(Day 2, Late Afternoon, open) The Doctor Arrives

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi, late and still painfully sore, finally hobbles into the sickbay. Eyes hooded, he finds a stool and sits as soon as possible.

[Isawa O-Washi]

"You're late."

O-washi, who was sitting on one of the empty sickbeds studiously polishing the state to Jizo, spoke in a calm, easy voice, his eyes never rising from his task.

"Rather shameful, this being only your second day of full duty."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi nods once. "Hai, gunso." His mouth forms a thin line. "Though it would not be any less shameful on my fourth or my fortieth. I am sorry."

[Isawa O-Washi]

"No excuses? That's at least something."

The sound of polishing stopped as O-washi looked up, blue eyes stern. "Explain yourself, hohei."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

"I was..." He blushed. He couldn't help it...the circumstances were wedged on the border between embarrassment and hilarity.

"Yesterday, I took it upon myself to approach Yasuki Himiko and Akodo Jirishi in order to learn about, well, how to reach fighting weight." He began to study the floor. "The practice in the morning didn't seem too bad, so I decided I would work some more last night. I had already spent much of the night working on...working on a project, so it wasn't until early this morning that I got to sleep."

He sighed. "I must have over-exerted myself, because I overslept, and when I awoke I was in no small discomfort." A fresh twinge of pain shot through his neck, so he looked up again. "I am in no little discomfort."

[Isawa O-Washi]

"When you try to bend a bow too swiftly, it breaks. You cannot hope to go from a life of largely prayer and reflection to keeping up with trained bushi. Too, you have a responsibility to see to and while I applaud your desire for self-improvement, moderation is as importance as dedication."

With a few final rubs of the cloth, O-washi rose to stand on the berth and, carefully, place the small statue back in it's usual place. He hopped down easily and deposited the cloth in one of the buckets kept for old bandages that needed cleaned come landfall and then stood, arms crossed, and gave the smaller man his best 'disappointed' face.

"I came in here originally to give you an order, and now you've forced me to make that an order and a penalty. Since this is your first offense it won't be anything too dire but I truly hope you don't fail to report again because then I'll have to take it to the Captain which, I assure you, you absolutely do not want. Kind as he is, he takes discipline seriously." The big man sighed. "First, the order. You are to stay away from Dageki and his sister, Touhi, for the duration of this voyage, barring some sort of military action. Do I make myself clear?"

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi's eyes widened. "I..." A breath. "Hai, Isawa-sama."

[Isawa O-Washi]

The lack of argument won a flash of approval before the Isawa's 'Officer face' came back on. "Now. In punishment for failure to appear, you're going to spend two hours scrubbing the bathing tubs in the hold." One corner of his mouth went up. "I think you'll find working out a sore muscle can actually aid in easing the ache of it and so it will hopefully help even as the task teaches you to be more careful with your schedule next time."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

"Hai, Isawa-sama. Am I to do so now, or should I wait until my free time?"

[Isawa O-Washi]

"Free time, of course, otherwise it wouldn't be much of a punishment, would it. Now, come over here and I'll show you something else you'll be appreciating once you're done with your penalty."

Relaxing from his annoyed stance, O-washi moved to one of many cabinets and started pulling out jars.

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Obedient as only a former Contemplative can be, Daidoji Fuichi came to stand at the Isawa's side.

[Isawa O-Washi]

One by one, O-washi laid out jars containing several herbs, a bottle of some sort of oil, an empty bottle, and a large-ish tub of salt.

"One of the things I've learned in my time as a medic on the sea is how to use the gifts of the ocean itself to soothe the body. Done properly, you can make some really fine bath salts using only a few things you have to store because you can make or gather the rest yourself. Have you ever made salt, Daidoji-san?"

[Daidoji Fuichi]

"I cannot say that I have, Isawa-sama." Fuichi said, honest curiosity writ large on his face.

[Isawa O-Washi]

"Well, then, I'll have to teach you...should probably teach the rest while I'm at it." For a moment, a contemplative expression fell over the Isawa's face as he began to ponder the best means to do so before he shook himself, returning to the task at hand.

"I'm sure you've been to a natural onsen, neh? Well, it's the content of the water that makes them work so well. Different ones hold different elements and that's why you hear of some that are renowned more for, say, aching joints while others are lauded for easing of breathing. The ocean has a lot of fine properties, too, but you can had herbs to it to give it more of the impact you want. What we're about to make here is used to suck the pain out of muscles much the way salt draw moisture from food to preserve it for long journeys."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi nodded. "That makes sense. What should we add?"

[Isawa O-Washi]

"These here." O-washi opened several jars, releasing the strong scents of myrrh and frankincense into the small room. The less potently scented herbs in the other jars would take a bit more work to identify. "The oil is pressed from a certain coastal berry that's quite plentiful on the Isles of Spice and Silk...we want just enough of that to bind the herbs to the salt."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi took a step backwards, overwhelmed by the beautiful aromas. "And these will...loosen me up?" He tried to sound as innocent as possible, but there are certain phrases that a young man cannot utter without sounding salacious.

[Isawa O-Washi]

The multiple meanings weren't lost on the Isawa, who snickered a little. "That's a different concoction entirely. This will just make your poor abused muscles stop hating you quite so much."

Looking sidelong, he grinned and added, "If you wanted to learn something for that other need, though, I've got a recipe or two fro that too."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi's smile is somewhat less serene than the others he's given.

"I should love to," he says throatily as he meets the Isawa's eyes.

[Isawa O-Washi]

O-washi's grin widened into a cheerful leer. "All right, then, we'll cover that next, then." For a few moment's more, blue eyes studied the rather pretty Crane with heated intensity. Then it all disappeared, replaced by a teacher's patient serenity. "First, though, let's see how well you work with a new concoction. Do you usually learn by being told and working your way, reading off of a scroll, or demonstration?"