i should never have wakened

The sun is high in the sky, the birds are singing, the trees are blooming, and Jin Sakai is playing hooky. He knows--he knows--he should be training, Lord Nagao’s tournament just around the corner, but instead he let his best friend pull him from his unyielding practice. We are supposed to be achieving balance in all things, right? Ryuzo had explained, a turn to his smile. Shouldn’t that mean between work and rest, too? And in this moment, as Jin lays on his back in the grass, the heat of the sun on his face, he can't bring himself to disagree. an afternoon, before.