(D8ME, Ishioka’s Room, expecting) Your presence is required.

[Agasha Inoshishi]

"Ino-chan, I require your presence. Inform me how you know other's sumai."

Inoshishi preps carefully, making sure she’s clean, her makeup just so, her kimono adjusted properly, her bag of mushrooms full and hanging properly before heading over to Ishioka’s room. On the one hand, the summons was a bit terse. On the other hand…there were lots of times for terse.

She scratches on his door and decides to have some fun, since in the recent past it has appeared to work in her favor. She quickly drops to her knees, her head dropping towards the floor like a retainer meeting with their lord. Ishioka seemed to like that and she’d learned she liked Ishioka being happy way, way too much to not do something this simple.

[Matsu Ishioka]

The Matsu comes to his door and opens it with a suspicious look, wondering at the scratching sound with no visible shadow to indicate who it might be. Fortunately, he senses a Dragon very pleased with herself before he steps on her to look farther down the hall.

"Ino-chan," he says quietly, and a little impatiently. "Rise, please, and come in," his deep voice rumbles, suggesting she's in trouble. As he steps back to allow her in, she hears, very faintly, "You may do that inside, if you wish."

[Agasha Inoshishi]

Inoshishi rises and walks in, letting her hair fall in front of her face. “If it pleases you, my lord.” And she kneels again, letting her kimono reveal her pale shoulders as her smiles widens under her ready-to-be-chastised head. “Do what you must, my lord. I place myself in your hands.

Her tone speaks of love and submission with an incredibly strong sexual undertone. Her enjoyment of whatever this is is very very clear as her breathing gets shallow and her heart races.

[Matsu Ishioka]

As she enters, the Matsu ensures the door is quietly closed.

After the Dragon kneels again, her 'lord' sits cross legged in front of her head. "Ino-chan, you must remember that you can't always indulge your sense of humor. I know, sounds like a silly lowlander lie," he says patiently, hoping she appreciates him listening well. "But there is still much that could go wrong here, and calling too much attention to ourselves makes that more likely..."

[Agasha Inoshishi]

Having had her fun, Inoshishi shifts around to her usual cross-legged sitting position.

“This doesn’t feel like a lie, beloved, but it makes me very happy indeed you heard me so clearly,” she smiles warmly and a little shyly. “I had thought a Crab we both knew, a guard I knew, and a minor clan member would be safe to say as I did. And besides, I did enjoy it, remembering your hand on me, her hands. Thinking about how you could easily do similar to me. Or both of us, I suppose, although I hadn’t thought about that at the time.

And also, the confidence the two of you showed there would make everything else simple. Kissing someone you’ve kissed isn’t that hard. You just…kinda…lean in.” With each word, she shifts upwards, tilting her chin up and coming closer to Ishioka’s face, “and…do.” After breaking off the kiss, she leans back with that self-satisfied grin she always wore after kissing the big Matsu.

She looks slightly chastened. “I know I’m not proper always…or often. I’m sorry it made you uncomfortable.”

[Matsu Ishioka]

She m may see that her words start to have an effect on him, since she is sitting right in front of him. Ishioka closes his eyes and, with a small smile, chuckles.

"Ino-chan, you are too smart for me. You make allusions to things that I see are allusions, but I don't understand what they allude to. I..." He looks down. "I am sorry. I thought, when you spoke of the styles of others, that there were others here who you... had studied with." He exhales, though she can see he's still... affected. "I'm sorry, Ino-chan. I was most foolish to doubt your dedication." And then the big man bows forward over his legs, holding the bow a while.

[Agasha Inoshishi]

She stills, absolutely motionless for a moment. She’s known this moment was coming, and takes a breath to calm herself.

“I remember no one I’ve touched before you any more than those you’ve slain in the line of duty.

I…had my duty to do. But since you’ve touched me, no man has, and no man will.”

She bows low to the floor again, this time looking small.

[Matsu Ishioka]

Ishioka's face softens, though there's a crease of worry still at her mention of duty in this context. But the spirit is right, and he doesn't seem able to stay mad at this one anyway.

He scoots closer, so his crossed legs are just in front of her bowed head. "Ino-chan," he says, soft but serious, placing a hand gently on her head. "We will talk about the past, because it's important, it helps make us... but I will never judge things done before you knew me, as I hope you will not judge things I may have done before I knew you. This... Things are very different, I think, with you in my life."

His hand strokes down her hair a couple of times before sliding to her shoulder and gently encouraging her to rise and to sit in his lap.

[Agasha Inoshishi]

At the promise of no judgment, her head raises, eyes shining with unshed tears. As the Matsu finishes talking, a few do roll down here cheekC but they are clearly tears of happiness.

“Yes, I think my life is much different as well, Ishi-kun.” She willingly climbs into his lap, her arms slinging around his neck and she steals a quick kiss on the cheek as she nestled herself into his large chest.

“My past is what it is, but it seems almost like another person. I knew I was destined for one of the great romances, but I never thought it would be with someone so deserving.”

Her head rests on his chest, right near his heart.

[Matsu Ishioka]

Ishioka bends his neck to kiss the top of her head and he strokes a hand down her back.

"History is important to me, like all Lion," he says patiently. "The stories of your past will be part of me, Ino-chan. I cannot reject them, but I wish to know them. Sooner or later." It's given as a command, though a gentle one. His heart rate is elevated, but compared to what she's seen, this might qualify as a normal conversation level for the soldier.