Sorry, Kai-chan...(Day 6, Late AM)

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi closed his eyes as he sipped his drink. "My Grandfather once tried to float the Golden Orchid up the river toward Tsuma to see my father take part in a tournament there. The presence of trees makes the use of sails impossible, and so he relied heavily on punts and the current. Yet, for all the work of his crew, he found that he could make no progress. The river flowed north as well as south, and that is why he could not find the current."

He knocked back a drink.

"So are we all."

[Agasha Qian-Fan]

The Crane earned himself a less than friendly stare. Wittering on about rivers and philosophy wasn't going to stop Qian-Fan's urge to burn something to the ground. Seeing only alcohol and no tea he found a servant and made a few brusque commands to have what he required brought.

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi frowned. Some Phoenix.

"Does it surprise you that your mistrust is reciprocated, that they see us as animals as well? This was in the works the instant we arrived. You could see it on the faces of some of the bushi."

He turned to O-Washi. "We need to leave, and that right soon."

[Agasha Qian-Fan]

"Have you had the . . . displeasure to be targeted by one of their own sorceries, Daidoji-san?"

He gave little pause for the Crane to answer.

"I have never felt anything so . . . wrong. It is bad enough what has been done to my clanmate never mind to be put through such strictures on calling the kami."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

"What's been done to your clanmate?" It is Fuichi's turn to be confused. "What do you mean?"

Let's see...Nozomi won't leave the boat, Naomi? Total bushi, not likely to get in trouble. Junpei. Damnation.

"What did Junpei-san do?"

[Kakita Sugita]

Sugita waves his hand. Maybe they hadn't heard him...

[Agasha Qian-Fan]

Qian-Fan glanced at O-Washi and clamped his mouth shut as he closed his eyes.

"My apologies, Daidoji-san, my temper has gotten the better of me. I will not speak of Junpei-san's actions at present, unless Isawa-sama grants me permission."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi nodded. The storm? No...

"Then I will leave it to Junpei-san to tell me when he returns." It's said with the certainty of that event clear in every syllable.

Then he turns to the Kakita. "I see you, Kakita-san, though I am surprised to. Weren't you going to stay on the boat?"

[Agasha Qian-Fan]

"Kakita-san."

Qian-Fan bowed his head in acknowledgement to the other Crane and went back to fuming silently until his tea arrived.

[Kakita Sugita]

"Yeah... Rumors of trouble here, so I've brought my sword arm. Don't plan on going outside the Embassy. I'll be back at the ship during my normal shift hours to watch there too."

"Which isn't terribly long from now. Enough time to drink before my swim date."

[Isawa O-Washi]

O-washi, who had been dutifully pouring rounds for those who wanted to drink, leveled Qian-Fan with his gaze. "If we were back home, Agasha-san, he'd have gotten the same or worse. At least here, he doesn't stain his line with the horrors of what he did. There's no point blaming the local people when the wrong would be punished as badly or worse at home."

Because the others probably didn't know he added, "Junpei midwifed some kami into being kansen on one of the watchtowers, thus the sanctions. It's more complicated than that, but that's the damning facts."

[Agasha Qian-Fan]

Qian-Fan reacted like he'd been slapped and retreated back into himself, not even noticing when a servant arrived with his tea. The servant eventually nervously placing the tray on the floor beside the Agasha.

[Kakita Sugita]

"He did wha -COUGH- -COUGH-" Wrong hole. Bad time to hear news like that. Sugita only gets it under control by pounding down the rest of his glass. "That explains the new rules I guess."

[Isawa O-Washi]

The big gunso, who had been ready to whack the poor Kakita on the back to clear his breathing, instead simply poured him more sake, killing that bottle. As he started to fight the cork on the next, he nodded grimly. "Exactly so. It was an accident, mind, but the results are the same. I'm somewhat impressed they let Captain delegate approval down even to Moshi-sama and I."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi turned his head to better hide the outpouring of emotion he was sure would reach his face. "Hai, I suppose that he has been lucky, absurd as that sounds."

He took a deep breath. "I am growing concerned with the growing number of...misunderstandings between us and the Power in the city. What, precisely, do we need to learn in order to get out of here?"

[Isawa O-Washi]

"It's more complicated than just learning what we want to know and sailing merrily away."

O-washi sighed and knocked back another round.

"The people here are scared and desperate. They want to survive, which seems to mean leaving this land entirely. I doubt very much that we'd have an easy time going if we wanted to without them fighting to force us to take at least some of their people along. After all, we're supposed to be allies...if we just abandon them, they'll see it as betrayal and may just decide that we're part of the group against them. Then we'll be lucky to leave alive with what we've learned."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi considered for a long moment. "Well, if we must stay, then we must. It makes small difference to me personally. After all, if one has been dying for the past five years, speeding the process seems like a small mercy, no?"

A dark chuckle. "Actually, the danger is somewhat...stimulating. Not so much so as this excellent sake, however."

[Kakita Sugita]

"We're allies?" That's surprising news to Sugita.

[Isawa O-Washi]

"Dying...?" O-washi raised a brow at Fuichi but said no more of that, just pouring yet more sake for everyone who wanted it while answering Sugita. "Yes, though it is quiet. As I understand it, the Majaraja two before this one required herbs only found in the Empire to keep him alive. He sent ambassadors via the Mantis, who in turn bespoke the Emperor. The Toturi were never as strict as the Hantei and so a quiet alliance of trade was permitted, though it was channeled through the Mantis and, to a lesser degree, the Tortoise. During the time of the War of the Spirits, there was some sort of war here that the Mantis took part in, though I don't know more of it than that...I'd never even heard of the conflict until we got here, in fact."

O-washi sighed, taking a drink. This was the first he'd had of this variety and he paused, peering at the bottle. "Huh...not bad...didn't know the Kaiu were good with sake. Interesting."

Reminded he was supposed to be talking of the current situation, he went on, 'Anyway, it seems the opponent last time's behind the problems now, only they've gotten themselves a lot more power."

[Kakita Sugita]

"Uh-huh... So the Mantis stirred up trouble?" It is VERY easy to believe, so of course that is immediately where Sugita goes.