. It freed his mind more than any meditation. It was just him, his sensei, and his blade. His moves became quicker, for an instant he slowed the world and his attacks became as lightning. A soft thunderclap accompanied his strikes. His sensei was unforgiving, demanding that he repeat the kata until he perfected it. It was well past dawn until he was finally satisfied. Hirotomo almost collapsed, but his new found willpower kept him standing. He was tired. The day of paperwork would not be pleasant.
"Remember our talk. Remember that even though your destiny is still unclear, you have the power to become who you wish. Perhaps you hover between them, all it takes is a simple choice." The kenku gave an idle look to Sewing Needle. "Keep a close watch on your sword there boy. It appears that you are not the only one to change after your battle."
A flash of black feathers, and his sensei was gone. Hirotomo was once again left with his thoughts. Hirotomo walked back into his estate and found a servant. "Please direct Toku Nakata to come home. I believe that I need his assistance in a matter. Hirtomo would learn. If he could not lead, he would learn from someone who knew how.
"Sensei, it is good to see you again." The kenku smiled at his student and walked over to Hirotomo. "It seems your fate has led you to your current station. Tell me, how does it feel to be a leader of men?"
Hirotomo shook his head. "I am no leader of men sensei." The old man cocked his head to one side. Perhaps the movement betrayed his real form, or perhaps since Hirotomo knew the kenku's true identity, he was imagining things. "There are many of your kind that would disagree with you. There are men who are following what you command this very moment. Men who would follow you to their deaths. Is that not the description of a leader of man?"
Hirotomo shook his head slightly again. "I'm sorry I was not clear, Sensei. I meant that I am not worthy of leading men." "I see. May I inquire who you are to determine your own worthiness?" "I don't understand Sensei. One should respect one's limitations." "Bah. Limitations are placed by others and one's own imagination. They are not the true measure of one's worth, nor should they ever make you stop. Limitations should spur you to rise above them, boy, not give you something to wallow in."
"Sensei, I have no training in how to lead. I could send good men to their deaths for no reason. I could lead them to ruin. "Then you had better learn how not to lead them, as much as you should learn how." The kenku's words resounded in Hirotomo's mind. A Scorpion's voice then floated through his mind. "No matter what actions you take, you always do so to honor your ancestors. For good or ill it is the Kami's way of doing things. As long as you are pleased by the results then you have done well. Be content with this and become stronger because of it." Hirotomo looked a little less uncertain.
"It seems you're begining to understand. That is good. Perhaps you will soon see that what others call limitations are merely impediments to knowledge. They can slow you, but they can only stop you if you let them."
Sensei, something unusual happened to me." Hirotomo said slowly. He told the tale of his battle with the creature, his wound that should have killed him, his brush with Emma-O, and his sudden return to the living. "I do not know what to make of it. I can't find very many people who reported seeing what I have seen. What little I can find contradicts itself." The kenku smiled. "Not very often is one pulled back from death's jaws. Everyone sees things from a different perspective. It's not surprising that you would find no clear answer on a scroll. You have changed boy. Karma flows from you like a sieve. Some good, some bad, it depends on the choices you make. Your destiny is still not clear, you have yet to make the choices you need to." "I choose to become a monster or a hero?" Hirotomo said bemused. "That is hardly a choice, I'll always choose to be the hero." "You should know better boy." The kenku said reprovingly. "It's never as clear as you seem to think. What if you saw an unarmed man being beaten by a strong looking man?" "I would run to the unarmed man's defense." Hirotomo said at once. "What if the man is a criminal? What if he stole from the man who is beating him?" Hirotomo fell silent. "What if the man only stole to feed his family because his attacker taxes him too much and they starve? Can you tell what is in another man's heart from a glance? Do you stand frozen because you can not determine the truth? These are not easily answered questions, boy. It may take you a lifetime to understand their meaning. You were raised to follow. The transition to leader is a hard one. Some get too set in their ways. Some spend all their time following that leading seems to alien, too strange, and they give up without truly trying. You don't' choose a fate of benevolence or tyrant. You become them through your actions. You worry about something that has yet to happen and has already happened. No man can know what he is to become at the end. You have the freedom make it happen however. Now come, another lesson with your sword, to the dojo."
Hirotomo was glad for the lesson. It freed his mind more than any meditation. It was just him, his sensei, and his blade. His moves became quicker, for an instant he slowed the world and his attacks became as lightning. A soft thunderclap accompanied his strikes. His sensei was unforgiving, demanding that he repeat the kata until he perfected it. It was well past dawn until he was finally satisfied. Hirotomo almost collapsed, but his new found willpower kept him standing. He was tired. The day of paperwork would not be pleasant.
"Remember our talk. Remember that even though your destiny is still unclear, you have the power to become who you wish. Perhaps you hover between them, all it takes is a simple choice." The kenku gave an idle look to Sewing Needle. "Keep a close watch on your sword there boy. It appears that you are not the only one to change after your battle."
A flash of black feathers, and his sensei was gone. Hirotomo was once again left with his thoughts. Hirotomo walked back into his estate and found a servant. "Please direct Toku Nakata to come home. I believe that I need his assistance in a matter. Hirtomo would learn. If he could not lead, he would learn from someone who knew how.