{"id":7939,"date":"2026-10-23T13:55:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T04:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beauty-saga.com\/?post_type=bs_episode&p=7939"},"modified":"2026-10-23T13:55:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T04:55:23","slug":"kts1-ep09-en","status":"publish","type":"bs_episode","link":"https:\/\/beauty-saga.com\/en\/saga-reader\/kts1-ep09-en\/","title":{"rendered":"Stillness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kodama Takano stepped out of the zazen hall and began walking without a word.<\/p>\n\n

The wooden corridor was cold beneath his feet.
Each step faded into the snow.<\/p>\n\n

He slid open a door.
The air inside felt heavier.<\/p>\n\n

The incense room absorbed sound. Outside, snow must have been falling softly, yet even that presence seemed distant. Sandalwood had settled into tatami and old wood. Light filtered through the lattice, tracing a narrow band across the floor.<\/p>\n\n

\"Light<\/figure>\n\n

Kodama Takano stood at the center.
There was no posture, no visible tension\u2014only stillness.<\/p>\n\n

Gabriel realized he was gripping the small vial. A faint tremor reached his fingertips. He could not tell whether it came from the liquid or from himself.<\/p>\n\n

\"Gabi<\/figure>\n\n

Kodama\u2019s gaze rested on it.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe color of the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Gabriel said nothing.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cIt has deepened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Silence followed.<\/p>\n\n

The weave of the tatami suddenly appeared sharper.<\/p>\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve been listening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The air from that street corner\u2014the moment he had been stopped without warning\u2014returned all at once.<\/p>\n\n

Back then, Kodama had said: sometimes you hear what cannot be heard.<\/p>\n\n

Gabriel had not understood. He thought it was about music.<\/p>\n\n

But what he encountered in Kyoto entered him before sound.<\/p>\n\n

The night when rhythm slipped from his body.
The noon when steam rose from soba and words became unnecessary.
The instant when blank space felt denser than ink.
The evening he sensed time itself breathing.<\/p>\n\n

None of it had spoken aloud.<\/p>\n\n

Yet his body had already heard.<\/p>\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n

Kodama Takano lifted his eyes.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cGabriel. The sea-colored water you carry\u2014that is Shisui.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

He gently raised the red vial at his chest. Moonlight slipped through the lattice, red and blue-green briefly aligned.<\/p>\n\n

\"In<\/figure>\n\n

\u201cShisui is the water of a Kewaishi.
A Kewaishi is one who tends life back into balance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

He met Gabriel\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYour mother was one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Gabriel\u2019s breath caught.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe current has not been broken.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

With those words, a distant night rose within him.<\/p>\n\n

It had been dark.
Only one lamp lit the room.
Outside the window was blackness, and as a child, Gabriel had been afraid of that dark.<\/p>\n\n

A stranger sat across from his mother, shoulders shaking.<\/p>\n\n

She did not answer at once.
She simply looked at the woman\u2019s face.<\/p>\n\n

To the child, the silence felt unbearably long.<\/p>\n\n

Then she said quietly,<\/p>\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s alright.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Nothing more.<\/p>\n\n

The darkness did not change.
But the woman\u2019s breathing slowly steadied.<\/p>\n\n

After a while, she left.<\/p>\n\n

The door closed. The night returned.<\/p>\n\n

Later, Gabriel had asked,<\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhy was she crying?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

His mother knelt to meet his eyes.<\/p>\n\n

\"In<\/figure>\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s alright.
For her. And for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

With those words, his mother held him close.<\/p>\n\n

In the dark room, only her scent was distinct. It was peaceful.<\/p>\n\n

That scent now overlapped with the fragrance of the incense room.<\/p>\n\n

Kodama Takano lowered his gaze back to the vial.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cYour sea has found its balance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

He glanced toward the garden.<\/p>\n\n

\"Kodama<\/figure>\n\n

\u201cTonight, it just happens to be a full moon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

For a moment, something softened in his expression.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cSit.
We begin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Gabriel knelt. The cold of the tatami rose through his knees.<\/p>\n\n

Kodama lowered himself opposite him. The boards gave a faint creak.<\/p>\n\n

The air in the incense room tightened.<\/p>\n\n

Kodama enclosed the vial in his hands and placed them gently over Gabriel\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n

The touch was light. Yet unmistakable.<\/p>\n\n

Gabriel closed his eyes. He tried to inhale\u2014and stopped.<\/p>\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n

The rhythm in his chest grew louder.<\/p>\n\n

In the next instant, a breath fell at the center of his brow.<\/p>\n\n

Sound receded.<\/p>\n\n

His heartbeat faltered once, then shifted. The liquid inside the vial answered.<\/p>\n\n

Clouds moved. Moonlight slid through the lattice, crossing the floor until it reached his forehead and the vial in his hands.<\/p>\n\n

Kodama Takano kept his eyes on Shisui and slowly exhaled.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cAlright.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The scent of sandalwood seemed to draw nearer.<\/p>\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n

Gabriel opened his eyes.
\uff0a<\/p>\n\n

Kodama looked beyond the lattice.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe sea does not move alone.<\/p>\n\n

Wind raises the waves.
The sun shapes the currents.
The moon pulls the tide.<\/p>\n\n

When it withdraws, it returns.
When it returns, it withdraws.
When it rages, it settles.
When it settles, it moves again.<\/p>\n\n

This has not changed since long ago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n

He lowered his gaze slightly.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cBecause of that cycle, life continues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Moonlight caught the trembling surface of the vial.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe sea appears to be moved.<\/p>\n\n

Yet what is supported also supports.
What is moved also generates movement.
What receives light also gives light.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Moonlight gathered on the sea-colored surface.<\/p>\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n

\u201cA Kewaishi is the same.
Restore, and return.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

He looked at Gabriel.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cPolish the color of your sea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Moonlight rested on the vial.<\/p>\n\n

Gabriel tightened his grip ever so slightly.<\/p>\n\n

In his chest, a small flame stirred.<\/p>\n\n

It did not feel like standing alone.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kodama Takano stepped out of the zazen hall and began walking without a word. The wooden corridor was cold beneath his feet.Each step faded into the snow. He slid open a door.The air inside felt heavier. The incense room absorbed sound. Outside, snow must have been falling softly, yet even that presence seemed distant. Sandalwood had settled into tatami and old wood. Light filtered through the lattice, tracing a narrow band across the floor. Kodama Takano stood at the center.There was no posture, no visible tension\u2014only stillness. Gabriel realized he was gripping the small vial. A faint tremor reached his fingertips. He could not tell whether it came from the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7914,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"bs_episode_code":"KTS1-EP09","bs_episode_label":"Episode 9","bs_sort_order":9,"bs_deck":"","bs_reading_minutes":0,"bs_reader_skin":"inherit","bs_afterword_type":"none","bs_visibility":"inherit","footnotes":""},"bs_saga":[207],"bs_season":[214],"class_list":["post-7939","bs_episode","type-bs_episode","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","bs_season-kts1-season-1"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t