(D3, ME) Play... in the Rain

[Kitsu Murato]

"Not too grand," he said with a smile. "Taiko-san was walking around the castle and I metaphorically bumped into him. When he realized I could actually see him we talked for a bit. It did not take much convincing to get permission to help him, as he is an honored ancestor that fell in battle, but was lost to time. It is part of our family's duty to care for such things."

"But why would your lord be apprehensive about an invitation to Winter Court? That is a great honor to be able to attend."

[Kitsuki Hajime]

"It is, hai, and the fact that I would have to mention his name every time I introduced myself was a large factor in his eventual agreement, but he hadn't received an invitation of his own, and I think that rankled. Also, it does put a strain on a lord's finances to dress his poet well enough to rub shoulders with the Otomo and the Bayushi."

Hajime shrugged. "Deciding priorities is well above my station in life, but I am glad that your lord has the wisdom to know when a thing is right, as opposed to opportune. They seem a good lord."

[Kitsu Murato]

"Well, it was ancestor related. There is not a lot of opportunity to consider," he says. "The spiritual well-being of the clan is above all other concerns for the Kitsu."

"I am certain that you must have been quite dashing in your fancy winter court kimono. But I am curious what winter court was actually like."

[Kitsuki Hajime]

Hajime stopped in his tracks as his brain whizzed down the pastel highways of memory.

"It was...splendid. There were ever so many important people. I was a nobody, really, but people seemed to take a shine to me. At one point, Mirumoto Yuji had me just stand sort of down the hall from the delegation headquarters to 'attract the leches' so that he could swoop in to advance one agenda or another while they were distracted."

Pause.

"I'm not sure I cared for Mirumoto Yuji all that much, come to think of it. But the colors of the clothing and the art on display was magnificent. I saw Akodo Toturi and Doji Hotaru. The Emperor was kind of far away most of the time, so I didn't get a very good look at him, but I was in the same room on a few occasions. Hida Kisada even spoke to me once!"

[Kitsu Murato]

"That sounds like far more of an adventure than I ever had," he says with a smile. "I imagine the stories embellish and Hida Kisada is not as large as a castle. Otherwise how would he fit in one?"

[Kitsuki Hajime]

Hajime nodded solemnly.

"He is not so large as that, but when he asks you to get out of his way, he is large enough to lend you some motivation. Certainly the biggest man I have ever seen. Though I am told that Togashi-ue has been described as sizeable as well."

[Kitsu Murato]

"I can't imagine. I've seen some big Lion but they are not as common as big Crab," he says. "Is he much bigger than the Asahina?"

[Kitsuki Hajime]

"The Asahina..." Hajime thought about it. "Is close. I am not sure what happened, there. He is an anomaly, and no mistake."

[Kitsu Murato]

"Well, people hide indiscretions in family history from time to time. Possible a pillow book come to life between ancestors of his?"