Oxen

Akiko ran toward her father's study.

"Jiko-"

She began, as she pushed her way into the room. She had thought he was already awake, but there Gengyo was, fast asleep, drooling onto the table.

She held back a giggle at the sight of him. He looked so harmless when he lay like that. Perhaps it was because his eyes were closed, so instead you could only see the delicate features of his face. They were average enough, to most, but to her, the more she looked, the more things she found she liked.

She admired him a while, and peaked past his head to read the scroll that he had been reviewing.

"In strategy, one must know himself before he seeks to know his opponent…"

She whispered, reading it aloud.

'Hmm…'