The New Winds

There were no expectations put onto Otoko, but she still had expectations for herself. She always tried to read something before sleep, and her time here would be no different. The hour of the dog found her on her futon, sitting with her legs crossed in her night yukata.

A scroll sat open in her lap, and she was entirely absorbed into it. Not literally, of course...

Much like the previous evening, Sakura was sat outside near a window. She didn't want to be in bed, and she loved the evening as the sun set...it was pretty.

Soon she was relaxed enough, and started singing

D2 Dog timeslot singing!: 4d10o10k2 14

Reading to music was a rarity for Otoko, though some of the Iuchi had learned to play instruments, so she had slowly gotten used to doing so.

Reading to singing, however, was proving a good bit more difficult.

Certainly, the singer was outside rather than right beside her, but the sound carried into the open room readily enough, and many were still out before bed, so the room was hardly full of the white noise of whispered chatter.

Closing her scroll, Otoko slipped her mask back on delicately and stood, making her way to the window. She was hardly surprised to find a Crane as the source of the sound. She gave a slow, polite bow. She said nothing, for the moment. A song was not something to interrupt lightly.

Sakura brought the song to an end and sighed softly, looking up at the girl in the sky.

...

Wait a minute.

Blink blink.

"Ano..." she looked at the other girl, confused.

Otoko gave another slow bow. She understood now paying attention well enough, after all. "Doji-san. I did not wish to disturb your song. I was reading... and it made it a bit hard to concentrate. It is fine however. There will always be more times to read."

"Oh."

Sakura bowed deeply.

"My apology. Someone complained when I sang against a different wall, so I moved round here today to try and not disturb anyone. My mother always said this is the best hour to sing, because both the Sun and the Moon can hear at the same time."

The Scorpion slowly shook her masked head. ",,,There is nothing to apologize for. If this one was truly set on reading, she would merely find another place. I am hardly complaining, so you should feel free to sing here from now on."

"Oh, ok" Sakura nodded, convinced "thank you! I think everyone should sing, its lovely. Why don't you sing?"

There was a pause.

"Also..I don't know who you are."

Otoko shrugged. "...I did not say I do not sing. Yogo Otoko."

"Yogo...Yogo..." Sakura said quietly to herself, as if trying to remember something, before shaking her head "nice to meet you Yogo-san! I am Doji Sakura."

She paused, then added "if you sing, why not sing?"

"Why?" Sakura asked, confused "are you worried about what people think?"

A very quiet chuckle came from behind Otoko's mask. "...Perish the thought."

"Then sing. Go on~" Sakura gave Otoko an encouraging look "you can do it! I'll sing with you if you want."

Otoko slowly shook her head after a moment. "...While I do not worry about what others think, I still live by what I think, and what I think is that I would rather not sing. Gomen."

"Oh. Ok" Sakura looked a little saddened "shall I keep singing then?"

"I would most certainly not stop you Doji-san... though, perhaps, as long as you are, you would permit me to know what the song you sang was? And, perhaps, what the next will be about?" Her tone was a touch encouraging, showing a touch of interest if Sakura would allow it.

"It doesn't really have a name. The song I was singing before was an old nursery rhyme about saying goodbye to the sun and hello to the moon" Sakura explained, thinking "I just sing what fits the moment though, like friendship or gems or something."

"A song without a name. I see." She paused. "...I did not realize there were so many songs that there was one for every occasion."

"There's a song for every moment of ones life, if they wanted it to be. At least that's what mother always said, I don't really know any good songs for sweeping the floor or climbing a wall" Sakura commented thoughtfully "what were you reading?"