"Seikage-san? Seikage-san!"
	Seikage looked up from the scroll before her to see a young girl running across the gardens towards the tree under which she was seated, strands of the girl's hyacinth blue hair whipping loose around her face and her dress flying behind her. The girl stopped before the young women, an expression between a pout and a scowl on her face.
	"Konnichiwa, Kiri-chan. What's wrong?" Seikage asked.  Kiri plopped down on a patch of grass in a huff.
	"I hate dresses!" she proclaimed.  Her lips turned upward in an amused grin, Seikage proceeded to set aside her scroll and draw her legs to her chest as she listened to the eight-year-old girl's condemnation of her offensive garments. "Dresses are so annoying! I can't run or jump well in them, I trip over the hem, and I'm always getting the long sleeves dirty! I wish I could wear your clothes!" Kiri exclaimed as she pointed at Seikage's attire.  Seikage allowed her deep brown eyes a quick glance at her clothing. Although the autumn day was far from warm, and a crisp wind was blowing, Seikage was wearing her customary sleeveless, midriff-baring tunic, today in a plum color trimmed with white, and matching loose pants. She had earlier been wearing a matching long-sleeve tunic over her top, but had tossed it to the side in favor of more sun. Her dark teal hair was loose, unlike Kiri's, which the girl had been forced to pull into a neat braid. Seikage could certainly admit that dresses were much less comfortable than her own more practical outfit.
	"Well, I'm not a lady like you. Besides, I dress this way because of the work I do for your father," Seikage said to Kiri.  "So? Couldn't I do the same work as you?" Kiri protested, little hands on her hips in defiance. Seikage's eyes hardened.
	"No, you couldn't," she said firmly, crossing her arms. <I am not ashamed of my work, but I would never have that for her, Seikage thought. <My shadow existence as a ninja is something Kiri wasn't born for, and the violence I see is something she should not be a part of.  "But...I...never mind," Kiri stopped her train of thought, sensing Seikage's unwillingness to continue the discussion. "So," Kiri said quickly, pointing to the forgotten scroll, "What were you doing?" Seikage smiled and picked up the scroll.
	"Just reading." Kiri tilted her head and Seikage tilted hers to match.  "Reading what?" Kiri asked.
	"Legends about the four gods." Kiri's small face took on a look of curious puzzlement, one that quickly switched to understanding as she noted the sudden distant look in Seikage's eyes.
	"You're reading about your god, the one you've got the symbol for," Kiri deduced.
	"Perceptive, dear heart," replied Seikage, "Yes, I was reading about Byakko." Kiri studied the nineteen-year-old Byakko shichiseishi.  Seikage was now leaning against the tree, staring towards the sky and, perhaps, the future. Kiri watched her for a few minutes, then spoke up.  "Seikage-san? Do you ever feel strange living here in Hokkan, where we worship Genbu, when you worship Byakko?" she asked. Seikage glanced at Kiri's pensive expression, then answered.
	"Not here, on your father's estate. Everyone here is understanding. They don't mind that I'm different. I worship my god, you worship yours, no problem. But sometimes, when I travel in Hokkan, yes, particularly lately.  Kiri, things are changing.  People don't worship Genbu as much as they used to, as much as you and your family. People are starting to ignore their god. It's very sad, you know, to see people ignore something that has been so strong for so long." Kiri nodded. "People start to show hostility towards anyone who worships any of the four gods, and it's worse for those who worship the gods of the other kingdoms. But I worship the god I believe in and it is nobody's business but my own which god that is."
	"Do you think you'll have to leave soon, to be a warrior of Byakko?" she asked. Seikage sat up quickly and turned to Kiri.
	"I'll never have to do anything.  Destiny and the will of the gods may be strong, but my will's just as strong.  When it comes to fulfilling my destiny, I alone will make the final decision on whether to stay or go."
	"Gomenne, Seikage-san. I know you make your own choices. But, do you think your destiny will be calling soon?" Kiri asked, still slightly taken aback, even after many years, by Seikage's, as usual, slightly unpredictable behavior and moods that could change from one second to the next.
	"Maybe, Kiri. It is time of changes. Many things are happening in Hokkan, and the other kingdoms, just now. I think I might be called, soon. Going, however, will be my choice," she told the little girl.
	"Mmmhmm. Do you think you might ever meet warriors of my god?" Kiri asked, as she twirled a finger around a strand of hair that had gotten loose.
	"Maybe, who knows? Why do you ask?" Seikage said.
	"Well, I was just wondering if they would mind you worshipping Byakko and not Genbu," Kiri replied. Seikage smiled.
	"You needn't worry. I think we might actually get along.  All the seishi are connected to each other because we all have the same duties and destinies. I think it would be a matter of whether we liked each other as people, not what god we worship." Kiri nodded.
	"So, you don't think they'd be mean? Just like people here, on the estate, don't mind that you're from Kutou and not Hokkan?" Seikage laughed and laid a finger on Kiri's button nose.
	"Someone's not be studying their geography, I think," she teased. Kiri blushed.
	"I've, well, I've been busy!" Kiri exclaimed. Seikage gave her a look.
	"And you with lessons after lunch, too! Quite remarkable, Kiri," she scolded gently. Kiri hemmed and hawed, then finally gave up.
	"Well, okay, maybe I haven't. Can you help me?" she asked. Seikage nodded. Stretching out on her side and propping herself up on one arm, she picked up a twig and started drawing circles in the dirt. Then she placed five pebbles down, one each in the three of the circles, and two in the top circle. Then she placed some leaves in the middle, and two more pebbles on the leaves. Finally, she turned to Kiri.
	"Up here, what is the country of the north called? Or perhaps that's too
difficult?" she grinned. Kiri pouted.
	"That's our country, Hokkan, of course!" Kiri responded indignantly.  Seikage nodded and wrote the characters in the dirt.
	"God and capital city?" Seikage fired off her next question. Kiri fired off an equally rapid response.
	"Genbu and Touran." Seikage nodded and added those characters.
	"And this?" Seikage asked, pointing to a pebble she had placed almost in the mountains between Hokkan and Sairo.
	"That's our estate," Kiri replied. Seikage wrote "Jizen" in the dirt for Kiri's father's name. Then she pointed to the western country of her birth. 
	"This is the country where I was born, Sairo. It's god is Byakko and the capital is Mou Tu," she said, adding the information to her informal map before continuing. "To the south is Konan, god: Suzaku, capital: Eiyou. To the east is Kutou, with its god, Seiryuu and the capital Keiji. In the center is Mount Tyaikoku, where the creator of the universe, Taiitsukun, lives. And here, in Konan, is Mount Reikaku. Bandits live there," Seikage said, striving to add something interesting to the dull geography lesson. Kiri's eyes widened.
	"Have you ever met one of the bandits?" she asked.
	"Oh, of course! One tried to rob me when I was traveling back from a mission to Konan several months ago," Seikage told Kiri.
	"Did you get in a fight?" asked Kiri.
	"Oh, not really. I told him to keep his hand off my money pouch, and once 
things had been straightened out, we ended up having drinks together!"  Seikage ended with a laugh, remembering the incident.
	"You mean, neither of you were mad?" Kiri asked with disbelief.
	"No, Kiri, not really. People are very much the same and have more in common than not." Just then, Seikage caught sight of one of the servants crossing the courtyard in their direction. "It looks like you may be wanted, Kiri," Seikage said. Kiri sighed and got to her feet, brushing off her dress as she did. The servant, a man called Mutaki, stopped and bowed in front of her.
	"Does my father want to see me?" she asked. Mutaki shook his head.  "No, he has not sent me for you, Kiri-san. Seikage-san, Jizen-sama has asked for you."


	Seikage looked up, slightly taken aback. She was accustomed to being summoned for business meetings, as she called them, with Jizen. Such interviews, however, were normally conducted in the evenings, after the evening meal was finished and Jizen had put Kiri to bed. None the less, Seikage, in one fluid motion, was on her feet, scroll and tunic in hand.
	"Very well, Mutaki. I trust this is not too urgent?" she inquired.
	"No need to run, Seikage-san, but as soon as you can." Seikage nodded.
	"Tell Jizen-sama that I will be there right away." Mutaki bowed and hurried off. 
	"Kiri, I must run now. It sounds like this is more urgent than Mutaki made it seem. If you want to, you can take the scroll with you to read."
	Kiri nodded, and so Seikage handed her the precious scroll, then pulled
on her long-sleeve tunic. "There, presentable?" Seikage asked, straightening the tunic. Kiri giggled.
   "Oh, very! I?ll be in my room, Seikage-san. Come see me when you're finishe talking to my father," she said as Seikage moved away. Seikage stopped and turned back.
   "I will! Now run along, and practice your reading!" Seikage called. Then
she turned and headed for her meeting with Jizen.  Seikage's swift and silent movements carried her to the heavy door of Jizen's formal reception room.  Opening the door she found her lord seated in the center of the room, waiting for her. Seikage glanced around the room quickly, instinctually scanning the environment for any threats. The only thing her eyes encountered were the artistic touches that characterized many of the rooms on the estate. There were jade accent pieces, wall scrolls, and even ancient, enigmatic characters painting on the beams of the ceiling.  Coming forward after her quick look around, Seikage bowed and kneeled before Jizen.
    "You asked to see me, Jizen-sama?" she said. Jizen nodded.
    "Yes, thank you for coming so quickly. I am very busy today, so I ask that you leave questions to the end. Here is the matter, plainly. The rider that arrived here last night was a messenger from Touran." Seikage nodded, quickly drawing upon her recollections of the previous evening and saw the exhausted rider in her mind's eye. "He came to tell us that the Emperor has joined his ancestors in the world beyond and that Crown Prince Lin Han has come to the throne. I will be leaving after lunch to journey to Touran, both to pay respects and to pledge my loyalty to the new Emperor. I will leave Sekinin in charge of the estate." Seikage opened her mouth to protest. Sekinin, though a good friend and two years her senior, did not have seniority on the estate. She had come to Jizen's estate six years earlier, while Sekinin had been in Jizen's employ for only half that. Seikage's pride smarted at the thought of having been passed over by her lord. Jizen, however, held up a hand to quiet her. "This is because you will be traveling a half-day behind, gathering information. We will meet again in Touran, and further plans will be made then." Seikage, chagrined, bowed her head in compliance.
    "Gomenne, Jizen-sama. I will, then, leave after dark?" she asked. Jizen nodded.
    "Yes. Now, as I have to prepare, you may carry this news to Sekinin and my daughter. Give her my love, and tell her I will see her at prayers before lunch." Seikage bowed again and swept out and down the hallways leading to Kiri's room, intending to bring her word of her father's journey.  Such intentions dropped away, however, when Seikage found Kiri asleep in her room, scroll still clutched in hand. Smiling, Seikage slipped the scroll from the girl's delicate fingers and laid it to the side. Brushing aside a strand of Kiri's hair, she kissed her on the forehead, and looked down at the sleeping child.  Seikage had tried her best to care for Kiri since Kiri's mother had died. Jizen's first wife, Metori, had been an energetic woman, full of life like Kiri. Seikage had known Metori for only a year and half when Metori and Kiri's small baby brother had been struck down by a fever, only a few weeks after the baby boy was born.  Jizen had tried to look after Kiri, but the girl had been young, and Jizen had not always known what to do. Seikage ended up treating little Kiri a bit like her own daughter. Now, however, Jizen had remarried. His second wife, Yukai had only been with the family for a year, and was even now expecting her first child.
    Yukai was kind to Kiri, but always seemed a little distant and uninterested in the girl. Seikage found herself still taking care of Kiri a lot. She never minded, though. Seikage loved Kiri, would give her life to protect her, and Kiri adored Seikage. With a final glance at the soft, rose petal face, Seikage left to find Sekinin.




	Seikage strolled into Sekinin's quarters without knocking.  Silently, she adopted a lackadaisical posture, leaning against the wall.  Sekinin, his back to the door, intent on polishing his prized sword, did not notice her entrance for several seconds.
	"K'so!" Sekinin cried, jumping half way out of his skin as he finally noticed he had a visitor. "Seikage! You could have knocked! What if I hadn't been decent?" he growled. Seikage graced him with a cool smile.
	"Not like there would have been anything interesting to see."
	"Cold, very cold. Haven't you ever heard of respecting your elders?" Sekinin asked.
	"I'll respect my elders when they happen to be wiser." Suddenly, Seikage broke her icy attitude with a wide smile. Kicking off the wall, she launched herself into Sekinin's arms. Though small of build and only five feet, seven inches, Sekinin was strong and easily hauled her off her feet.
	"Why you little devil!" he cried, allowing her to shriek as he held her up in the air. Grabbing a fistful of spiky royal blue hair, Seikage forced the young man to let go of her. Dropping like a cat to the ground, she grinned at him.
	"Baka. Anyway, I actually have a purpose in coming here," she informed him.
	"Other than to startle and insult me?" he said with a raised eyebrow.
	"Yes. I have news and orders. So sit, this is business." Sekinin nodded. 
	Once seated, Seikage relayed the goings on. "Plainly, Sekinin, the Emperor is dead. Jizen-sama must leave after lunch, and you are to be left in charge of the estate." Sekinin opened his mouth to gloat, but Seikage stopped him. 
	"I will be traveling, leaving tonight after dark to follow behind Jizen-sama.  You are to carry this news to Yukai-san. Don't screw anything up in my absence, okay?" she said sweetly. Sekinin laughed.
	"As long as you make the same promise." Seikage nodded.
	"Deal. I have to go tell Kiri. See you later."