Kyuden Shika

Unsei had absolutely no idea what was going on. They don't know why they were contacted, but they were, so they had brought out a little table and set it in a small grove of peach trees. On the table was their divination kit, along with all ten of their custom multi-faceted gemstones -of which they still needed to buy one from this place- which were laid out on a small piece of cloth.

Beside them was a small duckling that was happily napping away in Unsei's overturned hat.

If they were expecting confidence from theiir appointment, they'd be disappointed. Kitsu Tsugumasa looked....worried, but he was determined to see this through.

He bowed deeply to the Seppun.

"Seppun-sama, thank you very much for agreeing to see me. I am Kitsu Tsugumasa. I know that your talents must be in the highest demand at this time, and that you can spare me even a moment of your time is a deep honor for me." he said nearly reverently.

He bowed deeply again.

"They aren't, actually. In fact, I've got to just about chase people down to offer readings." They said plainly, clearly a bit tired. "You are actually the first one to ask for a reading, so you are fine, Kitsu-san. Please, be at ease."

They returned the bow. "Would you like a mochi?" They asked in an attempt to ease the worried Kitsu's mind.

"Oh. Ah, thank you Seppun-sama, that is very kind of you." he said taking the offered mochi. Fortunately one did not have to play the gift giving game for a simpe snack.

He wasn't quite sure what to do about the revelation that no one was asking for readings, or the Seppun's lethargy. The polite thing would be to ignore it, right? Tsugumasa looked down trying to figure out what to say, and the duck looked back up at him.

"Ah that is a cute duckling." he offered, grasping for something to say. "Is...it part of the reading?"

"You know, I am very tempted to joke and say the duckling is. That the stars require some malicious component, but no. I've just... felt recently like I was losing the passion I had for things I once loved, but in an effort to find something to be passionate about... I got a duck. I just hope I eventually get that previous passion back or my work is going to be draining."

They cleared their throat. "Anyway. What do you want to do?"

The Kitsu nodded.

"As much as I would love to have Seppun-sama tell me about how the miai turns out for me, I wouldn't want to squander her talents on such. Instead, there's another matter I have some hesitancy about. A samurai asked for my aid....rudely perhaps. But the request was made and accepted. I've communed with the answers, and received their answer on the matter. But said samurai hasn't bothered to receive the aid, and I have miy own doubts about the aid. Sacrifices must be made....but I'm not sure they are capable of making them...so perhaps it is better not to push a solution on them that will fail." he related, shielding the exact details from the sharp Seppun.

"So...really I just want to know if it's a good idea to propose this aid that may or may not work and may or may not be accepted. Or perhaps simply let the request fade, assuming that they've found some other solution."

"I'd say it depends on who the samurai is. I might not know too many around here, but I know one rather... rude... samurai around here to say the least and I'm not interested in helping somebody help her." They answered. "As for your joke about the miai, I can't see that. I'd love to and I could probably get glimpses, but with how swiftly things change around here, it's difficult to get a set answer."

They gestured to the dice. "It sounds as if you are needing the three dice spread. Just means option one, option two, and something that must be considered. It's been vaguely useful around here." They paused briefly. "I hope, anyway."

Tsugumasa bowed swiftly at the Seppun's rebuke.

"My apologies, Seppun-sama, I did not mean to make light of your sacred traditions." he offered, very embarrassed. "I would be truly grateful for any taste of your talents."

"What did I say about relaxing? I'm not going to bite your head off." Not like they had the power to do that anyway. But then they took a breath and tried to calm themself down. "Kitsu-san," They said in a softer tone. "You may speak plainly with me and short of insulting me and my family, you will not upset me... the duck counts as my family now, just to include that. Now, I'd just like to make sure that this rude samurai isn't the same one I'm thinking of, because I will not be doing anything to help them. Do you mind just telling me their clan name?" As they spoke softly, they smiled gently as well, really putting on that aura of harmlessness.

The Kitsu considered that...but eventually shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Seppun-sama, but I cannot. It is....a very strange ritual that is required, and a great deal hinges on the elements of it being shrouded in as much mystery as possible. Even if you were to name the rude samurai outright, I could not confirm nor deny it was them." he says.

He looked at the duck.

"What I can safely say, though, is if the rude samurai IS who you're thinking of, they will be very very unhappy to perform this ritual. It is not an enjoyable sacrifice that they must make to atone for what they have done." he said.

"I....really cannot say any more about the matter, Seppun-sama. If that renders me unworthy of your formidable talents, I understand." he said somewhat resigned to being rejected. Who was he to bother an important Seppun with his trivial problems after all?