[Day 7 – Early Evening, Baths] Bath before Bloodshed (Open)

[Bayushi Hoshi]

Hoshi lifted her brows when Zenko surfaced again. "Maybe. Even as a Scorpion, a bushi's strength is to be direct since we can't skirt around with pleasantries." There was a trace of a smirk on her lips. "But I think I prefer more not putting somebody at unease unless I had a good reason to."

[Usagi Zenko]

He nods slightly at that. "So there's no one on the ship, that you'd wish to have such a surprise?"

[Bayushi Hoshi]

“Would I have somebody I wish to surprise?” Hoshi asked him back. "Do you think of me as a shrewd Usagi-san?"

[Usagi Zenko]

He chuckles. "With that kind of question, and the thought of caution as to the creation of spicy mochi, hai, you do at least pretend to have such a trait."

[Bayushi Hoshi]

Hoshi showed a faint smile. “Scorpions are just naturally cautious Usgai-san. Shrewdness is a trait more befitting of my siblings.”

[Usagi Zenko]

He nods at that. "Hai, fair enough," he holds a finger against the side of his nose, knowingly. "We are all our own person, the tools of our lords now bent in service of our Captain, and through him our Empress."

He leans back, sighing a little.

[Bayushi Hoshi]

"If you were to put our lives into its most simplest form, then those words may be the sum of our service in the Imperial Legions." Hoshi nodded.

[Usagi Zenko]

He nods, and then flicks a bit of water at the Bayushi. "Who wants simple?"

[Bayushi Hoshi]

Said Bayushi partly lifted her arm from the water to block what Zenko was flicking at her. "Who gets simple? Other than the heimen and eta. I never said that just because our mission is clear, that our duty here would be easy. A training mission, in a strange place, is an example."

[Usagi Zenko]

The Hare nods at that. "Somehow, I think we've gone past the calculated training mission our Captain once desired for us to have."

[Bayushi Hoshi]

“It’s a little silly to be lamenting any of this in the present Usagi-san.” Hoshi said with a weary smile. "It's better to spend that effort thinking about combat stances and pepper-trapped mochi anyway."

[Usagi Zenko]

"Hai, very true." he rubs his chin a little. "Ah! I remember what I wanted to ask you after your costume..." He smiles, "How did you know how to wear it? It looked a little complicated."

[Bayushi Hoshi]

There was a sudden blink from Hoshi. "...You're interested in how I wear my clothes Usagi-san?" She gave a shake of her head before continuing on. "It wasn't that complicated really. I was taught but their shirts and pants aren't more complicated that those of Rokugan."

[Usagi Zenko]

The Hare nods, "Hai, I admit you cut quite a dashing figure in them." he smiles a bit, "But if they were all that difficult to wear, asking a charming woman such as yourself to do so again would require a larger favor, no?"

He chuckles a little, looking across the bath. "Trying to organize a cross-cultural exchange of sorts with this Jayant Utpal. A sharing of foods, and I thought sharing of clothing styles would be something that would expand the interest of those who'd attend, hai?"

[Bayushi Hoshi]

Hoshi merely gave Zenko an even stare, this lasted for a bit. She eventually broke off and chuckled dryly as she glanced around the baths. "Your compliments are very subtle, perhaps I should be thankful that I was clever enough to catch them Usagi-san. Thank you. Maybe in the future...you shouldn't let it become a habit. Especially sharing a bath with a woman. Even if she is naked. You could make her anxious." She ended with a lift of her brows.

She let out a small breath as she coolly changed with the topic. "Ah, Jayant. I had a chance to speak with him briefly. If there could be such an arrangement in a time like this...we should welcome it with the time we have left ne?"

[Usagi Zenko]

He nods, giving a faint smile. "Thought you might appreciate subtle more than blunt force trauma." he comments, "and hai. Who knows...if this is truly the end of their civilization...remembering even a little of it seems like defiance to those attempting to wipe them out."

He shakes his head, "And Fortunes be kind, it won't be their end, and so perhaps they'll remember us a little more kindly."

[Bayushi Hoshi]

"Are you a historian Usagi-san? I won't think of myself so greatly to be able to carry their ways into remembrance. That is not an honour that I have nor one they may appreciate a gaijin taking. It is their way. I hope that they won't end but...Scorpions are never optimist by nature."

[Usagi Zenko]

He snorts a little. "You sound like my uncle a bit there. No, I'm no historian. But I'm reminded of what happened to the Tao because of the lying darkness...and the cost any force of such wanton destruction can wreck."

"Can't help wanting to fight against it, I suppose."

[Bayushi Hoshi]

Hoshi lifted her brows. "Oh? Somebody must have made friends here."

[Usagi Zenko]

He shakes his head. "No, my efforts to talk to the locals tended to be cut short, other than Jayant at least. Or do you mean someone else?"