[Day 5, Late Evening, Open] A Night in Port

[Mirumoto Itsuho]

Itsuho had spent the evening bathing herself as best she could. Cold baths had ever been her way, but it was still a temptation when she thought of hot baths. She had dried and redressed and made her way into the main crew quarters. She sat on the floor at the moment, long legs folded under her. She wasn't so much meditating at the moment as she was dwelling on ideas. A small scroll of Shinsei's teachings lay on the floor in front of her.

[Kakita Sugita]

Sugita does not feel comfortable sleeping in gaijin territory. His visit to the embassy in the morning didn't help. He chooses to stay on the ship. And if tonight is for some kind of meditation, that works. He collapses backward until he lays on his back with legs bent, and sighs. About a meter from the Mirumoto.

[Mirumoto Itsuho]

The woman does not stir for a long moment, but she finally gives a low bow from her knees before she slips back down into the lotus potition. Her voice is soft, distant, as if in a reverie. "Kakita-sama, konbon-wa. You have returned to the ship I see. How was the city?"

[Kakita Sugita]

"The Embassy was alright. I didn't see much anything else. Really cool looking ships out there." Sugita wonders idly about getting a tour, but he won't proclaim that out loud. Boarding gaijin ships? Really?

[Mirumoto Itsuho]

She gives a small nod. "The easy response would be that there's nothing else TO see out there, at least nothing worth a Rokugani's gaze. I've been looking at the ships as well, from here. They are... interesting at the least."

[Kakita Sugita]

"The rigging is interesting. And the shape of their hulls. Looks like they ride deeper than ours. That would be weird, riding a boat with your head well below water level."

[Mirumoto Itsuho]

The Dragon gave a very slight smile as she shrugged. "It is strange enough to me that we are floating upon the water in such a heavy vessel in the first place. Perhaps if I were more used to the sea life I would find the distinction more troubling or thought provoking."

[Kakita Sugita]

"Wood floats." It's a fact that Sugita sounds incredibly certain about, and certain about that being all the reason needed for understanding why boats float. "And wood isn't really that heavy. Unless there is a lot of it."

[Mirumoto Itsuho]

"And there is quite a bit of wood on this boat, Kakita-sama... along with metal, and food, and people. Still, it does float well enough, and I have no worries about us sinking any time soon."

She gets out of the lotus position, quite certain she won't be meditating any more. "I am sure their own boats are no more pleasant than the Half Moon is. For all the small space, it is about as pleasant as such a space can be."

[Kakita Sugita]

Well... It is mostly wood. And air. ... "Ever seen one of the personal kobune owned by wealthy merchants or Lords?"

[Mirumoto Itsuho]

She shook her head slightly. "I was in port only the day I came onto the Half Moon. I may have passed one or two, but I was busy with other matters at the time. I fear opulence is not something I have truly witnessed in my life."

[Kakita Sugita]

"Oh, they're opulent. Lots of space. Open space." Not surprising from a Dragon. Sugita rolls his head over to look Itsuho up and down. Really hard to tell if she's the monkish type when everybody is in the same getup.

[Mirumoto Itsuho]

Itsuho's hair was long, quite unmonkish, but she seemed to have few possessions by her bunk either. She certainly ACTED quite thoughtful and contemplative. "I am not sure I could live with such finery around me Kakita-sama. I have always lived with small meals, simple surroundings, little in the way of possessions or such. Still... a boat with more space to move around on, I think I could like that easily enough."

[Kakita Sugita]

"Yeah. It could be nice. Enough room to play a game on or something. I've only ever tried playing Go on a boat once. We could never get more than 3 moves in before something spilled."

[Mirumoto Itsuho]

The woman almost laughed. Almost. A small smile touched her lips though for a moment. "Perhaps if you played Go with glue on the bottom of the pieces it would work better? Though, taking off captures would be hard, and the board would need to be tossed away after."

[Kakita Sugita]

"It would be." His head rests itself upon his hand while he lays on his side. And he smiles. "I know someone who tried using bowls to put the pieces in. But with the size of the bowls the board would take more space than we have on the ship. I thought of making a board with a lot of small bowls. Never did. Dunno why I haven't seen any that way."

[Mirumoto Itsuho]

Itsuho shook her head. "Perhaps it is just easier bringing dice for Fortunes and Winds onto the boat rather than constructing anything so elaborate as all that. Though, I have hardly played much of either game, so I woudn't understand." She tapped the scroll she had rolled up. "Not as entertaining perhaps, but a good bit more portable, and enduring, other than the humidity."

[Kakita Sugita]

Sugita hadn't actually taken a look before it was rolled up. "What is it?"

[Mirumoto Itsuho]

The Dragon unrolled it a little, showing just the first few sayings. "Meditations from the Tao of Shinsei. They help to focus the mind and spirit I find, reading it. Again though, far less gaming than Go, though just as thoughtful, if not more so."

[Kakita Sugita]

"I really don't know how you can make a game out of the Tao..."