Hiashi quietly opened the doors of his office suite at the Holy Temple of the Hyuga clan's complex and stepped out onto the expansive deck, his chiseled features stern and unreadable. His brow was furrowed and his eyes were stormy and full of worry. Powerful legs carried him past the water fountain that spilled into the rectangular pond which was covered over with water lilies that were ready to bloom.
This time of year was particularly difficult for him. He had been without his wife, Hakuro, for 20 years today. Had it really been so long? How he missed her. How odd to be born and pass on the same day. At first, her physical absence had been the hardest to take but then the added pressure of taking on his spouse's duties came into play. Who knew she had been so busy? She had taken care of her family, acted as ambassador in relations issues with neighboring villages, given sponsorship to family related charities and many other things that Hiashi had never really noticed before. She did all this with effortless grace. Yet as busy as he realized that she was, she had remained completely accessible to him, listening to his ravings about the difficulty of his role in the village. He had been blind.
Now, what he really missed was her conversation. She had been the only one that could penetrate the walls he had constructed around him. These were walls that had been necessary for his survival. Yes, those walls kept the enemies out, but it was lonely within them.
It had been a long day. As leader of the Hyuga clan, he was both present and active during the preparations and the ceremony for "Setsubun" or "Beginning of Spring".
His large hands now clasped the rail at the ledge of the deck that overlooked the complex. A chill breeze circled and his long, dark hair swirled around him. A shooting star sped across the night sky and Hiasi prayed it was a message from Hakuro, that she had found a way to communicate with him across the boundaries of Yumi, the land of the dead. "Please tell me I'm doing the right thing" he prayed.