Dark Edge Village

Tomonaga had not found himself incapacitated by milk, nor meat, nor alcohol. Nor fire, nor Oni, for that matter. Indeed, he had slept quite well, a good, untroubled sleep. Then, up early in the morning, and a quick wash with a bucket and a pass with the comb was enough to restore his effortless good looks, making him ready for the day.

It was not long after that Tomonaga made his way to the administrative center. He stood close to the notice board, carefully studying the pictures, his brow furrowed with the effort of his concentration.

Shinjo Liu Yue was also not incapacitated by the day's prior meal. Any discomfort she had had lasted shorter than the more unfortunate souls of the camp.

She too went to gaze at the notice board. It was impossible for her to contain her frown when she saw herself at the bottom. "Ohayou gozaimasu," she announced, her Rokugani still slow. She gave a deep bow to the man, hoping she did not startle him. "Watakushi wa Shinjo Liu Yue desu."

Tomonaga's concentration was not so deep that he didn't hear someone approach, although he is still surprised when that someone spoke. He turned.

It was almost unnoticeable; Tomonaga covered it well. But it is hardest to lie with the eyes; there is the slightest flash of some emotion in them as he notices the extent of the Unicorn's injuries. And then, that was hidden as well.

Tomonaga bowed, matching Liu Yue's formality for the moment. "Good morning, ah, Shinjo-san." He'd only had to learn a few new mons. "I hope the day is treating you well. A little warm, eh?" He didn't quite smile at her, but came close, the corners of his mouth twitching.

Yue was wearing the same kimono from last night, at the dinner. It was much more comfy, given the weather. "Hai. It is warm," she said with the same, enunciating tone as always. She glanced back to the board and noticed his picture closer to the top. "You are doing well, Yasuki-dono," she commented. Her lips turned to a smile. "You will be one of the first to select a bride."

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Heraldry/Intelligence Fluff Roll TN 5: 12 Success

Thus encouraged, Tomonaga gave her a smile of his own. "Please, Shinjo-san. No -dono, please. Ah, my name is Yasuki Tomonaga. But you already knew that, I see." Chuckling, he waved his hand at his picture, and his name written underneath it. "And here I thought it wasn't the best likeness." Turning, he tried to imitate his portrait, making the same face. He could only hold it for a moment before he shook his head, smiling.

Looking back at Yue, Tomonaga raised his brows expectantly, waiting for her to introduce herself.

"Tomonaga-san then," she said, continuing to smile. She was starting to question why some people asked her not to refer to them as -dono and others did not care. She then looked back at the picture and then rolled her eyes at herself. I didn't think my eyesight was that bad. The Unicorn turned back to him and her grin became even wider. "That is amusing, Tomonaga-san," she said genuinely. It was only her lack of experience with the language that perhaps made it sound sarcastic.

Hiroji found himself awakened quite early. He had slept rather well, if fitfully, all things considered and found himself in need of some walking to clear his mind.
Walking past the administration centre, Hiroji noticed Tomonaga and a new Unicorn both eyeing the notice board. He approached them.
Hiroji bowed to Tomonaga. "Good morning Tomonaga-sama." and nodded to the strange Unicorn, introducing himself. "Good morning, I am Kaiu Hiroji."

Shinjo Liu Yue wrote:"Tomonaga-san then," she said, continuing to smile. She was starting to question why some people asked her not to refer to them as -dono and others did not care. She then looked back at the picture and then rolled her eyes at herself. I didn't think my eyesight was that bad. The Unicorn turned back to him and her grin became even wider. "That is amusing, Tomonaga-san," she said genuinely. It was only her lack of experience with the language that perhaps made it sound sarcastic.

The meaning was clear enough from her smile; again, Tomonaga returned it. "Oh, good. It was worth the effort, then."

He turned back to the board with a sigh. "But yeah, I'm doing pretty well. It still feels strange, though, don't you think? It's not really the sort of thing I expected to be rated on." His mode of speaking was rather casual.

The approach of Hiroji made Tomonaga turn. "Ah, Hiroji-san." He bows. "Allow me to introduce Shinjo Liu Yue." Turning to Yue, he added "-and this is Kaiu Hiroji. We traveled to your lands together."

Hiroji looks at Yue for a moment. More curiously than anything, even though his face remains mostly expressionless. He then bows and says "A pleasure to meet you Shinjo-San."

Yue gave a deep bow. "Ohayou gozaimasu, Hiroji-dono. It is a pleasure to meet you too."

The Unicorn turned back to the board. "I never expected to be rated either. I expected my marriage to be arranged."

"Oh yeah?" Tomonaga said. For a moment, his head turned, following her gaze, but he turned back to face his conversation partners instead. "Arranged is how we do it more often, too. I think..." He hesitated a moment before continuing. "I think many Clans want to make connections with the Unicorn, and I gather the Unicorn want to make a lot of connections, too. This method is... expedient, at least." His lips twisted, as though he'd just taken a bite of something unfamiliar.

His expression returned to normal. "Would you tell us about the Unicorn way? With some Clans, engagement can take a long time, a lot of back and forth between the families. A bit less with the Crab, sometimes."

The Unicorn reflected for a moment how she had met a man who was taller than her. She had been suspicious that no such man existed. I heard as much about the Crab.

She turned to the shorter one. "My family maintains a practice decreed by our founder. We are to marry outside of our bloodline." She paused, searching for her next words. "Our marriages are therefore similar. They are usually arranged by both families."

Tomonaga gave a curious frown. Also, now that both of them were standing straight, he noticed just how tall Liu Yue was. And solidly build, too. Having met Shinjo Akil, and hearing part of his tale, Tomonaga began to suspect that Liu Yue's injuries were more than just an unfortunate accident.

"Not within your bloodline?" Tomonaga said. "Ummm... does that mean that Shinjo don't marry other Shinjo, and likewise for other families? Or is there more to it than that?"

Hiroji nods. "It is true that we Crab are not much for social conventions or formalities... Well most of us, the Yasuki," Hiroji nods to Tomonaga "are talented in the ways of the court, thankfully. I found the challenge of last night to be... Not to my taste." He gives a slight grimace. "I wonder how today's event will go."

"Hai. It is more than that too. We do not marry members of Families that our ancestors have married." She gave a playful smile. " I do not believe it will be an issue here."

She turned to Hiroji. "I hear it is a language test. I hope I do well as I can speak multiple languages already." Her gaze shifted between the two Crab, wondering if either were multilingual.