Rinzuki approaches the aftdeck, her gaze wandering towards Moshi Kaimenko as she bites her lip. "A little help might be needed for this," she mumbles as she pulls out a scroll and quickly reads the prayer upon it. As she finishes, the air kami swirl around her, whispering happy things about her into the minds of others.

With a deep breath, Rinzuki crosses the deck and stands near Kaimenko, waiting to be acknowledged.





(+1k1+3 on social skill checks, but mostly just for flavor)

Kaimenko was leaning against the rail between two ballista. Her eyes flick between the bit of wood in her hands and the horizon. The air kami tugs playfully at her hair as a small frown crosses her features. Dark brown eyes move to the Unicorn, the knife pausing in its work. There were a few curls of wood at her feet that the breeze plays with happily.

"Iuchi-san."

It was a greeting. Of sorts.

"Good afternoon, Moshi-sama." Rinzuki folds her arms behind her back as she gives the woman the biggest, most gosh-darned awesome-to-be-here smile she can muster. "How are you doing?"

Surely it was a trick of her eyes, but did the little figure Kaimenko was carving look like one of the other crew member? The Moshi frowns at the petite Unicorn, "Fine. What do you want?"

"I just wanted to ask - and might I say, Moshi-sama looks especially lovely today - but I just wanted to ask if Moshi-sama had any elbow grease." Rinzuki gently twists from one side to the other, almost like a small child. "I was told that you might."

"And why, pray tell, do you need elbow grease?" comes the flat, unsmiling question.

"Oh, I don't, but the captain does." She smiles happily. "I assume to grease some elbows...?"

To her credit, Kaimenko didn't roll her eyes. The woman was amazingly polite as she continues her inquiry. Of course, the Iuchi hadn't been on the boat long enough to know that this was (usually) a BAD sign.

"Did he tell you this?"

Rinzuki shakes her head. "No, one of the crew did, but it's been a few days...I just can't seem to find any anywhere."

She glances back at the captain's cabin with a brief frown. "I hope he hasn't been waiting all this time."

"Who and what exactly did they say?" she asks as her eyes drift towards the horizon. Kaimenko squints before taking a few curls from her carving.

Rinzuki gives a brief description of the sailor, and then mentions that the captain "Needed a big jar of elbow grease, as soon as she could find it."

Kaimenko's dark brown eyes fix on the Iuchi as she nods once at the description. "I see."

"Listen very carefully, Kitten, I'm only going to say this once and I want it to stick." she says with an edge of sarcasm, "Elbow grease is a colloquialism to refer to hard work. Got that? The boys were having a bit of laugh at your expense."

Rinzuki blinks her eyes as she stares at Kaimenko in surprise.

"Oh."

A pause.

"That explains why I couldn't find any, I guess."

The shugenja bites her lip as she raises one hand to push a few strands of hair behind her ear.

"Um...I apologize for wasting your time, Moshi-sama."

"Oh, you can certainly find it. For example, Cook wanted help hauling up a few things from the hold. Get Dageki-san to help you with it." was the Moshi's casual reply as she frees a small hand from the piece of wood.

Rinzuki frowns in confusion.

"But...I thought Moshi-sama said that it was a colloquialism?"

"It is. You were looking for hard work and you found it," she replies coldly, "For both you and Dageki-san."

"...Oh."

Biting her lip, Rinzuki looks up at Kaimenko with wide eyes.

"I don't suppose there is any way we could consider this a valuable lesson and leave it at that, is there...?

"I find lessons stick better when there's a physical component," the woman continues coolly as she shapes the figurine's hand, "But, if you prefer, the deck does need a bit of a scrub. Would you like that Kitten?"

"Carrying things up from the hold will be just fine," she mumbles, her gaze dropping down to the deck in resignation.

"I'm sure Ebisu-no-kami would agree," her eyes shift once more to the horizon, tracking along its empty length. "See to it."