[Day 4, Mid-Afternoon, Baths] Sweet Merciful Kami!

[Isawa Junpei]

Though the air was humid and warm, the feel of the warm water was not diminished in the slightest. Junpei closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Though he might not have liked his current location within the port city, he was glad he'd come ashore. Doing his laundry properly and soaking, made him feel human again. Though he'd taken pains to remain clean each and every day on board the Half Moon. Sometimes a bath at sea just made you feel dirtier. Not today, though. Today he got to truly enjoy the simple pleasure of a bath.

[Daidoji Fuichi]

There was a smooth sound of a towel dropping on the stone followed by the soft, silky sound of a body slowly slinking into the water. Daidoji Fuichi let out a contented sigh, resting his tired legs by sitting primly on a submerged bench.

[Isawa Junpei]

The Phoenix opened his eyes slowly, though a part in the back of his mind chastised him for being so complacent in a place this dangerous. Finding Fuichi, however, he decided to go easy on himself and offered a slightly larger smile than he would otherwise. They were in a bathhouse after all and decorum could be set aside somewhat. "Konichiwa, Daidoji-san, somehow you were one of the last people I expected to find here on the island, not that I have much place judging."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi opened his eyes, revealing their sparkling humor. "Konnichiwa, Isawa-san. In truth, I do not think I could have been kept away. There is far too much to see, and it would be tragic to come so far and not experience it."

[Isawa Junpei]

"Certainly not an answer I expected from a Crane. But take no offense, it's not something I would expect from any of the traditional clans, Phoenix included. In truth, I wouldn't have even come but I couldn't say no to a real bath and the prospect of knowledge about these gaijin swayed me. No doubt the Master's would be interested in anything I might be able to glean about these people; their culture, their way of life, their...well, I hesitate to say so...their magic and religion. Blasphemous may they be, the Inquisitors might find it very enlightening in their pursuit of heresies in the empire."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi only smiled. "I was trained to stay in one room for my entire life. That is impossible now, but why turn away the blessings of Fate? In this moment I have traveled farther than almost any other Crane in the history of the Empire. That's a long way to come for a Contemplative and a Carver of Statues, ne?"

He rolled his head back to work out a bit of tension. "Besides, I had to speak with the Kaze-kami. They were strong on that tower. Very strong."

[Isawa Junpei]

"Which tower?" Junpei inquired. He'd sense the flow of the air spirits through the streets, and could guess where the Daidoji meant, but it was easier to confirm it this way.

[Daidoji Fuichi]

He tilted his head to begin to wash his long hair. "The watchtower on the outskirts. The closeness there is...well, magical."

[Isawa Junpei]

He offered a nod of agreement, "On my way to the embassy I noticed a distinct flow of the spirits towards the tower. Dragon lines for the kaze-kami are rare so it was certainly of note. Still, I think if I commune, I will do it from the placidity of the embassy. The balance provided here will help with my conversations with all the spirits."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi frowned.
"Let me know what you hear. I...things are not peaceful here, not by a long shot."

[Isawa Junpei]

"I've felt a strange sensation at the edge of my senses, almost out of reach. I don't know what it is, but it this tinge...ineffable in an infuriating way, like trying to find the correct word, knowing that it exists somewhere in your mind, and then nothing."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi's frown deepened. "The kami at the tower were frightened. No, frightened isn't the right word. The feeling was despair. Utter despair." He fell silent. "I think we may have put our feet in it this time."

[Isawa Junpei]

Junpei could not offer the same kind of feeling behind his words, having not yet communed with the spirits, but he tried to empathize. "It very well may be. I pray it is not, or that it is a matter that can be solved by the gaijin alone. Rokugan has faced many a horror and survived. Perhaps now we will see if the Ivory Kingdoms is equal to the task."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi frowned slightly. "The number of refugees in the city would suggest that they will be hard pressed. Even when Sozen defiled Shinden Asahina I did not feel so completely without hope as when they spoke of it. No, her. They gendered her female."

[Isawa Junpei]

"How unsettling," the Phoenix remarked back sinking lower into the bath, "It is unfortunate that we have no way to study the records of the Ivory Kingdoms."

"Wait," Junpei paused, "Did you say refugees? How did you find out that so many of them are refugees."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi cocked his head. "They are living very close together in tents while other people have houses. Everything is really, really crowded, and the Captain tried to discourage us from going to the markets without one of the Mantis or Tortoise who are used to things. Everything here smells of fear."

He looked directly into Junpei's eyes. "When you fled Kyuden Isawa, did you not end up in similar situations? I can tell you of the stifling atmosphere in Shinden Asahina as the Crab passed in a wave of steel, how the heimin cried for succour, for food. This is the same thing. I could never forget it."

[Isawa Junpei]

Images flashed in the young Phoenix's mind of life after the attack, though in all honesty being among the tensai he stayed in Shiro Shiba with the other attendants to the Masters. Still, he remembered the tent city that had sprung up overnight around the oddly shaped palace. "This land is completely new to me. The Unicorn still have a certain like for their yurts after their years of itinerant living. That these people simply inhabit tents did not seem, to me, to be beyond the realm of possibility. Their fear, that I paid no mind. There are many reasons to fear, and that a gaijin town would reek of sin does not surprise me. But, it is no doubt, as you say, and thus a matter worth consideration."

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Fuichi tried to think of a different topic. It's hard to segue out of 'Oh, we're in a refugee camp, but they have nice bathrooms.' Slightly embarrassed by his doomsaying, Fuichi elected to immerse himself for a short time.

It was good.

[Isawa Junpei]

There was no way Junpei was going to be the one to get them out of this dead end, and so he just leaned back and enjoyed the baths as well. Besides, that was exactly why he'd come on land in the first place. He could practically feel the water easing away his tension and for a time he managed to even forget that he was tens of thousands of miles from the Empire amidst barbarians. At least one one small parcel of land on one small island off the coast of the Ivory Kingdoms there was a singular bastion of civility.

[Daidoji Fuichi]

Finally, subsumed by the new tension in the room, he states "Sometimes I worry about Isawa-gunso. He's forever going without sleep, sometimes for more than an entire day."