Fan Fiction ❯ Bushido ❯ Theories ( Chapter 13 )

Whee ... another chapter's here. Huzah. XD I must apologize to that romantic in your head, Mitsu Tsuki, because she probably won't be satisfied for a while. I can't say much, but in a few chapters, you'll see what I mean.

Chapter 13: Theories

"Oi, Koichi-san, Haruko-chan," Hidemi grunted, "Do this old geezer a favor and fetch some more water from the river? Our drinking supply's running low. Take the cart with you, you'll need to get a lot." The samurai chuckled.

"Ojisan, are we nothing but your servants?" he asked jokingly.

"Yes, you are," the elder replied, grinning, "Now both of you move your young bums and get going!" Koichi and Haruko left the room, laughing.

"Ah, isn't filial piety wonderful?" the ronin joked.

"Indeed," Haruko agreed, chuckling. They reached the cart, hefting a few large buckets inside it.

"I'll pull it, you push if I need help," Koichi ordered, taking the handles in his hands.

"Hai," she complied, going to the rear, "Let's go before it gets too hot."

"March weather isn't that bad," he disagreed, tugging the vehicle along, heading for the dirt road that led to the river.

"Well, still..."

"Personally, I'd like to meditate a while we're there and finished with our work."

"Again?!"

"C'mon, your father said he doesn't mind! And the flow of the river is very peaceful, calm... a good meditation spot. You should try it sometime."

"Oh, fine, fine," she sighed, giving in, "But we fill the buckets first!"

"Understood."

"Pick up the pace, Koi-san." She teased, making a carp impression. Though he couldn't see her, the samurai knew very well what she was doing. He felt his cheeks flush.

"I'm NOT a fish, dammit!" he grumbled, "And STOP that!" Haruko ceased her mimic and giggled.

"Ah, you know me too well, Koichi-san." She smirked.

"Don't smirk." The young woman blinked in surprise, not expecting that.

"N-nani?"

"Heh, like you said..." Koichi let the sentence hang, deciding to psyche her out just a bit. He didn't feel like explaining ki sensing abilities, and how he'd worked on honing his the past months. She tilted her head, puzzled. Finally deciding she'd rather not know, Haruko shrugged and returned to the task at hand.

"The river should be just up ahead by now."

"I know, I already see it. Whoa, slope. Hold on, don't push. I need to stop the cart." Koichi skid his bare feet against the now sandy earth, bringing the handcart to a halt. The samurai lowered the handles, turning to pick up a bucket. "Well, time for the real grunt work."

"Don't remind me," Haruko sighed, hefting another container out. "These things are gonna be too heavy when they're full... We'll barely be able to lift them up together--nani?!" The young woman gaped, watching Koichi heft a now full bucket out of the river and jog back with no signs of struggle. He casually placed his load down before grabbing an empty bucket and retreating back to the water. "You... you scare me sometimes, you know that?"

He only laughed in reply.

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"How can you sit still for so long? ...Koichi? Koichi? Agh!" She sighed in frustration, realizing her friend was in another one of his deep mediations. "Feh!" She sulkily plopped down on the grass some distance from him. "I dunno how he does it. If it were me, I'd gone insane after a few minutes, just sitting there and thinking of nothing..." She sighed heavily, staring out into the water. Minutes passed. Haruko tapped her fingers on her knee in boredom. Finally, she grew tired of waiting any longer.

"Oi, Koichi-san--eh?" She turned her eyesight back to the water, blinking. A small, glowing, white essence drifted out from the water, floating slowly towards the distant woods.

"Ah, a minor river spirit." Koichi spoke up behind her. Haruko turned again to see the ronin was out of his trance.

"Nani? A wha?"
"A river spirit. Spirits live in everything, you should know that."

"Well, you have a point. I've just never seen one before..." Haruko rubbed her neck.

"Honto? Well, I've seen a few of these small ones before... they practically glow with good karma. Very nice to have one nearby when meditating."

"Is that why you've managed to sit still for so long?" Haruko half teased. Koichi shook his head, smiling slightly.

"You just have no patience, deshi." He grinned, using her unofficial nickname ever since he'd started giving her lessons. Haruko stuck her tongue out at him in turn. "Or any manners for that matter."

"Mou!" The ronin chuckled to himself, watching the little river spirit disappear into the trees. He furrowed his thick eyebrows, contemplating. Koichi failed to notice Haruko's callings until a small foot lightly hit his shoulder.

"Oi! Koichi-san! I've been calling you for the past five minutes!"

"Eh? Oh, I'm sorry... my mind wandered off on me. Guess it's used to the ronin life already."

She ignored his bad joke, "I thought you'd gone into another meditation state. C'mon, the sun's starting to go down; we need to head back." The samurai rose with a sigh.

"Yes, you're right... fine, fine, I'm moving. Let's head back."

"Finally." her voice mumbled behind him.

"I heard that."

"Yare yare." They started on their return in silence, though after many minutes Koichi broke it.

"Ne, Haruko-san, you know how I said spirits live in everything?"

"Hai?"

"Well, you think that counts for humans too?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, do we have spirits inside of us as well?"

"Well... you mean like karma and the Buddha's teachings?"

"No, not as such... more like the small spirit we saw by the river today. Do such things also find vessels in humans? I know animals do, and aren't we animals as well? Hmm..."

"Koichi-san..." Haruko tilted her head, even though he couldn't see her, "Are you going philosophical on me? I'm not sure whether I understand your words or not."

"Eh? Oh, I'm sorry... I was thinking out loud in a way. Didn't really mean to bring you into it... I think I shall meditate on this later..."

"With all this meditating you're doing, it makes me wonder how you managed to do anything interesting in your travels." The young woman rolled her eyes, though he gave no reaction.

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"What took you so long? The boy meditate away the afternoon again?" Hidemi asked when the duo slid open the shoji and entered the house.

"Hai, Tousan... I was so bored... Not to offend you, Koichi-san..."

"I am not."

"Well, Haruko-chan, meditating is good for the mind and spirit! You should try it too!" the old man nodded wisely.

"She did." Koichi snickered, removing his tabi. Haruko shot him a small glare, to which Hidemi merely smiled, shaking his head.

"Well, I've already prepared dinner. Come and join me in the last meal of the day."

"Hai, sir." The teenagers replied in unison.

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Later that night, Koichi sat upon his futon, leaned over in thought. A large part of the reason he wished to travel about Japan with was to cure his spiritual unrest he'd felt since becoming a ronin. Though he'd accomplished many things and met many a strange being in the past two, almost three, years, he still did not feel at ease. However, in recent days during meditation, his thoughts had drifted to spirits, like those of the river and forest.

The feelings and images from these sessions poked at his curiosity, and, more importantly, helped calm some of his inner unease. Perhaps the was the start of the road to which he could find his purpose? His spiritual ease? Something more? Koichi sighed, pushing his dark bangs back. He'd started something, yes, but how long before he finished? Before he came to conclusions?

"Spirits... imbedded in every human soul... It is an interesting theory... I shall have to do more meditating. Much more... I hope Haruko's sanity holds out..."

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Blah. Short and boring, I know. I'm sorry, but... this boring junk will make more sense later, and giving a little bit here will prove more important later on, so please don't stone me to death or something. >_<

karma - the force generated by a person's actions held in Hinduism and Buddhism to perpetuate transmigration and in its ethical consequences to determine the nature of the person's next existence; or, in this case: a characteristic emanation, aura, or spirit that infuses or vitalizes someone or something and that can be instinctively sensed or experienced (Definitions stolen from webster.com =P)

Also note as Koichi said, he does NOT mean spirits as in spiritual feelings and such as followed in Buddhism and Shintoism. Think more of elemental beings and such from RPGs... that's not quite it either, but it's closer to what he means... don't worry, it'll make more sense later on... Not right away, but later on.

Oh, also: Mitsu Tsuki, did you get my e-mail? I sent you a photo of my Kenshin painting, but you didn't reply, so I don't know if you received it or not.