Dark Edge Village

Takeo had stowed Asahi away for the evening before he tidied himself up and set out to find the daughters of Shinjo who might be present - it would only be proper to meet them before the miai went on much longer.

And so he came to find himself meandering about the Unicorn huts at evening, asking those who could to direct him to ladies of the Shinjo family.

Given her journey out to the Shrine, at the hour she had gone on it, it seemed only natural to return to her Yurt. Walking among the tents with that as her destination she noticed a... well, to be honest she didn't recognize the mon at all. Must be another one of those Minor clans.

As she was approaching near enough she was intending on just passing him by, seeing nothing out of the ordinary that would make her need to stop. That was, of course, unless he had other intentions.

Unlike her sister, Yue was in a more helpful mood. "Konbanwa," she announced to the man. She gave him a deep bow. "Watakushi wa Shinjo Liu Yue desu. Are you searching for a member of the Unicorn Clan?"

When Yue stopped, so too did Fei, turning to look from her sister to the man she addressed.

Taking a look at the Shinjo mon, Takeo smiled before replying.

"I was looking - it seems that I no longer have need to search. I am Kitsune Takeo of the Fox clan and I came seeking Shinjo's daughters. In this, it would seem, I have been fortunate," he said, bowing to each of them.

Yue maintained a smile. "What do you need of Shinjo's daughters, Takeo-dono?"

Takeo waved his hand.

"Please, -sama if you must. Kitsune-dono is my aunt," he said quickly, trying to lower the formality a tad.

"I merely wanted to meet, so that we may get to know one another. Are you familiar with the history of the Kitsune clan?"

The younger sister looked to Fei and then back to the man. "I met with one of your kin, Kumahime-dono. However, I did not hear about your Clan's history." She smiled at her sister but her eyes were more piercing. "We have time to hear about it, right, oneesan?"

It was not really a question.

Fei looked to the man, then to her sister, then to the Kitsune once again, "Right. We have time to hear about the Kitsune, if you wish to share. Kitsune-sama."

"I would be honored to share. In many ways, it is why I am here," he said, gesturing about to the miai generally.

"You may know that before Shinjo-no-kami set out on her journey, there were a number of her followers who felt a need to stay behind. For any number of reasons, these followers chose to remain in the Empire and be Lady Shinjo's representatives while she was away. In exchange for her service to the Empire, the Hantei told Lady Shinjo that he would look after her people. Those who remained behind took it upon themselves to prepare records - histories and geneaologies - of the time that Lady Shinjo was gone, so that when she returned they could present what had transpired to her.

"Days turned into weeks, weeks became months, months grew to years, and years bloomed into decades. Eventually, those who remained behind fell on hard times - they were in control of lands far too vast to manage with their meager numbers and bandits set upon them to pillage. The remaining Ki-Rin turned to the Emperor, whom had given his sister his word that he would protect them, and he sent the Lion clan to deal with the bandits. The Lion did so and, for awhile, things were peaceable. But eventually the Lion grew resentful of having to tend to lands that were not their own and drove the Ki-Rin from them.

"Unable to make special exceptions for one Great Clan, the Emperor, remembering his promise to Lady Shinjo, granted the Ki-Rin the lands of the Kitsune Mori to tend to and decreed that they would become the first Minor Clan, fulfilling their duty of recording the history of the Empire so that they could present it to Lady Shinjo when she returned."

He recited the history that he knew by heart.

Yue listened to the man's story without interruption. By the end of it, her opinion of the Lion had dropped even further. There was a more pressing matter on her mind, however. "Does that mean that your Clan will rejoin the Unicorn?" She scratched the back of her head, looking to her dear sister for advice.

"That is something above my station, I fear," he said, "But I know it is being considered - and for my part I advocate for it. We share the same ancestors. It seems proper that, now that you have returned, we are reunited in the same clan. I expect ultimately it will be up to Shinjo-dono, Kitsune-dono and the Emperor."

Fei listened to the story as well, though within a moment she realized they should probably have found a spot for him to sit before he began telling them it right then and there. "I apologize, Kitsune-sama, for not recognizing family. I do not mean to speak ill, but rejoining the Unicorn.. I imagine there are likely many who find difficulties in such a thing."

Given only a little pause, she added, "Of course, I could never see cousins from a time long passed returning to us as anything less than a boon."

"I am certain there would be difficulties, but that is part of the reason I am here. It is my hope I can make others realize the strengths that I see in such a reunion," he explained.

"Even if we fall short of unification, stronger ties will serve both clans well."

"Agreed, and forgive me Kitsune-sama if I appear tactless. However, I must ask, is there something more to this? You are a son of the Daimyo of the Kitsune Family. Perhaps it is a lacking in understanding but I do not believe it is often someone of your stature gives a common Samurai a history lesson. Not that, of course, we are not thankful for the understanding."