(Day 6 LA) Ill Show You Mine

[Shinjo Kemuri]

He nodded appreciatively. "I have little experience with iaijutsu. Some maintained the art, but it didn't see much practical use during our travels."

[Miya Mei]

"It is a wonderful thing, and as you eloquently put it, an art. Perhaps I could help teach the Unicorn. After all, in the Empire in order to prove you are right, often Heaven is called to intervien in the form of a duel"

[Shinjo Kemuri]

He nodded. "I'm sure many of us will be learning it and many other skills important here. Hopefully, we'll teach some as well."

[Miya Mei]

"I am certainly interested in what you have to teach. Can you think if anything specific? Tell me about yourself as well, so this afternoon is not just all about me"

[Shinjo Kemuri]

"I suppose the most significant would be our knowledge of foreign cultures and lands. I'm not sure how that knowledge might be seen by the Empire, however." he answered. "As for myself, I am a scout, but I am also a historian and storyteller."

[Miya Mei]

"Oh! Could you tell me a tale then? Something traditional of your clan?"

Mei's voice lights up in excitement

[Shinjo Kemuri]

"My stories are historical. Is there anything you are particularly curious of?"

[Miya Mei]

"I wouldn't know where to even begin. Perhaps there is a story that is near to your heart?"

[Shinjo Kemuri]

"Perhaps." he nodded as he considered the options.

"Lady Shinjo once promised the Ki-Rin that she would never leave." he finally began. "However, a century after the Clan left Rokugan, she disappeared. She had felt a call to travel to a strange oasis. She investigated the oasis, while Otaku Shiko watched the surrounding area, guarding against potential threats. However, Shiko fell asleep. When she awoke, she found that the oasis had vanished, along with Lady Shinjo."

"Lady Shinjo returned a week later." he continued. 'She appeared to be several months pregnant and did not disclose anything in regards to what had happened while she was gone, beyond that the oasis had been connected to the spirit realms. Knowing that she had broken her vow never to leave, she made a new vow to the Ki-Rin. She promised that she would always return."

"She gave birth to five children." he added. "They each possessed the ability to alter their shape. For the most part, they preferred two forms, human and ki-rin. After a year, their shapeshifting abilities began to fade. Four of them chose to permanently remain ki-rin. Only one, named Kemuri, decided to become a man. He took the name Shinjo Martera and became one of the clan's greatest heroes."

[Miya Mei]

"That is quite the tale. I wonder what or who she met that made her break her vow. It does show another interesting characteristic, that even the Kami are not perfect in their words."

[Shinjo Kemuri]

He nodded. "Some promises cannot be kept, but the spirit of the vow can be maintained."

[Miya Mei]

"Indeed, and it is certainly a good sentiment. How long has Shinjo-Kami been gone this time?"

Mei absent mindedly squeezes Ti-Lu a little causing the stallion to pick up a little speed

[Shinjo Kemuri]

"Three centuries." he answered. "She faced the darkness to allow the Ki-Rin to escape. That's when we became the Unicorn. The clan was not what it was when it left, especially without her. Her promise remains, though. She will return."

[Miya Mei]

"That is a long time. It is interesting to hear how loyal, and hopeful, your people are. The Empire needs that sort of loyalty."

"Before we continue much farther, I must ask, as I am a late arrival. Does Shinjo-san have his mind set on a woman already for pairing, or are you still open to potentials?"

[Shinjo Kemuri]

"I have not decided." He shrugged. "I have someone in mind, but so much can change in the next few days."