[Day 7, Early Evening] Rumours

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi shrugged. "Different, certainly. It seems to work for them."

[Isawa O-Washi]

"Have you seen any of their magic? I wonder if it is the same sort of effect we strive for...healing and aid in battle or travel or if they have other desires." Ever the Phoenix, the gunso was curious. "It would be fascinating to see...I wonder what Iuchi-sama would say, if it's like the Unicorn's Meishodo at all."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

"I haven't, but I understand that our envoy had some kind of spell cast on him to facilitate communication. Seems useful, though it's easy to see why no such prayer has been crafted in the Empire."

[Isawa O-Washi]

"Indeed. Any civilized being speaks Rokugani." He snorted. "I suppose if one was a Crab being able to speak to the Nezumi is useful but beyond that I can't imagine why we'd care."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi frowned. That hadn't been his point at all. Yet, he was beginning to suspect that his view on the subject might be a touch dangerous, so he wisely kept his mouth shut.

"Do we know when we are leaving?"

[Isawa O-Washi]

"If tonight's action goes well? Soon. If it doesn't?"

The gunso sighed.

"Still soon, but the odds will be against our making it out. Captain's hoping taking this one will make it so the enemy's flotilla can't take ours but if we weaken ourselves too badly, that may not be the case."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

"I have every confidence in our bushi.' Fuichi nodded. "I am sure everything will be fine."

[Isawa O-Washi]

Battle-hardened as the Phoenix was, he was not nearly so optimistic.

"From your lips to the Fortune's ears. I was going to go to the Armory after this to offer prayers to Bishamon to help ensure that outcome, insomuch as one man's prayers make any difference."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi smiled his gentle smile. "And I'll be here, waiting for the deluge."

[Isawa O-Washi]

"Let's hope it's not that many. A trickle'd be best, given how little space we've got."

Ruefully, he looked at the hole he'd made.

"Well. Maybe we could expand, at that."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi took the opportunity to laugh. "We'll have to work on that temper of yours. It seems like it has been hazardous to your health."

[Isawa O-Washi]

"I come by it by way of my father, who serves fire." The rueful grin widened. "Some of the rows he had with my next-eldest sister lit the rooms they were in on fire to the point where they'd only speak outside, just in case it went badly."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi struck a mock-scandalized pose. "And how many furnishings were lost! Think of the curtains!" He began to giggle.

"My family has almost no magical affiliation, but my older brothers were always rambunctious. They drove my mother to distraction, especially when they accompanied father to Winter Court at Shiro Kitsuki and saw mountain goat for the first time. After that it was 'Ichiro! You have selected one of my Bokken! I CHALLENGE YOOOU!!' Then...then they would ram their heads together at full speed."

He sighed, wiping away a tear of mirth. "My sister would often say that the sound from their collision proved that their heads were distinctly hollow."

[Isawa O-Washi]

That made O-washi snort in laughter. "I'm the only boy of the four of us. My eldest sister was ground under by our mother very early and had no spirit to speak of but my next eldest would scrap with me all the time. She's two years older than me but I've been big for my age as long as I can remember so she didn't have much of an advantage on me. I'm sure I'd have played with my little sister too except my parents shipped me off to train very early, before she was able to do much more than toddle about and gabble at me. Mostly, I played with Hiromi-chan and the children of the other samurai stationed at the Kyuden."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

"My sister was the eldest and the best of us. Mother was able to arrange a position for her in the Empress' Guard under the Righteous Emperor Toturi III." Even with the weighty implications of that statement, his voice still rings with pride.

"Sanzaemon and Kosui are my older brothers, and they took to the sea just like Father, though Sanzaemon did not spend a year on the Wall as Father did. My little brother was a surprise, and because we were able to play together without breaking each other, unlike me and my older brothers, I suppose I got along best with him."

He sighed. "Sanzaemon is such a pest, but I imagine that both he and Kosui would want me to lighten up more." He smirked. "Would you believe that I, brazen, licentious Daidoji Fuichi, am the prude in my family?"

[Isawa O-Washi]

"Given the ties to the Crab your kin seem to have? Hai, I'd believe it." O-washi laughed. "My own family is horribly traditional. Why, I'd no notion of this sort of relationship outside of a vague sort of awareness that it existed until a few years ago. I got introduced to it on one of the leaves I got instead of Musha Shugyo by a Soshi, one I met during the month I spent in contemplation at Hotei Seido. I was rather resistant at first but he, and a few bottles of sake, convinced me that it was foolish to spurn the dish untasted, so to speak."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

"A Soshi? Scorpion men can be so handsome..." Fuichi sighs dreamily. "My first was with a Kakita visiting the temples. I was still a novice." He blushes. "It was so cliche. A Dashing Duelist, the Blushing Non-Combatant, a dark corner swathed in silks." A chuckle. "Right out of a pillow book, but I suppose they write them that way for a reason, those crafty Kakita."

[Isawa O-Washi]

O-washi sniggered but nodded. "My Soshi friend was a fellow priest, rather older than either of us but with that streaking of silver that makes a man of experience look dashing, not old. For him, the joy was in conquest and once he'd won me over he was done, which was fine by me as I wasn't sure what I thought of it for a while."

Leaving the berth, the gunso began to pick up the shards of wood he'd scattered. "In the interest of knowledge, I repeated the experiment first chance I got, this time stone sober. Another man of the Scorpion, given that's who's lands I was in at the time. This one was young, one of their actors who was travelling in the same caravan as I was. He was very impressed by the Imperial uniform and flirted shamelessly." Here, he winked at Fuichi. "Yes, even more shamelessly than you. He was still quite surprised when I was agreeable...I think it was half an act, one he'd convinced himself was true, and when the time came to put words to deeds he was very shy. It was cute, in a way. We parted friends at journey's end a few week's later and I still exchange letters with him, passing him word of any good tales I hear that might make good plays in exchange for the odd invitation when I'm stationed somewhere with the culture to have a playhouse with a Scorpion patron."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi smirked. "I am beginning to get the impression that you are much more experienced than I am. It's not easy to carry on affairs in the cloisters, that much I can attest to. After all, I remained in one room for a full year with very little outside contact. Just me, the kami, and my art." A thoughtful expression crossed his face. "There is nothing like working 16 hours per day to increase one's skill."

[Isawa O-Washi]

Both of the larger man's eyes widened. "Bayushi's balls, man! That sounds a wretchedly dull life. Even when I was training to be a tensai and studying fiercely I was able to steal an hour or so each day to swim in the lakes." Shaking his head in dismay, O-washi said, "That settles it. One way or another, if we both make it back in one piece I'm dragging you off to Kyuden Gotei straight off. I'm not a jealous man when it comes to entertainment and we'll get your properly seasoned in a fortnight or less, I know just the brothels to go off to to do it, too."