Kyuden Shika

"Whatever you do next... has not telling her ever worked out well for you?"

He swirled the tea in his cup.

"And if it's dueling you wish to learn, I would think that my performance today would have told you to look elsewhere. I couldn't even out-duel a Lion bureaucrat. Killing is one thing. Dueling is something else entirely."

"Fine, let me use softer language. I would like to learn how to wield a sword, will you teach me that? I may be old to become a student but I bet I know the weight and balance of a blade better than most here. This is not knowledge for now, I know it will take years but I will cross the empire when I am ready to find him. One day."

"Ah, now that, that I can teach. Including a few dirty tricks a crusty old ronin taught me..."

He exhaled with the Phoenix's agreement, a great deal of stress leaving his body. "Thank you. I know there is not much time before we depart and you will likely want to spend much of that with Aimi-san but any kind of head-start you can afford me would be greatly appreciated." He drained his tea and exhaled again, looking much more his usual self after. "So what fresh torture do you think the Shika will have for us tomorrow? I'm sorry to hear that today's event didn't go well for you. I was not there to see it, I was here with Bai-chan learning of what happened to her."

"You didn't miss much. I've never pretended to be much of a duelist- Tessho always said it was too much like a fair fight for a line soldier to bother with- but I think Kitsu-san and I might have made enough of an ugly mess of ours to get the Shika to question their methods. As for tomorrow... who the hell knows? About the only event I've done well at was the one where I had to push Aimi around."

He didn't sip his tea, but knocked the cup back in evident frustration.

"One thing I want to never have happen, by anyone's hands, and I got to do it. Yay."

"You sound upset but it couldn't be avoided, shouldn't it be you? Shouldn't it be someone who loves her and she knows means no malice , someone she knows will feel remorse?"

"I know all that. Doesn't mean I have to like it."

Sip.

"Especially since I think if she'd faced someone who didn't outmuscle her so much, she would have won a few rounds."

"Would that have been better, if she'd faced someone like me? Sure she would have won, handily I imagine, but my hands ended up places on Reina-sama in our match that I wish Bai-chan would let me touch. I'm not sure that would have improved your mood and I'm tired of apologizing to you for things."

"Bah, I'm not the jealous type."

It helps that we had a kinky threesome with Koi before we'd really ironed out our feelings for each other, because we're geniuses.

"Especially not in a wrestling match."

"Then what is really bothering you Raizo-san? I have faith that the Fortunes will favor you in two days, you should believe in yourself more."