(D5 LE, Yuzuki's Tent) Are We Friends Now?

[Yuzuki]

"Uhm, well, I'm not sure it's okay to talk about someone's On faltering or not."

She shifted slightly uncomfortably. This was one of those etiquette things that she knew the basics of.

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

"Hai. You are correct, Yuzuki-san. Gomennasai." The Shinjo gave a bow to complete the apology. "I was concerned about his well-being," she admitted. She scratched the back of her head and looked about the woman's yurt for objects of interest, "You have an interesting fighting technique, Yuzuki-san."

This is going well...

[Yuzuki]

Aside from her weapons and additional clothes, her yurt contained a variety of relatively functional items. A cooking pot. Stacks of parchment. Bottles of spices. Then there was stuff like makeup, a bottle of sake. A shamisen. And a cat. A cat? Yes! A cat.

Kon stared at the one-armed lady from behind something or another, as if determining the level of threat involved.

"Thank you, but it's just basic Mantis style fighting, I think. I'm still a novice."

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

"Ah! I heard about your own feast, Yuzuki-san. How was it?" she inquired after spotting the cooking pot. Her eyes, at least the good one, then noticed the cat. "How long has that cat been there?"

She shrugged. It did not matter much to her.

Wait, you 'think' it is your Clan's style?

She did not dare to ask about it. "I have not seen the kama used as a weapon before. I do not see many wield weapons with their off-hand either. I am impressed, Yuzuki-san."

[Yuzuki]

"Kon?"

She looked toward where the creature was hiding.

"Don't know," she held out a hand to the furry bastard, but something kept him from approaching. Fear, possibly.

"He's a bit of a coward at times," she turned back to Yue. "And a terror at others. As for the kama, many among the Mantis wield it. Most use two at the same time, but I prefer a katana and keeping one kama for defense."

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

"Sou desu ka." Yue let the cat be at the moment.

"Every Clan has its own unique fighting style," she mused. She glanced over to the woman's sake and then shut the idea down in her head. "Is this the closest you have come to dying, Yuzuki-san?" She let out a morbid chuckle. "I know the feeling well."

[Yuzuki]

"No. It isn't."

There was a pause.

"Funny thing, last time there was an Orochi involved too."

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

Yue had a faint smile on her lips. "Are you a famed dragon slayer, Yuzuki-san?" she asked with much enthusiasm. "I would like to hear this story." She looked at the Mantis with excited eyes.

[Yuzuki]

"Uhhh, well..."

Of course, she should've seen this coming.

"...nothing like that. Do you know what a typhoon is, Shinjo-san?"

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

"'Typhoon?'" Yue shook her head. The Rokugani word was not useful for her to learn in the Burning Sands.

[Yuzuki]

"It is a great and violent storm that comes from the sea. It can leave behind immense destruction when it hits the coast. They might kill thousands or more."

She reached out for Kon again, who this time responded by timidly coming over and hopping on the bed for the pets it had correctly anticipated.

"When I was much younger, one hit my village. I knew it was coming before anyone else did, although nobody believed me until it was too late. And there was a moment, before the very worst of the storm hit, that I saw an Orochi out at sea, in the distance."

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

"Sou desu ka. Is anyone ever named after these typhoons?" She figured that a mighty storm would be a worthy name for a person of note.

The Shinjo was surprised by the sudden appearance of the cat. She thought of reaching out to the critter but instead opted to listen intently to the story. Her grin was wide as she heard every word of the Mantis. "How did you know that the typhoon was coming? Did the orochi cause it?"

She leaned in. "What happened next?!"

[Yuzuki]

She shrugged to the question of being named after typhoons. Then came the more difficult questions.

"Everyone died. Except for me. The village had been completely destroyed. I don't think the Orochi caused it."

An observant Yue might notice she had forgotten to answer one of the questions. Maybe the number of questions at once had caused her to overlook it.

[Shinjo Liu Yue]

"I see. You are a survivor, Yuzuki-san," she said with a small smile. She had not thought much on the missed question, given her general surprise with the amount of death. "How did you survive?"

[Yuzuki]

"Just lucky, I guess. I'm not really sure, I was still pretty young so the memories aren't too clear."