If you can swim, can you ride? (Day 3, expecting, LM)

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

"I spoke with two members of the Yogo Family. They told me that all samurai wear masks." She shrugged. "And that the Scorpion merely wear physical ones."

[Soshi Taira]

"Hai, that is the most straightforward explanation."

He didn't comment on his own seeming lack of mask, as minor as his was.

With a small shrug, he added, "If you find yourself with any questions, feel free to ask. I'd be glad to share anything I know."

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

Yue peered at his face and then smiled. She was, after all, slightly taller than him. "I prefer not seeing masks, Taira-dono. It makes it easier to trust someone."

[Soshi Taira]

"Ah, but that is the joke, Liu Yue-hime. By wearing our masks openly, we are being truthful."

Taira couldn't hide a wry grin.

"You will find we scorpion enjoy a laugh, even if it is a poor joke."

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

"I know the saying," she retorted with a smile. She scratched the back of her head. "I like to read people's expressions."

[Soshi Taira]

"Aye."

His grin slanted a little, becoming slightly more genuine.

"When surrounded by masks, I learned to watch the eyes. You'll find that is where the On is most likely to crack."

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

"Sou desu ka." Yue shut her eyes with a smirk on her face. "What if I kept my eyes closed, Taira-dono? What would you do then?"

[Soshi Taira]

"Make strange faces."

He was smirking now. "And possibly not warn you if you were about to walk into anything."

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

"You can make strange faces with a mask on, Taira-dono. Nobody would be able to see it." She opened her eyes and paced a bit. "And I would not walk with my eyes closed. I would close my eyes only when speaking with you."

With that, her eyes went back to being shut. Hikazume stood there, looking as confused as a horse possibly could.

[Soshi Taira]

"Is there any reason you want to hide your eyes from me?"

He shook his head. "It shows you want to hide something... and it denies me the pleasure of seeing your eyes. They show such a pure soul, I hate for you to hide them."

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

Yue rolled her eyes, a moot point with her eyelids shut. "You said that you read people's eyes. "I thought to play a game, Taira-dono." Her eyes shot open and looked back to him, her lips at a slight smirk. "If I kept my eyes closed, then I could not read your face." She let out a small chuckle. "I do not know how you read so much from a person's eyes."

[Soshi Taira]

"Oh hai, but the truth of the matter is that as a warrior says, where the eyes go, the body follows."

With a faint shrug, he added "It shows what interests someone, the things they look at. The things that hold their attention."

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

"Sou desu ka," she said, in response to the saying. She scratched the back of her head, her eyes shifting away. "What do my eyes tell you, Taira-dono?" Hikazume let out a snort, followed by Yue giving a sigh.

[Soshi Taira]

He examined the girl in silence, for a protracted moment, and then said, softly, "You are empathetic. Perhaps a little bashful. You avoid eye contact, perhaps you aren't comfortable letting someone see you?"

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

Her eyes turned back to him. "I am," she began, her tone starting with a retort. However, she held back her tongue and let out a small chuckle. "You are right, Taira-dono. I am 'a little bashful.'" She scratched the back of her head, her gaze going to the ground. "Sometimes I find eye contact to be uncomfortable."