D7EA Yin and Yang (expecting)

[Usogawa Narumi]

Shit.
That was fast.
Narumi felt herself flush. But this time, it was out of anger. Her hands threatened to start shaking, and so she clasped them together.
"Friendship." She tries the word on her tongue, before pressing her lips into a thin line. And then a tepid smile.
It doesn't reach her eyes.

[Agasha Inoshishi]

As always, Inoshishi's first reaction is to fight fire with fire. She takes a deep breath and decides she'd rather fight this fire with a different kind of fire. Her posture shifts again, suddenly but not explosively, her legs dropping into a near perfect cross while her back straightens and her head whips around, her hair flying back, an odd fire in her eyes.

"Please, Usogawa-san, tell me what cause you have to take offense from me?"

While the words are certainly as meek as Inoshishi normally appears, and even SOUND mostly as meek as Inoshishi is, there is a steel behind them that is almost never there. It's virtually entirely clear that Inoshishi is going to see the flaw in whatever lies the Otter weaves and how to get to the truth of them. Apparently, this Dragon has woken.

[Usogawa Narumi]

Anger turned into tears.
A single tear escapes and rolls down the Otter's cheek. Then another.
Shit...

"I've lost," she takes a breath, ragged and shallow, but doesn't dare look away from the Dragon lest she get burned. "I told him I wouldn't compete for his affections. And it's painfully clear to me now that I don't stand a chance."
She swallows sandpaper, her chest feeling like it will implode- again.
Embarrassed she had been pushed precariously close to her breaking point, but the harshness of Inoshishi's voice had triggered something in her. Like the revelation that she loved Ishioka early in their conversation, which she hadn't fully realized until then... her own vicious retaliation had caught her off guard. "I don't want a quarrel with you, Agasha-san."

[Agasha Inoshishi]

Inoshishi’s keen mind begins unpacking these statements in her head like they were rope. Pulling each apart into the component pieces, and then those into the fibers and so on. Anywhere the rope was kinked, her mind knew, and she followed two of those kinks to their beginning, determining how to tie them back together into harmony again.

However, delving into another’s emotions so closely was always difficult, and Inoshishi shudders slightly as she recognizes the truth.

TbtL, D7, with Narumi. Fire/Culture, distinction | TN: 2 | Success: 4 / Opportunity: 2 / Strife: 5


(2 opps spent on finding the best way to know the truth! Also, Ino is compromised.)

Her eyes soften as she recognized the hidden truths that even Narumi herself may not know. She recognizes the kindred spirit struggling through the awkwardness of this Miai and caring about unfamiliar samurai. And then she hits the last statement. The strange fire burns out, replaced with a dawning joy.

She murmurs “No, you don’t want a quarrel at all, do you.”

With all the resolve her Fire can muster, she suddenly leans in, her sweet mochi scent wrapping around both of them as she plants a kiss squarely on Narumi’s mouth, her soft hair wiping away the tears.

[Usogawa Narumi]

The sudden tenderness of her voice where a moment ago there had been combativeness catches Narumi so off guard, destroying barricades and walls in it's wake and the kiss is returned. Gently and with trepidation, though not unwelcome.
When she pulls back, her breath can't be caught for an entirely different reason.
But the irrepressible expression of defeat remains.
She shakes her head and drops her gaze. "You're not helping," a small smile creeps through.

[Agasha Inoshishi]

Inoshishi smiles a small smile.

"I don't think you want help."

She slides over the rest of the way so she's not lunged forward any more, sitting next to the Otter. She leans towards her, trying to brush her shoulder against the Otter's shoulder.

"Life is more complicated than a story." SHOCK! Who is this and what have they done with Inoshishi? "or go, or contracts, or war, or anything else that can be won or lost. I have to believe we can all be happy."

It's idealistic and probably a bit naive, sure. But that kiss brought a smile to Narumi's face, so maybe there's something to be said for idealism and naivety.

Inoshishi places her hand out on the leg closest to the Otter, palm up, and smiles.

[Usogawa Narumi]

There are moments of unsettled silence when the Dragon moves closer, and Narumi leans in as well. Taking in a shaky breath and with it, that sweet scent of mochi. She listens to Inishishi's uncharacteristic words and another tear falls.
"...I can't do this... Not right now."
The invitation of a hand is seen -- and ignored as Narumi angrily wipes at her face in an attempt to dry her wet cheeks.
"I... have to go get ready. To see him." - here, her voice breaks. "And Kitsu Murato-san. And Emiko-sama."

[Agasha Inoshishi]

Inoshishi hops off the roots, offering a hand up, her mouth O-ing in surprise as the other girl takes it. As she helps the Otter rise, she takes advantage of the moment to pull her into a fierce embrace, her words flowing fast and free as she tries to say what she has to before the Otter bites her or something.

"Narumi-san," yup, she went there. If you kiss, you're on a personal name basis, in her opinion. "I know you won't believe me, but I have to say it anyway. There's time. And I WILL see to it that we're all happy. I have your back, and I'm not planning on sticking anything in it. Thank you for not biting me while I'm hugging you."

She releases the Otter with a quick back-skipping step, not wanting to get caught in any sort of assault for breaching propriety like that. She understands where Narumi is living, having been there just outside the temple, in the rain and then again in the forest. Love makes you crazy. It is what it is, but the fierce little Dragon seems entirely sincere. Also convinced that Narumi is far more prone to physical violence than she's shown, which says interesting things about where Inoshishi is still living.

[Usogawa Narumi]

The hand is accepted and Narumi rises carefully to her feet, head swimming and white crests her vision again in a wave. So when she's hugged, she doesn't even see it coming.
Immediately she stiffens.
But the more the Dragon talks, the softer her stance becomes. When released, she watches the other samurai-ko for several moments, trying her damnedest to still her racing heart. But cracks another small smile at the joke.
Unsure of what to do with her hands, she then rubs her bottom lip anxiously before speaking.
"Your optimism... is something to behold, and this one remains in awe of it." She takes a shaky breath. "I've no doubt we'll run into each other again soon." Awkward doesn't begin to cover what she feels. And heartbroken. Defeated.
But there's something to be said for the Dragon's methods.
A tiny nod of her head and she makes to exit.

[Agasha Inoshishi]

Inoshishi sees the turmoil and debates charging headlong after the Otter, appointments and propriety be damned. If this were in the Dragon mountains, she would. But this is not there and these ways are not really her ways. So instead, she squats down, resting on her heels as she watches the samurai-ko walk away, no doubt her kimono swaying properly and her hair falling meekly into it's proper place. The tug to grab her and help her see that defeat isn't even a possibility is very, very real.

But the Dragon are different. As she'd just contemplated, very different. Shinsei did not free those that couldn't see their prison, after all. And the Dragon, they saw it. Fate wasn't a prison, it was a glorious dance across the stars, time, and the Kami themselves. It fed you, clothed you, gave you strength and purpose. But down here...there was no perspective. No...ability to see the whole thing.

That's what the fools get for not living in the Mountains.Not that we could all live there anyway.

She shakes her head slightly, turning to a new thought and sinking to rest on the ground again, thinking hard.

It is only when we understand and accept that wining or losing are the same thing that we begin to see that our lives are truly blessed. That fate is no tie or puppet string, but instead the center of ourselves, the chakra points given life and purpose. This, then, is the secret that the Dragon bring to all things. We can because we know we gain nothing. Lose nothing. Feel nothing. Give nothing. We are all, we are eternal, and we will ensure the future for the -- INO! PAY ATTENTION, PIGGY! *a whack of a stick next to tiny feet*

And now look at you. No one even gets the reference, fucking stick Mmhmm. Have you ever considered that's the positive of starving?

So no, she wouldn't chase after the Otter, not right now.

She rises, smiling softly.

She'd help her see the bars. And then, together, her lovers and she would dance to the music she'd heard as a little girl.