[Day 14, Mid-Morning] I Fucking Knew It (Open)

[Kitsu Moshumaru]

The Kitsu was surprised at the appearance of the Kasuga, as well as the ronin in question, and so for now let them talk, until he was addressed.

"No problem, Aimi-san. Consider it an apology for my goof in the geisha house."

[Aimi]

The Kitsu was surprised at the appearance of the Kasuga, as well as the ronin in question, and so for now let them talk, until he was addressed.

"No problem, Aimi-san. Consider it an apology for my goof in the geisha house."

"Hmm, yes, that. Well. I suppose I..." Aimi hesitates for a moment, before sighing and shaking her head. "I should probably explain why I reacted so badly there, before we part ways. I'd hate for you to carry any kind of guilt going forwards."

"Well, I wish I could say that I don't know about finagling this half...or full way drunk in the morning, but that would be lying." Yoshi seems fairly unperturbed by the sight in play. He picks up a bottle from the counter and takes a long swig.

"Now...they send people to the Deer if you want someone to get married. You send someone to a Tortoise if you want people to get what they want."

Yoshi inclines a small bow to those gathered, particularly the "applicable parties".

"Shiba-san, Aimi-san, may I be bold in suggesting that...none of us particularly our first choices?"

"Yoshi-san," Aimi says with a sigh, "Oh, this is going to be awkward. You seem a good man, but... well, if nothing else, I suppose I ought to explain to you too as well, ne? Why I'm... well. Before we all go and do something stupid."

[Shiba Raizo]

"Yoshi-san," Aimi says with a sigh, "Oh, this is going to be awkward. You seem a good man, but... well, if nothing else, I suppose I ought to explain to you too as well, ne? Why I'm... well. Before we all go and do something stupid."

"Now, now, I have 'stupid' covered, let's hear you out, and let Kasuga-san have his say too, and mayeb I'll just shut up for a bit..."

[Kasuga Yoshi]

The Kitsu was surprised at the appearance of the Kasuga, as well as the ronin in question, and so for now let them talk, until he was addressed.

"No problem, Aimi-san. Consider it an apology for my goof in the geisha house."

"Oh who hasn't goofed in a geisha house?" Yoshi throws in idly.

"Yoshi-san," Aimi says with a sigh, "Oh, this is going to be awkward. You seem a good man, but... well, if nothing else, I suppose I ought to explain to you too as well, ne? Why I'm... well. Before we all go and do something stupid."

"Aimi-san, doing stupid things and still profiting from them is what the Tortoise do best." Yoshi pulls out his kiseru and pulls it to a brazier to light it. "But I would like to hear. Now...was I right about the Warrior's Journey?"

[Kitsu Moshumaru]

"Oh who hasn't goofed in a geisha house?" Yoshi throws in idly.

"This is unrelated to my goof, but I actually have a room there named after me now."

[Aimi]

"Aimi-san, doing stupid things and still profiting from them is what the Tortoise do best." Yoshi pulls out his kiseru and pulls it to a brazier to light it. "But I would like to hear. Now...was I right about the Warrior's Journey?"

"It was a good guess, Yoshi-san, but no," Aimi smiles faintly, and shakes her head, "I'm not a clan samurai under a false name. I am, depending on who you ask, not a samurai at all."

She exhales slowly. It feels strange, admitting this after a life hiding it, but... well she's already planning to ruin what scraps of reputation she had among people who cared about this miai anyway, so why not.

"I was born a peasant girl," she says, as though this is an idle conversation. "One among many, no position or heritage to speak of. And then, when times were tough and hunger began to set in, my parents sold me. I went to the geisha house. It's where I learned my manners, my singing, all the delicate little touches which made me seem like a true samurai in disguise."

She hums, and turns over her hand so that it lays flat on the table. A moment later the water flask hanging from her belt uncaps itself, and a stream of shimmering water emerges, dancing between her fingers like silk. "Then the kami spoke to me, and I knew - from what I'd picked up from clients and peers - that I wasn't meant to be there. That I was shugenja, and that shugenja were samurai, not geisha. But I also knew that if I went to the local lord, why, I'd be taken in and adopted and trained... and I'd just trade one life in a gilded cage for another, my birth held against me by everyone who knew. So I ran. Stole money and clothes, asked the wind to help me time it right, and just... left."

She shivers slightly, and shrugs at Yoshi, an apologetic smile on her face. "So you see, I'd make a terrible match regardless, for just about anyone."

[Shiba Raizo]

"'Cept me. Phoenix think all shugenja are just misplaced samurai. Ergo..."

[Kitsu Moshumaru]

"Ah, I..."

The Kitsu almost teared up, but held himself back.

"I understand. I'm sorry you had to endure that."

[Kasuga Yoshi]

"Oh pish, you'd be a great match. The Tortoise have no shugenja of their own and you would make an excellent wife. And...well, I'll get to that in a moment. I asked because it would have been a nice touch. But your training makes one solution plausible."

Yoshi looks over at Raizo.

"What would you do to be with her? What would you do to offer a save haven for her, to be happy and together?"

[Aimi]

"Ah, I..."

The Kitsu almost teared up, but held himself back.

"I understand. I'm sorry you had to endure that."

"Nothing for you to apologise over, Kitsu-san," Aimi says with a rough chuckle, "But yes. That's why I was so... uncomfortable, that night. If I was being sensible I would have stayed far away from the House, never mind actually accepting an invitation inside, but... well."