In a corner of the aft deck out of the way, Asahina Narumi has converted a small portion of the deck into a small, makeshift shrine. She has small statues of Suitengu and Benten placed on the deck and incense brazier burning a small bit of material. She offers her prayers to the kami quietly and keeps an eye on the brazier. It is well within her reach.

Fuichi appears nearby. He finds being on deck unsettling, even if the word is that they'll be out of the Sea of Shadows soon. A small smile brightens his face as he spots the Asahina. Reverently, he unwraps his statue of Kaze-no-Kami and goes to kneel beside her, offering his prayers with quiet devotion.

Narumi acknowledges the Daidoji with a kindly smile and a nod, but otherwise is not drawn from her prayers as yet. She did not wish to interrupt her fellow priests own devotions. She does make a few private prayers to Kaze-no-kami in the direction of his statue, since there is now a proper effigy of him available.

After all of her prayers are finished the Asahina pulls a small bowl that contains some kawaru coins from her obi and places them on the deck. Pulling out each of the coins in turn, she then tosses them all into the bowl once more and begins reading them.

"Oh, yes, we all come together,
We know what to do,
We all come together,
To sing we love you.

And we all come together,
We know what to do,
We all come together,
To sing just for you."

Kakita Sugita sings as he walks toward the aft of the ship. Little did he know there are people doing religious stuff there. Dammit. Sugita pauses mid stride and his song dwindles slowly to nothing. His blinky stare takes in the situation.

Fuichi ends his prayers with the traditional three claps before rising and dusting off the knees of his mendicant's robe. He'd tried the uniform on that morning and had felt...weird. This felt better in almost every way. Finally noticing the Kakita, he offered a pleasant bow.

"Good morning, Kakita-san."

"Ohayo-gozaimasu", Sugita replies cheerfully. "Is it some kind of holiday?"

Fuichi's brow furrowed. "No, I don't think so." A shrug. "But one cannot receive the assistance of the Fortunes if one waits for holidays to offer one's devotions."

Seiko approached the group from behind the Kakita. She wasn't trying to make any unnecessary noise, but she wasn't trying to mask her approach either.

Whatever was being said... she wasn't involved in the conversation. At least, not yet.

So she stood there. Politely. Quietly.

Watching. Listening.

Fuichi raised an eyebrow toward the Kakita, then turned to the approaching Kaiu.

"Blessings of the Morning, Kaiu-san. We haven't met, I think. This one is Daidoji Fuichi, late of Shinden Asahina. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Seiko bowed to Fuichi directly, although it could be said that she was bowing to the group as a whole.

"The Cranes have gathered, several, all in a row. Were best that they are Cranes and not some other, on this sea that should not be. It would be ill indeed if Lady Doji took a liking to, say, the vulture instead. So I shall take this gathering as a sign of good omen and be glad."

She blinked, and then smiled, not a friendly or polite smile, but as if she was distantly remembering a joke.

"This one is Kaiu Seiko. I greet you back, Daidoji-sama, and thank you for the blessings you have so generously given me."

Fuichi liked to think that he appreciated poetry. He wasn't sure about this.

"I've met one or two of your cousins on the vessel. They seem to be veterans, for the most part. Did you serve in the Crab navy as well?"

"Hai, Daidoji-sama. I served on the Thunder of Osano-Wo for a tour. What of you?"

There was something off about Seiko in the way she looked at Fuichi. Kind of hard to point one's finger on it though.

Actually, it wasn't the way she looked at Fuichi. It was... just the way she looked at everything.

He smiled placidly in an effort to dispel the uneasiness.

"This is my first time serving on a vessel, though I grew up around them in Mura Sabishii Toshi. Father is a Taisa
in the Daidoji fleet and my brothers are all sailors. I had other talents, however."

"We all have other talents. The trick is getting to use them in the best way before we die. Do you think you are using your other talents in the best way before you die?"

The way she said that last part made it unclear if she was referring to sooner rather than later.

Fuichi smiled serenely. "I find that a difficult question, but I like to think so."

"I would like to think so too." She tilted her head a little. "If this one may ask, what do you here?"

He inclined his head.

"Our roles are as yet undefined. I hope to serve either as a medic or carpenter, as I am quite proficient in both roles."

Her eyes seemed to focus more on the Daidoji, and a kind of smile that is more genuine and friendly and... there!... came to her lips.

"Oh. A carpenter. That's good. We need more of those."

Apparently being a carpenter meant more to the Kaiu than his being a medic or a shugenja.

He nodded.
"It is an art overlooked by many, unfortunately. I find that it brings me peace in even the most strenuous of situations. Well, almost the most strenuous."

After a good while of looking over the coins, the Asahina scoops them and the bowl up and places them back in her obi pouch. She then extinguishes the incense and empties it overboard. As she looks down she rocks back away from the side unsteadily, still not use to the sight of moving water below the rail. She wraps the statues in some cloth and takes them up into her arms before approaching the Kaiu and her fellow Crane. "I apologize for my distraction. With the rules about fire, I thought it prudent to take care of the slight spark of incense before anything else," she says, readily inserting herself into conversation with a cheerful smile, an apology and a bow.