Kyuden Shika

Nesshin, released from regular patrols for the occasion and dressed in his best--his kimono is clean, the blue-and-hold obi shines, his fancy fan is thrust through it near a purple-silver ribbon, and an omamori is tucked in--strides through the long-familiar great hall of his Clan's castle. As many times as I've walked here, he thinks, it never gets old.

But this, this is new.

He joins the queue to present gifts to the Lord Shika, and, when it is his turn, he steps forward, sinks to his left knee, then his right, places left hand on the floor, then right, and puts his forehead on the backs of them. He holds the pose for a moment, then sits up, remaining in seiza upon the floor before his lord.

"My Lord Shika," he says, "my life has been yours since it began. My service has been yours since I knew the meaning of the word. My name has been yours since the vows of my gempukku. No gift I could offer would ever reflect the gratitude and debt owed. Yet still, I've got to offer something for the occasion!"

Placing a cloth on the ground before him, he takes a small stand fashioned from antler out and places it upon the cloth. And into the stand, he places a carved image, finely done, of a rampant buck rising in triumph over a humbled goat.

"A commemoration," Nesshin offers, "of my lord's successful address of the recent issue with the hillman, Yagi, who had been so pernicious, which I pray my lord will find to his liking, unworthy as it may be."

He scoots back from the cloth and returns to the full za rei, awaiting Renji's reply.

Nesshin has seen his lord smile many times, he was after all quite a kind lord. But given the occasion, there seems to be an extra depth to it today.

"It is as you say, Nesshin-san, you have served dutifully and well ever since you bore the name But it is I whom am in your debt, not the other way around. My life, and the lives of your fellow Deer would be infinitely poorer had the Heavens not seen fit to give you unto us. You think the statue is of my triumph, but all of my triumphs truly belong to the Deer, including yourself. Your service has been your gift this whole time, Nesshin-san, I could not hope to ask for more." he says, giving the first refusal.

Addressed, Nesshin rises from the bow he has held, though he does not return to his feet. Looking to his lord, he makes the second offer:

"The deer springs lightly upon the ground, yes, but it is the crowned head that draws the eye and that defends the herd. If I have done anything, it is because I have sheltered under that spreading stand of antlers, and, small as it may be, this token shows my appreciation, for which cause, it is offered to you, Lord Shika."

Nesshin bows once again.

Renji smiled at his retainer's words.

"Yet now in the coming weeks you may become a Deer of a different color altogether." he offers.

"Would it not be best to take this with you as a reminder of your years of service if you are destined to leave these halls?" he gives as the second refusal.

Nesshin rises from the bow again at his lord's words, and replies, still kneeling.

"If I do leave these lands, Lord Shika, then I will carry with me all that I am, all that has been given me by the Clan. But if I am to leave, my spear will be gone, and my vigil. But if some token of me remained, some small piece of me would remain, too, even after I am gone--whether from marriage or in the way we all must someday go.

"Please, Lord Shika, accept this," he says, to make the final offer.