Another Day, Another Drink [Day 8 EM]

[Usagi Tomoe]

"What can I say, Matsu Nintoku-sama is a good teacher. Unlike someone else I know," she gave Yuuru a pointed look as she grinned.

"Don't think I can take on you, or Matsu-sama yet though."

[Soshi Yuuru]

He chuckled, "You looked formidable to me. Though it's probably best I avoid wrestling you so other thoughts of physical exertion don't come to mind."

[Usagi Tomoe]

"Ha ha, very funny," she rolled her eyes. "I'm sure I could throw you down once or twice, since you seem to manage so well to make me angry."

Yep, she was most likely thinking of the moment she hurled Dong-Ha into the mats in revenge for when he groped her... not-shoulder.

[Soshi Yuuru]

He chuckled, "I don't seem to remember you getting so angry when I grabbed your breasts like the Iuchi."

[Usagi Tomoe]

"..." She glared at him quietly for a moment, then looked away from him and to the two puppies instead.

"I should probably teach Chibi-Usa to attack on command. I have a perfect target right next to me."

[Soshi Yuuru]

He chuckled and bumped his shoulders into her, "I will miss your cute face when you get upset."

[Usagi Tomoe]

She broke into a grin too. "I will miss how you make me laugh... but, we'll still be friends after all this."

And maybe more if we're both forced to marry the Unicorns that were too ugly and brutish to be allowed to come here... *sigh*

"We were friends before this, we'll be friends after too. Unless your wife will be a jealous-type, then I'll stay away."

[Shinjo Liu Fei]

"Mmmm. That sounds nice." He shot her a quick teasing grin. "I'm sure something needed to keep you out of trouble."

He is silent for a few moments before speaking again. "I think my siblings only looked after me to the extent that they had to. To them, I was the latecomer, the usurper, a further share in their inheritance reduced." His lips twisted. "Wasn't my fault our parents had such an enthusiastic reconciliation."

He gave Liu Fei a sidelong glance. "Except my eldest sister was... well, not kind, I wouldn't say. But she did teach me a lot of what I know about sake, of her own free will. That counts for a lot."

"Older sisters can be like that, I think, there is certainly the need to make you feel like you're doing the right thing on your own and not really being helped along the way," she offered a little insight, and for that she took payment with a drink.

"On the ride it was hard to have many Children, at least, it was hard on our parents. There was only ever my sister and I. Cannot imagine what it would have been like to have been a middle child of a whole litter, or even the eldest or youngest."

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

"Older sisters can be like that, I think, there is certainly the need to make you feel like you're doing the right thing on your own and not really being helped along the way," she offered a little insight, and for that she took payment with a drink.

"On the ride it was hard to have many Children, at least, it was hard on our parents. There was only ever my sister and I. Cannot imagine what it would have been like to have been a middle child of a whole litter, or even the eldest or youngest."

"Hmmm." Tomonaga said. He took a drink of his own kumis. "I'm gonna have to thing about that one a bit, I think. I've mostly thought of my siblings as not really on my side... but maybe my elder sister has done more than me than I realize." He made a face. "The rest of them are still dicks, though. But they're family." He shrugged.

After a few moments, he looked to Fei with a grin. "So. You wanna hear the embarrassing story that I promised you?"

[Shinjo Liu Fei]

Fei nodded to the first and then more enthusiastically nodded with a large grin to the second. Raising her cup nearer her lips so she might drink while she listened with little disturbance.

"I most certainly would Tomonaga-san."

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

"Right, of course you are." Tomonaga sighed, but his smile didn't fade. "I should warn you, this story is a little on the tawdry side, though." He didn't seem especially concerned, despite the warning.

"Anyway... this was not long after my sixteenth birthday, which was itself not too long after my gempukku." He began. "I had just begun my duties in the family business. But my mother wanted me to get a bit more practice before they sent me out to try to work with more difficult customers. And so they arranged for my first potential customer to be a relative of an old friend of the family, their niece, in fact." He paused to take a sip of his kumis.

"So, I wasn't there when she met my parents. The first time I saw her was when I walked into the negotiating room. And..." He let out a puff of breath. "She was a Bayushi, see. A bit older than me, in fact close to a decade older, but she was beautiful in that way that Scorpion women tend to be. And... we hit it off. Our negotiations were at least half flirting. I thought I was doing pretty well at the time." He took another sip, glancing at Liu Fei to see her reaction to the story so far.

[Shinjo Liu Fei]

Fei listened intently, taking the occasional drink as he spoke. When he started to lead into the more fun part she couldn't help but laugh a little. Amused and entertained by the story.

"But?" she prompted what she felt like was coming next. Wanting to hear how it ended desperately, practically on the edge of her non-existent seat.

[Yasuki Tomonaga]

Tomonaga smiled, seeing his enthusiastic audience. "Mmm, no 'but' yet. She came to my room that night. Kissed me as soon as the door slid open. I stopped her... well, after a minute or two. I'd never done that sort of thing before, and I was worried I might be causing a problem with someone. But she told me it was fine, she'd been married, but her husband had died a year ago, she was lonely, and so on. And so, well, it happened." He shrugged. "In fact, she was there for a week, so it happened rather a lot. Days spent negotiating, nights spent, well..." He gave a sheepish grin. "I was pretty tired, let's just say."

"Anyway, a deal was worked out, definitely more in her favor than it should have been. At the end, I was about ready to run away with her, but she said I shouldn't, not yet. Anyway, I went with my parents to say goodbye..." He paused, shaking his head ruefully, before he took a drink of kumis.

"So, as she was leaving, my mother said 'Oh, and give our best to your husband'. She said that she would, gave me a wink, and was off before I could stop sputtering. And then, I had the pleasure of having both my parents turn to me, and ask me why the deal wasn't as good as it should have been." He let out another huff of breath. "What a conversation that was."

[Soshi Yuuru]

She broke into a grin too. "I will miss how you make me laugh... but, we'll still be friends after all this."

And maybe more if we're both forced to marry the Unicorns that were too ugly and brutish to be allowed to come here... *sigh*

"We were friends before this, we'll be friends after too. Unless your wife will be a jealous-type, then I'll stay away."

He smiled, "Even jealous wives should put up with one friend or two."

[Usagi Tomoe]

"Maybe after a while," she chuckled softly. "I'd hate to be a source of conflict in the beginning of your marriage... even if we both find spouses we both get along with, we'll all probably need an adjustement period... perhaps even more than usual for marriages, considering all the differences to consider for the Unicorn. Regardless of who joins which clan, there will be a lot to learn."

"So do you see yourself likely to be wearing purple at the end of this? Or will you still be a Scorpion?"