Yuuki

Diary

Yuuki climbed Misty Mountain the way old masters once climbed it, seeking clarity, except his version of clarity involved a hot spring, three curious snakes, and no plan whatsoever. He questioned his honor out loud, the way a man does when he's half submerged in volcanic water and fully surrounded by legless roommates, and the mountain, being a mountain, offered no answers, so he answered himself, badly, and felt tremendous about it. The snakes did not attack, mostly out of confusion, and Yuuki chose to interpret their patience as respect, the same way he interprets a bartender not cutting him off as a personal achievement. He told himself this was discipline, soaking in silence, facing fear, becoming whole again like the warriors of old, though the old warriors probably weren't doing it shirtless with a lukewarm sake gourd balanced on a rock. Still, he climbed down that mountain lighter than he climbed up, chin high, spirit steady, utterly unbothered, a man who had wrestled honor to a draw and won anyway by refusing to notice he'd lost.