Game On (D3 LE - VERY OPEN)

[Togashi Udo]

"Perhaps we will play again sometime," Udo says with a smile.

He stands and looks around to see if anyone is free to chat...

[Yogo Mizuki]

"It is, in fact, milk," he nodded, "just milk that has been fermented."

Mizuki makes a fairly mistake with her next move.

Mizuki draws an inner resolve from the well deep down inside of her. "I suppose I could try some."

[Shinjo Monkhbaatar]

...

"Oh? What is that game like? I've never played before! And dice sound fun," he says sounding intrigued.

[Usagi Tomoe]

"Umm... yes. I just didn't connect the fable with... your clan." he felt stupid and it showed as red crept on his cheeks again. "Of course, it makes sense now." Dong-Ha paused for a moment. "Your sensei wanted to remind you that steady pace wins the race?"

"I don't know how interesting I can make them, some of the older legends are somewhat... dry." he's fingers drummed the goban ever. "But I do want to hear more about the Empire.. and how it has changed during our absence." Dong-Ha nodded eagerly. "So we should definitely exchange stories, if only to learn to understand each other." the double meaning behind the words was lost on the young mystic.

"I can do the riding, you just need to hang on."

"Hai. Slow and steady wins the race. I tend to get ahead of myself too often, so it is a good reminder," she nodded with a smile.

The double meaning was lost on the historian at the moment too, even if she normally would've caught up on it. Probably because Dong-Ha seemed a little innocent, but not so easy to tease, like Nintoku.

"Just hang on? I think I can manage that," Tomoe chuckled softly and put her mind back on the instructional game of Go. "What sort of stories are you most interested in? There is a a lot that has changed, and well, a lot that hasn't changed. I've been holding history lessons each morning so far during this miai, and I'm glad to see that more and more people have gathered to listen to it every day."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

Somehow he had taken the Hare girl a more level headed person than the tortoise would suggest. Though perhaps her sensei knew her better? "Poppy is a sturdy horse and can easily carry two." Dong-Ha reassured her, glad that he could connect on some level with some of the samurai. Alien as the empire felt, at least there were like minded souls.

"I don't know... everything." he chuckled, spreading his arms as if to show that there was little he knew. "What happened after the Ki-Rin left? What became of those us who remained?" Dong-Ha looked her markedly, recalling that she had mentioned the Fox. "Why are the Seppun so haughty, when the stories paint Seppun-dono as a humble woman?"

[Shiba Kaizen]

Yukarin nodded at the man's words, "Well, I believe there is a certain kind of virtue in being sincere with one's emotions, a belief I think may be somewhat more common amongst my Clansmen then the rest of the Empire. But even if that is true, there is a limit to such things. Still, as you say, it is as much about how things work out in the end as to what takes place; It is just as well things are not being clamped down on as of yet. For multiple reasons."

"No no you are correct of the virtue of sincerity it is a matter of time and place. Just as Lady Sun and Lord Moon set the Universe in order to even grant seasons for all things in all places, so too did the Kami give order to Rokugan. Like the seasons of her divine parentage Lady Doji was tasked with giving social order to Rokugan. One need always be honest and sincere, but ones' On in public is for the comfort of others. To deny others such in public could be seen as disrespectful to all who witness and selfishness by the offenders. In private or when appropriate in public emotional sincerity has great power to sway hearts and minds, to use it indiscriminately and frequently diminishes its strength." This was his Mother's wisdom set to prepare Kaizen for his formal education. His own On was far from perfect, but it did draw up tight around certain subjects. Fortunately this was not one of them.

He offered an open smile to Yukarin in apparent contradiction of his own words, "I hope that is not confusing in the least." Not contradiction, a smile to to accent the words earnestness without detracting from them with a more awkward display.

[Iuchi Yukarin]

It is... in a lesser sense at least," she says with a slight frown, "But I get the basic meaning of it. After all, one already knows that arguing in public, crying in public, or being affectionate in public can make others uncomfortable... So it is not too much of a stretch that it could extend to even more simple displays. It does seem like a very blurry line of sensitivities though."

[Shiba Kaizen]

It was Kaizen's turn to frown slightly, though not at Yukarin, "Hai and to complicate things Clans, Families, and even dojos can vary on what is considered polite. That just further shapes the perceptions of individuals. Makes me glad to be a yojimbo rather than a courtier. I spend time around such things and can learn, but at times I am no more than a priest's or courtier's netsuke in some ways." He smiled wryly at his own joke.

[Iuchi Yukarin]

It was Kaizen's turn to frown slightly, though not at Yukarin, "Hai and to complicate things Clans, Families, and even dojos can vary on what is considered polite. That just further shapes the perceptions of individuals. Makes me glad to be a yojimbo rather than a courtier. I spend time around such things and can learn, but at times I am no more than a priest's or courtier's netsuke in some ways." He smiled wryly at his own joke.

"While it seems I am stuck between a rock and a hard place in that regard; I am a courtier, and I do not know the intricacies that the differing Families of the Empire offer."

She leaned her jaw against one hand, "...I don't suppose I could get someone knowledgeable like you as a yojimbo, hm?"

[Shiba Kaizen]

"While it seems I am stuck between a rock and a hard place in that regard; I am a courtier, and I do not know the intricacies that the differing Families of the Empire offer."

She leaned her jaw against one hand, "...I don't suppose I could get someone knowledgeable like you as a yojimbo, hm?"

"Well as to that there is no way to make it certain. The outcome of the miai is not truly something we control. If I were to join a Unicorn Family then I would be one among many and at the disposal of the Kuge. Any other solution would take more time like an exchange of students." Kaizen replied. There was of course a more direct way, but he is not a drunk Matsu and would not venture such a crude approach.

[Iuchi Yukarin]

"For you specifically, yes. But I only asked for a knowledgeable yojimbo ~like~ yourself, Shiba-san."

She could,'t help the playful little smile, "Though I had heard few have as proud of a tradition of yojimbo as the Phoenix."

[Moto Baatar]

His game finished, Moto Baatar stood up and rejoined the crowd of spectators.

Meanwhile, Hotaru is still observing one of the more civilized games of Go that were in progress, half-hidden behind the shoulders of slightly taller samurai. It probably wouldn't be so bad if she could make heads and tails of the game. The basic rules were easily enough to knew, but as the game drew on, it became a strange elaborate puzzle of white and black. She didn't know why certain plays were happening for a reason, just each side were nibbling on each other's pieces.

"It's more fun than it looks," the young Unicorn assured the masked girl, his voice filled with all the assurance of someone who just learned how to play half an hour ago. "The white player looks like he has the advantage, but the black player is just luring his opponent into an overextended position so he can deploy his ninja."

[Bayushi Hotaru]

Hotaru pulled her attention away from the game, thankful to have somebody to talk to than to pretend to have an interest in Go. She smiled at the Moto and bowed quickly in greeting. "Is it now, I'm not too familiar in the game to be honest. Maybe it's one of those games you have to play to see all of the lines connecting? So far, I only see equal pieces on the table with the two sides going at it."

She blinked thrice when she realized something he said, looking aghast. "Deploy his ninja?! What?! As you so sure, Moto-san? Seems rather harsh, even to your fictional proverbial enemies."

[Shiba Kaizen]

"For you specifically, yes. But I only asked for a knowledgeable yojimbo ~like~ yourself, Shiba-san."

She could,'t help the playful little smile, "Though I had heard few have as proud of a tradition of yojimbo as the Phoenix."

Kaizen nodded glad they had an understanding of their specific situation. "While the Phoenix have the oldest traditions there are others of note. As for the how? As a gesture of friendship my kin could provide possibly a few. Perhaps Iuchi-san could arrange for one of them to be assigned to her?" He took a sip of the sake he had been nursing, "I would even write a letter home if you like. My standing is not high, but I am held in esteem among my Family."

[Moto Baatar]

Hotaru pulled her attention away from the game, thankful to have somebody to talk to than to pretend to have an interest in Go. She smiled at the Moto and bowed quickly in greeting. "Is it now, I'm not too familiar in the game to be honest. Maybe it's one of those games you have to play to see all of the lines connecting? So far, I only see equal pieces on the table with the two sides going at it."

She blinked thrice when she realized something he said, looking aghast. "Deploy his ninja?! What?! As you so sure, Moto-san? Seems rather harsh, even to your fictional proverbial enemies."

"Oh, yes, my last opponent played a ninja to good effect against my forward skirmishers," the young Moto admitted ruefully. "It was a clever strategy, really; especially because the ninja stone looks exactly like the other black stones."

"It's stealthy, you see," he explained.