(Day 4, LE) The Instrument You Wanted (Misa's Room, Closed)

[Tonbo Misa]

The spot was right next to her, so Misa was quite close to the music as Butaj played. Her hair was done up today in a neat bun, exposing her neck. She smiled while he sang, silent until the end.

As he finished, Misa's lips curled into a shy smile. "Your music always inspires me Butaj. Tell me where this song is from?"

[Moto Butaj]

Her neck draws his attention at some point; he sings the latter part close to her side, looking at her slender neckline with admiration, curiosity and perhaps a bit of something more. "It's an old song from the Burning Sands, northwest of here. It tells a story of a spirit of wind, Burkhan, who resides deep in mountain caves until he is ready to come down to the world in the form a storm."

[Tonbo Misa]

She nodded softly, hands folded delicately in her lap. "From the sands? That is where the Moto are from... or was that the steppes? And you speak the language of the sands then, or just sing it?"

Misa chewed her lower lip softly. They felt like silly questions.

[Moto Butaj]

"It is where the Moto are from, the tribes known as Ujik-hai before Lady Shinjo gathered them under her banner. Butaj can sing old songs bot not speak the language well. Among the Shinjo and Ide he learned this eastern tongue we speak in, but in the lands of his childhood many spoke Mekhem. In his family's chomchog a bit of everything was spoken." Butaj takes none of her questions as silly but responds to the best of his knowledge and honesty. Her lip-biting hasn't escaped his attention. He wonders if it's of some discomfort so just in case he reassures her by laying his hand on her shoulder.

[Tonbo Misa]

The touched added a soft flush to her cheeks, though it was too dim to make out much. "I see. Mekham you called it's I find it surprising you don't speak it if it's your people's language. Was Rokugani used almost exclusively before the Unicorn reached Rokugan by Shinjo-Kami's will?"

[Moto Butaj]

"Butaj doesn't know when the decision about return was made but the Ide took care to get the language of the youth back to what they thought was yours. Before that, Butaj had spoken a simple language that mixed many. He still understands a bit of Mekhem but can't speak well." Seeing her reassured, or so he thinks, he withdraws his hand.

[Tonbo Misa]

It seemed she was in a question mood tonight. Perhaps it was the rain. "Ah, I see. You said that before, other languages, many. More than Mekham and Rokugani? Like what?"

[Moto Butaj]

"Ujik-hai, the language the tribes had spoken with before Lady Shinjo came. Yobanjin, from those earlier days when the Ujik-hai raided the Chenzhong He Valley and were raided back. Ra'Shari, Senpet, Ivindi, even Merenaese from the Far West. There are those among the Ide, the Suio, who still know many of them. Butaj is sorry that he is no good speaker of languages as it seems to be interesting to Misa. Butaj was trained to be a warrior." He shrugs apologetically.

[Tonbo Misa]

"There's no need to apologize Butaj, I never expected you to. That you know of them all is of enough interest to me, and I'm grateful." She turned to smile gently up at him.

[Moto Butaj]

There is a pause, and Butaj considers reaching for the instrument, but then he looks at Misa again and his fingers interlace on his knee closest to her. "Butaj would like to know more of your family."

[Tonbo Misa]

Her head tilted a bit curiously, but she kept her smile. "Butaj asks complex questions. Do you mean the Tonbo, or my immediate family? And is there anything in particular you wish to know?"

[Moto Butaj]

"Butaj sees it as a simple question. It is about what comes to Misa's mind first when she's asked about family. This is the family that probably matters most to Misa." Butaj smiles gently and strokes his smaller beard, no more than a stubble tonight.

[Tonbo Misa]

"I was hoping you had an idea when you asked, but they're both precious to me in different ways." She nodded as she seemed to decide. "I will try the Tonbo first then. Do you know anything of them Butaj?"

[Moto Butaj]

"Butaj sadly doesn't. He usually doesn't ask questions if he knows the answers." His voice is slightly apologetic.

[Tonbo Misa]

"Knowing more and knowing nothing are different things, so it was fair to ask." Misa shook her head. "My family, the Tonbo, are quite young, less than a century old. We were founded after a woman promised to wed a man wed another that she loved. The spurned man brought an army against the two lovers, but the clans of those lovers defended them and made the man leave and promise never to bring harm to them. The Emperor declared those lovers the Tonbo family, and they were given a Minor Clan, the Dragonfly, to help protect them."

She held up a hand, counting off the three with her fingers. "The two clans of the lovers were the Phoenix and the Dragon, Isawa Maroko and Mirumoto Asijin, and the spurned man was a Lion, one Akodo Yukutsu. The Dragon allowed the young clan to set up in their foothills. Several years later, Yukutsu made war on the Dragon, and while passing through Dragonfly lands, challenged Asijin to a duel. The champion of the Dragon agreed to arrange the duel, with the terms that Asijin would lose to end the feud. Yukutsu cut down Asijin without the later ever having drawn his blade. Yukutsu demanded Maroko to wed him as his right as victor when a young man challenged him to a duel. Yukutsu agreed and was cut down by Tonbo Kuyuden, the son of Asijin. The Dragon declared the Tonbo from then on would be their ambassadors, overseeing who would get up into Dragon lands to see them."

Misa paused a moment, letting that sink in before continuing gently. "That all happened about 50 years ago, a bit less even. Since then Kuyuden retired. His son, Tonbo Quinlan, ruled for some years. Yet again, the Lion went into conflict with the Dragon, and yet again it was the Dragonfly that suffered. When the Lion marched on Kyuden Tonbo, they defeat the few bushi there, allow the children and non-combatants to flee, then burn the castle and salt the earth, burning Quinlan with the castle as he refused to leave it."

There was a small hint of sadness in her voice at that, but it leveled out again as she went on. "Quinlan's eldest son, Tonbo Saburo, took over leadership of the clan upon his father's death. He used the money his clan collected in taxes to gamble, drink, and see prostitutes, and was cut down by a Lion of the Shimizu family for the dishonor he did his clan. A cousin of Saburo's took over, Tonbo Mariko. This was 2 years ago. Having had their lands ravaged, many of their samurai killed, and many of their people driven off, the Tonbo lost nearly a fifth of their people to starvation over that first winter. Seeing no other option to survive, Mariko went to the Dragon and asked if they would officially take the Tonbo in, something the Dragon agreed to do. That is why I wear their mon now. That is where the Tonbo, once Dragonfly, now Dragon, stand."