The Observer
The advantages of old age, wisdom, and discretion.
Considered too old to understand, he watched, freely, openly, as the beloved young people around him strove and agonized, loved and denied, struggled and grew.
His beautiful protégé, for example, hardly yet suspected her heart's true intentions, much less did the inevitable object of her fledgling affections, so concrete and straightforward was he.
And the fiery amazon, she of the indomitable spirit and the fluttery heart: how long would she and the noble wounded one dance around each other?
Only Little Sparrow and Graceful Iris saw as much as he, but they lived far too lightly to pay any heed.
Review Responses: SiriusFan13, you know, of course, that I only know about the sparrow and the iris from your own haiku, don't you? Before that, I really never thought about what their names meant. I'm so glad you liked the Kenshin phrase, and its double meaning. Lolo popoki, yes, Dr. Gensai is pretty much ignored most of the time, but I find him a pleasant part of the background characters. Terry-McElrath, your praise really overwhelms me, but I'm awfully glad this pleased you. WolfDaughter, your assumptions are right, as usual! And I liked the sound of the last line, as well, so I'm glad it moved you, too. Omasuoniwabanshi, thanks! Writing this allowed me to "see" the gumi in a new way, literally with "new eyes", and it was very pleasant, indeed!