A Defensible Position (D4 EA)

[Shinjo Liu Fei]

Liu Fei laughed a little as she raised her once again filled cup to a more natural holding position. "Well, I suppose there goes the light conversation?" she teased, choosing to answer before he could retract.

"I do not know Yasuki-sama, I believe compared to some of the other Unicorn they see us Shinjo as we are. Rokugani, those that left, but different. I am just a Shinjo Bushi and I think most people who pass me will see only that," she finished with a shrug. "Uptight, maybe? There had been a Scorpion the other day that seemed to wish to inspire me to respond to him as if I were a child, I did not."

"What opinion of me do you hold Yasuki-sama?"

[Unable to contest without void: Liu Fei would likely like something Rokugani, an accessory or something else simple that would help her fit in, when she chose to, would probably be more well received.]

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

Grinning, Tomonaga shrugged. "Yeah... I think the sake makes me break out the heavy conversation."

"But hmmm, that's a good question." He shifted, brown eyes narrowing as he studied her again. "Well, you're right about the bushi part, but most of us non-Unicorn aren't really going to know what it really means to be a Shinjo bushi. Uptight isn't the right word. Would you be sharing a drink with me if you were uptight? Or at our first meeting? No. You're honest, and straightforward, and you have the dignity that comes from that. Not the same as uptight, if you ask me."

He stroked his chin thoughtfully as he continued. "You're comfortable in the present, impressively so. But... maybe less so in the past and the future, if that makes sense? I mean, you are where you are, and it's really different from where you were, and you're not sure where you'll be next, or if it'll be right for you. But you hope it will be, and you've got the will to make it, I think. Oh. And you're pretty." The last was added almost as an afterthought.

Afterwards, Tomonaga cleared his throat. "Ummm... I hope I didn't go too far there, Shinjo-san; maybe you weren't looking for quite such a long assessment." He looked for moment as though he would say more, but took a sip of his sake instead.

[Shinjo Liu Fei]

While Tomonaga gave his answer, sipping on her sake while she aimed to keep no thought from bubbling to the surface. When he added the last part like an afterthought she couldn't help but let a light chuckle bubble to the surface. Shifting her position a bit before she decided to respond, "No, you did not go too far Yasuki-sama. It was an... interesting assessment to hear of myself. Thank you for that."

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

Tomonaga lifted his cup in response. "Hey, sure thing. I'm happy if that was even close; I'm a bit out of practice. Yasuki are taught to assess people that way, but I don't get a chance to do it too often. Mostly I just smile and pour the sake. It was my honest assessment, though. Especially that last bit." His eyes glinted, mostly humorously.

He took a sip of his sake, shifting as well, craning his neck to check her sake level again. "So, I know a little about your family. I've even met your sister. You wanna hear about my family?"

[Shinjo Liu Fei]

Fei chuckled again as his eyes glinted, raising the cup in some silent toast to him and then drank. Which, was, to also answer the level of her cup. Enough to be able to do that.

"If you would share Yasuki-sama I would care to listen."

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

Tomonaga nodded casually. "Ok, then." He took another sip of the sake. He leaned to the side, reclining somewhat, resting comfortably on one forearm.

"Well, there's my parents. Both Yasuki back at least a few generations, and both very involved in the family business. Then, there's my brothers and sisters. My parents seem to alternate. Brother, sister, brother, sister, and then me. I'm the youngest of the five of us." He shook his head. "And they're all really involved in the business, too. My eldest sister's the creative one, at least as far as the family goes. Always trying out new recipes and stuff like that."

He glanced at her. "You're the elder sister, right? What's that like?" His tone sounded a little wistful.

[Shinjo Liu Fei]

"Difficult," she said, draining the rest of her cup before just letting herself fall onto her back. Feeling a little of the warmth from the sake, which made her more relaxed as it would seem, just a tad. "Challenges are mine, I can not run away from them or even think of it. If I do, what sort of impression would that leave for my little sister? That became even more true when she suffered her injury."

Fei continued, her tone remained as relaxed as the moment was, casual. There was no sorrow or regret in her words despite the downward tilt her words seem to take, "I have to be better than myself to inspire Yue to be the same. I have to watch over her, make sure she doesn't miss step and fall on a wrong path. Most importantly I need to be there when she needs me. All the while making it appear as if I am doing none of these things. I try to be a good older sister, and I think I manage, but I do have to try and the effort is rewarding."

"Does that sound like a good answer?" she asked, glancing up toward Tomonaga.

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

Tomonaga, recognizing that Liu Fei would have difficulty drinking sake while lying on her back, declined to fill her cup, deciding to wait until she was once again upright. It was important, after all, to recognize when a drinking partner had had enough.

Leaning on his side, quite nearly lying down himself, but not quite, Tomonaga watched Liu Fei's face as she spoke. His own expression was thoughtful, but not worrying. Quietly contemplative, fitting for the atmosphere.

As she finished, Tomonaga lifted his cup to her, mirroring the gesture she'd made earlier to him, and then downing the contents. "It does, Shinjo-san." He said. "It's actually really interesting to hear about it from that side."

He sighed. "For me... I've always felt a bit in the shadow of my older siblings. Of course, I'm the youngest by almost five years, maybe that makes a difference. But by the time I became an adult, they were all already well-established in the family business, having duties and achievents, and all that sort of things. Sometimes, it feels as though they've taken all the spots before I even entered the field." He smiled. "Doesn't stop me from trying, though."

[Shinjo Liu Fei]

"There is always room to grow the business," she said, assuming even back here the expansion of business was a fairly common practice for when things were going well. "Add your own flair to it, do something different," she chuckled, "bring in a younger fresher set of eyes."

"Which, forgive me for the diversion but is it normal for Rokugani families to have such a large gap in years now? Five years sounds like quite the time to wait before having another child."

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

"That's certainly my hope." Tomonaga said agreeably. "I've certainly got a different way of doing things from the rest of my family. And lately, I'm been getting a few chances to do things my own way. Depending on how this miai works out, I'll probably get even more." His lips twisted. "Or, I suppose, an entirely different family to deal with."

Tomonaga had, thus far, proved fairly resistant to embarrassment. There were limits, though. Liu Fei's question made him flush red, his free hand coming up to press his face into. "Yeah, um, okay. It is unusual, yeah." He swallowed. And yet... Liu Fei, as well as the sake, seemed to put him in an oversharing mood, as usual. "Well, as I've been told, my parents had four children, and then were done. But... sometimes they would argue, and then spend time apart. And then reconcile. I gather, before me, they'd been apart for awhile..." At this point, the embarrassment overcame his willingness to share, and he buried his face in his hand once more.

[Shinjo Liu Fei]

Tomonaga was the result of make up sex.

There was a slight pause to the air as Fei processed the story, Tomonaga's embarrassment with it, the general relaxed and open nature of their meeting, and to top it all off probably a little bit the bits of alcohol in her system. Then, in a boisterous manner befitting the Unicorn. Liu Fei busted out into a small fit of laughter. Complete with stomach holding and eventually wiping a tear from her eye.

"I-" she paused getting out a few last chuckles, "I am sorry Yasuki-sama. I hope you can forgive me for that outburst," she said cheeks a little sore.

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

For a few moments, Tomonaga just pressed his face all the harder into the palm of his hand. Then he too began to chuckle, finally breaking out into full laughter, although not quite as enthusiastically as Liu Fei.

He shook his head, likewise still chuckling, as she apologized. "No no, no need to apologize. It does sound funny when I say it out loud." Although it often stung when his siblings said it. He looked at her, smiling. "And... I think you can call me by given name, after that story. No more samas, here."

"Well!" He said, grinning. "Are there any other embarrassing secrets of mine you'd like me to tell you? I'll do it, apparently. Or..." His eyes glint. "Is it your turn?"

[Shinjo Liu Fei]

"As you wish, Tomonaga-san," she replied to the first with a nod. Then, if for no other reason than parity. "Please do the same."

Speaking of parity, "I believe I should even the score on that front as well, Tomonaga-san," she said before stretching a little and rising again. Warmth from the sake having passed. "When I had been learning Mekhem, which was when I was much younger than I am now. I had become convinced that a familiar greeting was said as such, Your feet are as manure, which is not what the actual translation of that phrase is."

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

"Thank you, Liu Fei-san." He replied.

Ah, there we go. As she straightened, he put a judge little bit more sake in her cup. From there, it would be easy to judge if she was done, or she wanted more. "Oh. Ummm..." He tilted his head to the side. "What does it mean, then?"

[Shinjo Liu Fei]

What little sake he put in her cup was quickly down the hatch as she enlightened him, "Best way to put it into rokugani," she thought for a moment on how to make it sound better, or funnier, but just went with the words she knew in the end.

"Your feet smell like feces," she said straight.