Hedging Bets [D3 LM OPEN]

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

Tomonaga laughed openly. "I certainly hope not!" With a practiced motion (that was growing more practiced by the hour), he produced a cup and sake bottle. "Perhaps I can interest you in a taste then, eh? I know it's early, but eh, well." He shrugged. "We're both here now, and I've got the bottle, so..."

[Togashi Udo]

Udo chuckled. "It would be rude to decline..."

"Do not take this the wrong way, but it seems you were well prepared for this?"

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

"Indeed it would, Togashi-san." Tomonaga said, his tone exaggeratedly serious. He poured a little in the cup, then produced a second cup, pouring a little for himself.

"Of course." Tomonaga nodded. "The opportunity to connect with a new Clan, or rather, a newly returned Clan, is something we couldn't afford to pass up. And, what my family does is sake, so..." He shrugged. "That's why by familial preference, I hope to marry someone with some mercantile connections." He sighed. "Personally... well, I hope for a little more than that." His expression grew a little pensive as he lifted his cup.

[Togashi Udo]

Udo takes a sip and closes his eyes. "A very fine sake, Yasuki-sama. I am certain your family does quite well."

A slight breeze blows by, and Udo smiles as it pushes past them. "Family can be like the wind..." Udo pauses. "Hmm. Let me rephrase, I almost slipped again." He takes another sip of the sake. "The Unicorn are newly returned. It is very possible that you will find someone with mercantile connections yet, so you may be forced to marry for another reason."

Udo winces a little. "That was far too straightforward."

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

"Thank you, Togashi-san." Tomonaga said, smiling at the compliment.

Before Tomonaga's blank look had time to set in, Udo rephrased himself. "Tch." Tomonaga waved a hand. "I'm not going to be offended by straightforward talk by someone I'm sharing sake with." He gave Udo an ingenuous smile. "But I was hoping to find someone with mercantile connections who is also beautiful, brave, smart, and interesting. Is that too much to ask?" He chuckled as he took another sip.

"But yes, as long as my wife's tolerable to me, that's probably good enough." He grimaced gently at the thought, before brightening. "On the other hand, I've found the Unicorn ladies to be quite charming, on the whole. In their own way." He amended.

[Togashi Udo]

Udo chuckles. "Being that straightforward was hard for me, not you." Another small chuckle.

"You want many things...I suppose that's good. It gives you drive." Udo thinks. "If one were to search for a Ki-Rin, one would need luck to find it, but may find a very fine horse. But if one is willing to accept finding a goat when they begin the search, the most likely result is finding a goat... Don't settle too soon, Yasuki-dama."

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

"You're doing well, Togashi-san. Soon, if you wanted, no one would be able to tell you were a monk unless you told them." He chuckled. "Or, I guess, until they looked at you. The bald head is a pretty big hint, especially with the tattoos. But, well, you are a monk, after all."

Tomonaga nodded to Udo's words, his expression thoughtful. "I'm sure already know this, Togashi-san, but make sure not to use that metaphor in mixed company." He shakes his head. "But yeah, I take your meaning. Ummm... to shift the metaphor to something I have a bit more experience with... there are some fellows who take hours to pick out the perfect bottle of sake, examining one, then the next. I think that the act of choosing provides some enjoyment for them." He frowned. "I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but it seems sorta relevant."

His expression grew more thoughtful. "Funny thing, that sort almost always ends up with the first bottle they looked at. There's probably something there, too." He smiled at Udo, his eyes bright. "Any thoughts, Togashi-san? I'm rapidly coming to respect your wisdom."

[Togashi Udo]

"Hmm. Perhaps if you don't know what you want, you are enticed more by form than substance. When that is the case, the first sake you see sets the tone, and therefore all others are compared to it.

"If, however, you're looking for a certain type of sake, the first bottle you see is only interesting if it's what had your interest."

Udo thinks for a moment and then finishes his sake. "I feel that, perhaps, there is an answer in between. Perhaps someone feels that they want an inferior sake because they have not yet had yours, so they think they have had the best. If they are so fixated on what they came with, they won't leave with the best sake they can... but if they don't know when they come in, they'll walk away with the first thing they see."

"Maybe it is better to come in not with specifics. To use a totally hypothetical example," Udo grins. "Imagine you were looking for a wife. Perhaps you'd be better off searching widely; say, perhaps, looking for an intelligent woman. For if you were to be too specific with, say, mercantile contacts, you might end up with someone who knows the right people but not what to do with it."

Udo realizes he's been talking for awhile, and decides it's about time to stop.

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

"Huh. Those are all good thoughts, Togashi-san." Tomonaga said. One hand stroked his chin thoughtfully as he tried to apply the information to himself.

Tomonaga grinned back. "Right, totally hypothetical." His thoughtful look returned. "Well, if she had merchant contacts, I'd probably be able to do something with them, but I still see what you mean. I should have some idea what I want, but also try to keep an open mind, perhaps.

He looked back at Udo, his expression brightening as an idea occurred to him. "You know, there is an art to matching a person with the sake they would prefer. I'm pretty good at it, although there are certainly better. But it's never certain, because, well, there's no accounting for taste." He shrugs. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Or... do, and see. I think." Tomonaga frowned. Things were getting a little beyond his grasp, again.

[Togashi Udo]

Udo stifles a small laugh. "Forgive me, Yasuki-sama, but your expression changes quicker than the moon. Every time it brightens it begins to go dark again. Perhaps you should let yourself shine a little more?"

"For someone who earlier told me things would work out because they usually do, you sure do seem to let it worry you."

Udo realizes how condescending that could have sounded and blushes. "I apologize. I was trying to encourage you to enjoy yourself, but I ended up sounding like my sensei. I meant nothing by it."

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

"Yes, well, I usually don't have to think this much." Tomonaga said with a grin. "Maybe it'd be better if you did sound more like a monk. That way, I'd expect to be contemplating the nature of things within a few minutes. I think you caught me off guard."

Tomonaga lifted the bottle again, his brown eyes glinting with amusement. "Here." He splashed a little more into Udo's cup, and then some into his own. "Drink." He said, following his own directive. "There. Enjoyment. Good." He sighed, contented.

"So. Less worrying. Maybe you could tell me about some of the Unicorn you've met, if you'd like?"

[Togashi Udo]

Udo smiles and takes a drink.

"I can trust in your confidences?"

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

"My lips are sealed." Tomonaga said. "I swear it. Breaking the confidence of a drinking companion, especially one so friendly as yourself, well..." He shook his head. "That's just not done."

[Togashi Udo]

Udo nods.

"I have, for better or worse, not really spoken with any Unicorn men. Just in passing." /sip

"Iuchi Yukarin we have spoken on. To be honest, I very much understand why you want to speak to her again. I can't say I understand her or her interests, but that in and of itself is interesting. She offered me some advice, which I found odd but wise... It was the first time I was on the outside looking in, so to speak."

"I also met Iuchi Saksaha. We did not have much opportunity to speak directly because there were many in the conversation, but she seemed... She seemed odd in a good way. I think she would fit in among the Togashi, as she even has a goat. Were she not in the Unicorn, I expect she would be one people like to talk with and about. I hope to meet her again."

"I spoke with Shinjo Liu Yue at the opening ceremony. Perhaps I was not yet prepared for the differences between their Clan and the others, or perhaps there was a language barrier. She seemed friendly, but... well... let us say that my weakness surfaced and my mind was unable to stay engaged with the conversation."

"I met Otaku Kitakuhime as well. A brave and intelligent woman. I did not get to speak with her much, but I was there to see her speak to others. I think she would make a fine companion, but she has the pressures of leadership." Udo gives the Crab a look, ensuring that he knows to draw additional conclusions.

"There was also Otaku Chi-Pu... Perhaps the oddest of them all. She yelled at a fortune teller on the street, then asked for her fortune. Upon receiving it, she immediately mounted her horse and rode off. I felt a little like I was caught in a flash flood."

Udo pauses for a moment as if about to say more, but then falls silent.

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

Tomonaga listened quietly though the rather thorough intelligence report.

At the end, his eyebrows went up. "I haven't met most of them." He said, sounding impressed. "Iuchi Yukarin, as you say, we've already mentioned." He hesitated a moment, but resisted the urge to ask more. I will write to her, after this.

"I did also meet Shinjo Liu Yue. She's a very fast study; knows three languages, and seemed confident of learning a fourth. Knew our rules for etiquette quite well, too. She greeted me very formally indeed." It was almost too bad; Tomonaga was finding the handshaking to be almost charming. The mention of a weakness passed without comment, or even a change of expression, but first confusion, then understanding seemed to flash in Tomonaga's eyes.

Tomonaga glanced at Udo, his trained eyes catching the hesitation. "Very well said, Togashi-san. Thank you. That's everything?" He asked.