The boy tilted his head to the side, still a bit unsure. "If you say so, master." He said, quickly. The master smiled.
"I know so." He said, reaching out a hand, pulling Kouryuu close to him. "I know so." Slowly he put his head back, and sighed. The sun's rays were beating down upon his neck. "You know Kouryuu-" He said, turning to face the boy, opening the eye closest to him, "We're going to have a guest later today."
"A guest? Should I sweep?" The boy asked, innocently.
"No need for it, Kouryuu. The guest is an old friend of mine, Ukoku Sanzo. He'll be bringing his son over, too."
"A son? How old is he?" Kouryuu asked. The master put his hand to his chin.
"He's about your age, I'm thinking." He said, quietly. "A lonely child... I don't think he has any friends."
"...Friends?"
"... You don't have too many yourself, do you? The rest of the monks here fear you, they dislike you..."
"Yeah." Kouryuu said, looking down. "Dislike isn't a strong enough word."
"Let me ask you something," The master said, looking his student in the eyes. "Do you really want their friendship? For what its worth, I don't think being friends with them is worth it." Koumyou lit his pipe. Kouryuu watched as the smoke silently danced upwards towards the ceiling, forming a protective layer between the student and master. Kouryuu flailed his arm in an attempt to push the smoke to the side.
"I don't either." He said, suddenly. "Why would I want to be friends with people who call me names? Taunt me for things I can't help..."
"You wouldn't." The master interrupted, taking a puff from his pipe. "People like that aren't really friends. They don't know what a friend is, and chances are, they never really had one. Those are the kinds of people who feel like they need to put others down to get friends - to feel wanted. But the real question here is - who would truly want to be loved by others who think of you only as another name? Its just a way to brag, Kouryuu. They aren't friends. They're numbers."
"I don't want to be a number." Kouryuu stated.
"The life of a number is a lonely one." Koumyou added, walking towards the door. "Get ready now, my child. The company will be here soon." Then, with a final smile, he disappeared behind the now closed door.
A number? Kouryuu thought to himself, while getting his priest-in-training robe. So, they aren't friends. They don't all gang up on me in a group because they like each other.. its to impress each other. Make it look like they have a bunch of friends, and the normal thing to do is to dislike me. Could it truly be that shallow? They just want to look like they have a lot of friends...