Revealing Winds (D9, LA, Expecting)

[Otaku Kitakuhime]

One thing she learned is that nigiri is eaten with fingers, while the rest of sushi normally with chopsticks. The girl wrinkles her nose at his offer, offering a a cute smile in return. She pincers the well-made piece with her right thumb and index, and carefully lifts the it up, analyzing its colors and format once again.

With a nod, Kitakuhime turns her wrist to make the biggest part of the nigiri point toward Yawarakai. Her left hand goes onto the blanket under them to support her upper body while she leans –– further than before –– toward the masked boy. The view above is as expectacular as the wondering eye could find under the level of her offering.

Would the Scorpion eat from her hand?

[Shosuro Yawarakai]

Yawarakai scans her studiously for a moment then smiled and wet his lips. He dipped his head, slipping his mask slightly askew to fully expose his mouth, and encircled the exposed half of the nigiri with his teeth. They chattered softly and he withdrew with his portion of the nigiri contained within a contented grin.

[Otaku Kitakuhime]

Popping her lips open with a swallowing bite at the nigiri, the girl returns to her previous position, leaving legs to the side while still maintaining her left on the ground to hold her up. Kitakuhime chews with satisfaction, almost licking her lips in a way she shouldn't. The thin smirk returns: part coy, part sly.

[Shosuro Yawarakai]

Yawarakai echoed her smirk and slipped his mask into place. He licked his lower lip again, taking a second pass at the peppers which dotted the slice of fish.

"Whose turn next?"

[Otaku Kitakuhime]

She adjusts herself, sitting in top of her legs again. Realizing the wind partially uncovered her shoulder, the girl also tightens up the kimono, and checks the choker at her neck. Her eyes scan the cups he had laid out, but they soon return to Yawarakai.

"Yours. How can I satisfy your curiosity after sharing this bond?"

[Shosuro Yawarakai]

Yawarakai held her gaze for a moment, clearly parsing words and meanings in his head before he spoke.

"I am curious about your thoughts to a union between the two of us," he admitted finally, "We can play a game back and forth where we feint, misdirect, misrepresent, and speak innuendos to each other while we coyly dance around the point - and that is a perfectly honorable game to play in it's own right if that is in fact the game you wish to play. My initial impressions of you though are that you might seem to appreciate a more sincerely direct and honest approach. Even among samurai, marriage for love is a rare thing. Rarer still between samurai like us. In the spirit of sincere and candid honesty Otaku-sama, I do not love you. At least, I don't yet. I realize that is perhaps not the most romantic thing to say, but it is true. There are several qualities of yours that I find endearing. I think there is the distinct possibility that love could grow on my part for you. It need not take years, even. But a marriage between us would not be for love so I will not do you the discourtesy of trying to convince you otherwise.

"What I would expect from my intended, what I would need, is someone who furthers my clan's and my family's interests and wellbeing. That ties them to others in a meaningful, powerful, and tangible bond. A representation of peace, cooperation, and harmony. If I were to marry into the Otaku, I would be loyal to you and to my new family and clan. As loyal as for those of my birth. And if you were to marry into the Shosuro instead, I would still wish you to bring some of the Otaku with you to enrich us. I would not want to you be subsumed by the Scorpion and simply become one of us, that is not the point of these things... especially with your return. You would have beautiful lands to ride through freely, unchallenged. You would be able to travel and see the rest of the Empire if that was your wish... or if your heart is that of a bushi through and through then you could implement a training program and bring your effortless knowledge of riding and cavalry to our house guard, our magistrates, and the bushi who serve us.

"What I am saying is that there are many ways a liaison between us could wind up, and determining the exact way that looks right now is not important to me. What is, is establishing the connection between us and ensuring that you feel as unhindered as possible with your choice. This is what I am curious about.... your thoughts.... and your feelings about me. My proposal, that is."

[Otaku Kitakuhime]

She tilts her head, analyzing every word and meaning. They grow inside of her, little by little. When he finishes his speech, Kitakuhime crosses her arms in front of her chest and straightens her back in a regal pose that differs much from the sweetness she has been offering so far.

"Finally!"

There's a sigh, but she completes, "Finally, I find those willing to drop that silly mask to be direct and honest with their hosts. It really infuriates me how samurai may speak one thing and do another. Rumors of being backstabbers, shenanigans and assassins might be just rumors –– but as every story, they have a root somewhere. See, Shosuro-san, I am extremely sad the way one of the Clans behaved during this miai. I expected us to become friends, but instead, we were slandered by malicious and poisonous tongues. While honor forbids me take this seriously, it has greatly affected my perception and valuation of any possible match from that Clan."

The girl raises her hand in a halt. "Unfortunately, I have so little time to understand the true depth of what these intentions mean. The only political arrangement I could properly grant would only come after an apology. Then, well, I would be glad to discuss further."

[Shosuro Yawarakai]

"Apologize for what?" he asked warmly, shrugging in kind.

"If it is not to be taken seriously, then it is not to be taken seriously neh? And untrue things whispered without a name and face to stake to the claim will melt in the light of day. So if they are untrue and you do not take them seriously, I'm not sure what kind of apology you are asking for. Let me, perhaps in place of apology, simply say that I am sorry you have been required to endure untruths and if one I call cousin were discovered to have been a source of these untruths then they will be instructed on the graveness of their error and they will be unable to repeat it. Is this sufficient?"

[Otaku Kitakuhime]

She breathes in deeply, and replies with serenity, "See. You just brought that confusing mask all over again, dancing with words that don't actually mean anything. It is insufficient. I feel it lacks sincerity. I am sorry. I do not wish to offend. I enjoy your company greatly. I was having fun. Yet, if we are to talk business, then I must assume a different stance."

The girl bows in place, asking once more, "Show me, and I'll have faith. Until then, nothing good could possibly come of our union. Fortunes forbid."

[Shosuro Yawarakai]

His demeanor relaxed into it's previous warmth.

"Hai, I did. Just as you hid behind your upbringing and formality. It's not so different, and I will meet you and your concerns on whatever level you wish to express them. If you want to be frank, then be frank. If you want to play the other game.... well, I can do that too."

He extended a hand, bent and lowered it so she would see it, and tried to beckon her to rise.

"As to the other... I won't promise you I can discover who the source of these rumors in two days. That would be foolish, and I won't promise you something I do not feel I can deliver. What I can offer is that I will inquire. I will search in good faith. I won't simply forget the matter after the miai is over. And I can say with certainty that any failure of theirs that lead to these untruths will be laid bare before their eyes and their soul and that they will not simply comprehend their failure, they will understand it. They will know it utterly and permanently, and they will be unable to commit such a failure of duty and loyalty again. And if it was a kinsman of mine, and if we were wed, then they would be required to receive your justice as well as mine."

[Otaku Kitakuhime]

"I did not hide anything, Shosuro-san. You offend me with such a phrase. I was polite to recite my heritage to an important samurai such as yourself. I was only formal since I wanted to make -you- feel comfortable. I leveled up to meet -your- expectations. You're not leveling up to meet mine, now."

She comes up from the bow, eyes still closed. Which probably means she didn't see his hand.

"I am not requiring or asking you to find the source of those rumors. They have already been cast in the wind. Harm was already done. There's no need for revenge in this matter: the compassionate shouldn't nurture such bitterness. Now, honesty, there's need. A loyal union is based on that, is it not?"

[Shosuro Yawarakai]

"I apologize for the insult, that was not my intention. I also thank you for the thought that I might appreciate formality, but I don't. Not right now, nor would I were things to proceed between us when we were able to be ourselves rather than the masks we wear for others in public," he said, his eyes darting back and forth between hers though they were still closed, "I am sorry."

"And I don't necessarily mean revenge. To punish, merely to punish, that is cruelty. It is meaningless. It should be equal parts correction for the mistake, a lesson to help those in error avoid repeating it, and mitigation to prevent its repetition even if they fail to learn their lesson. Only those who cannot learn, will not learn, or have erred so badly that they cannot be salvaged should be dealt the ultimate fate. Do you disagree?"

He sighed and pursed his lips slightly.

"I have every intention of being loyal to you. And honest with you. That's why I said I could not promise to discover who said what in what little time remains, but that I would try. And if you do not care about that, and you would not see the problem solved any other way, and an apology on my part for someone I do not know for words I did not speak for untruths I do not hold, then I will do that. If that is what my intended requires of me, then she shall have it. So, is that what you want? Is that what you need? In frankness, without masks or turns of phrase or pomp and circumstance?"

----
sincerity, if you care/think it's appropriate

[Otaku Kitakuhime]

The princess stays silent for a long, long time. The winds blows softer, and returns at full force once she opens her eyes.

She decides to give him another chance, and simply nods, waiting for his apology.

[Shosuro Yawarakai]

"I am sorry for the untruths and that you've been forced to endure them Otaku-sama. I'd ask that you please overlook this unfortunate incident and not allow it to color your opinions of my clan, my family, or me," he said succinctly, his eyes remaining unwaveringly locked on hers.

[Otaku Kitakuhime]

"While I cannot ignore such unpleasantries, I can let them be in the past," Kitakuhime keeps looking a him with a series glare, "I do forgive you, in the name of your family and Clan –– this once."

The girl leans forward and fetches a sliced carrot with her fingers and eats it.