From Sailor Moon Flash!
| Featuring: | Kenrou, Hanako |
| IC Date: | June, 2002 |
| Status: | Complete |
| Summary: | Even the most advanced of zen adepts can always learn from a greater master. |
”R-u-t-h-l-e-s-s,” Mitsu Hanako read. She looked at the board for a few seconds, a fine line appearing between her brows. ”I know what ’ruthless’ means in English, Amakusa-san. But you never speak of someone who has ruth. A man of ruth would be a man without anger, I wonder?”
Amakusa Kenrou carefully noted his triple-letter score on ”u”, and considered this question of ruth-ness and -lessness.
”The question of ruth and temper has puzzled linguists and Zen masters,” he conceded. ”Hanoyo-san might as well ask why a man who has a temper also loses it.”
”Ha-no-yo,” Hanako said, momentarily sidetracked. She doodled on the scorepad, and held it up to show him two kanji joined by a swirl of hiragana. ”Ha-no-yo?” She beamed at his nod, and picked up her rack. ”A maiden of calm flame,” she said, pleased. ”I like that one, Amakusa-san, thank you.”
Kenrou inclined his head to signify that it was, after all, no more than pure truth, and waited for her to take her turn. So far, the board sported a ”justice” sprouted from ”ice”, an ”empathy” that the red-haired maiden had built out of a Tao, and a slightly-out-of-place ”yellow” that had permitted Kenrou to rid himself of a double ”l” and which had reminded him of Chikara. This ”ruthless” had nearly emptied his rack, but it had let him use ”justice”’s ”u”; the only drawback was that it had made Hanako give him a look of very ... deep thoughtfulness.
He watched, his smile deepening slightly, as she placed one tile and made a lie of his ruthlessness. ”Truthless,” he mused. ”Hanoyo-san will drive Us off this theme yet.”
