(D5 MA) How Do I Know?

[Kitsu Murato]

"I guess my position is I've never had a romp in the bushes? I don't think I could without actually knowing a person at least a little," he admits, picking one of the skewers, offering the others.

"I... haven't considered it, for the most part. It would be a lie to say I haven't thought about it. Or that I haven't read about it... Or even witnessed it. But I've never felt strongly enough about a person to actually do so with them. Though this miai certainly is presenting no shortage of people that inspire such thoughts." He smiles at that.

[Seppun Unsei]

They picked one of them when offered out and wasted no time tearing into it. They didn't appear to chew and within seconds the skewer was empty. Apparently, they were rather hungry.

"Awww, so you were just teasing me." They teased. "Such a shame, but such is life." They then looked around at some of the people here. "Yeah. Everyone is doing their best to look their best here, but that just makes it a whole new game to deal with, which is a bit annoying really. Also when you're married you certainly aren't always going to look good, so it's a bit unrealistic to see everyone here doing their best at it."

[Kitsu Murato]

He was a bit surprised with the speed that Unsei ate the skewer, but smiled at the healthy appetite. "You are clearly feeling a bit hungrier than I am," he say offering the others, and taking his time with the one he had taken.

"A little bit of flirting and teasing I suppose," he says with a smile. "But when we're looking for potential spouses, we need to start somewhere. Why not with a bit of innuendo and fun? But then, I would be very narrow in my world view if I wasn't open to arguments for the ways of others. So an argument could be made, intellectually, that I should be open to it. Even if tradition and lifestyle have conditioned me to think a different way. So maybe rather than teasing, it could be seen as a way to invite you to convince me of the benefits of seeing the world differently... with a bush obstructing my view?"

[Seppun Unsei]

Unsei took one more, but shook their head at the rest. "I really like yakitori, but I also forgot to eat this morning so..." They shrugged and devoured the second stick.

"The benefits to seeing the world from behind a bush? My simplest and only argument would be that you're likely going to have quick and dirty affairs for the rest of your life, so might as well start now before you're married. We samurai aren't exactly known for, ah, healthy and loving marriages. Most couples manage to shack up a few times, have a kid or three, and then devote time into finding love and love in anyone else. Guess it's not much of a benefit, but we aren't exactly going to have great outlooks here. The nakodo's are here to make sure that our families get the best match. Not us. So, might as well have some fun before we've all got to start hiding it here soon."

[Kitsu Murato]

He quirks an eybrow at that view of things, taking his time eating his food. The last one just sitting there waiting.

"That, is a decidedly... cynical and pragmatic view." Murato doesn't look offended or upset... more curious and maybe a little befuddled. "But... well," he seems to be trying to process it.

"All the pillow books..." he trails off for a moment. "Are fiction," he answers his own curiosity there. He tries to think on both the Tao and Leadership, but they're usually pretty sparse on details of family life, and basically devoid of topics like romance or... passion.

"I... personally have a feeling that it should be another way without any real guidance from an authority that says it should be."

It was true that his parents didn't seem to actually love each other. They just kind of respected each other. So everything that he was reading into it from a theoretical standpoint was based on fictions written by people trying to entertain. But he also felt what he felt with those he was in the process of getting to know in this miai.

"This is a miai though. Benten and Musabi both watch over it. Do the fortunes not urge us to have a more romantic view?" That was really the only counterpoint he could come up with at the moment. And he didn't know if the Seppun had a point against that either.

He wasn't upset, just curious.

[Seppun Unsei]

"Musubi-no-kami is the fortune of marriage. Nobody ever said they were the fortune of romantic marriage." Unsei said plainly. "And while Benten-no-kami is the fortune of romantic love, there's also Jizo-no-kami, the Fortune of mercy that several clans and their samurai ignore, as well as Mikoto-no-kami, the fortune of ronin, and a lot of people do not like ronin. There's also fortunes to... shall we say... less savory things that have been named and then forgotten for very specific reasons."

They sighed. "My point to all of that is just because there is a fortune to it... that doesn't mean that fortune alone is going to be followed and listened to. It would be impossible. After all, we live in an Empire with thousands of Fortunes for everything. The sun, skies, rain, wind, rocks, prayer, love, death, marriage, hatred, mercy, contentment, there's even a fortune of trees. We can revere them, and we do, but we cannot always... follow the guidance of each one all the time."

[Kitsu Murato]

He nods at that. It was a fair number of points, but not strong enough to support a change in opinion for Murato. Only strong enough to lead to further thought. "I think that is a fine point. I also can see that. Though we all also follow their guidance in different ways even when we do. The Moshi and the Seppun, I imagine, have very different rites and methods for worshipping Amaterasu-no-kami. So having different viewpoints is not necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps one day I'll need to romp just to understand the perspective if nothing else."

Then he grins.

"Please take good care of me so I don't get too lost on that day."

[Kasuga Yoshi]

Elsewhere, after a day of...is it glowering, Yoshi gets back some zeal. He plunges back into the market, interjecting himself in vendors, asking about business and offering little tidbits. He flashes a heavy purse and talks about investment, or throwing in a bent zeni's worth of advice.

On some people it might be annoying. But on Yoshi it is somehow endearing.

Wheeling and Dealing-Agenda Roll-Talking up his reputation as a businessman-Famously Wealthy Distinction-Water/Courtesy | TN: 2 | Success: 3 / Opportunity: 0 / Strife: 1

[Usogawa Narumi]

A trip to the marketplace sounded like a good plan after her stroll through the garden as she wasn't quite ready to head back to her room just yet. Her umbrella keeps the rain away, and the market isn't crowded as it had been, given the weather...
which makes it all the more easier to spot the Tortoise a few booths down the way.
Narumi takes a moment to set her On in place, and positions herself so when she approaches, her expression is a calm yet friendly and inviting one.
"Ah, I thought I might run into you here, Kasuga-san!" she says brightly, though it couldn't be farther from the truth. "Given how we left off, I wasn't sure I'd see you again, or if you'd disappear into the night like an unfinished daydream, leaving this one with nothing but good memories."

[Kasuga Yoshi]

Yoshi looks back over at Narumi and offers a crooked smile. "I don't like to abandon an investment, but after a certain chastisement I thought some space may be appropriate. You look well Narumi-san.