The Day of Thunder

"Ah, the hero of the moment," she said with a light laugh. "Thank you for your help, Otomo-san. So, I hope your stay here has been pleasant so far? I'm still trying to get my bearings in the place but the village has been nothing be hospitable!"

That was perhaps to say that everything without left a lot of the desired for.

"Gets more pleasant wi' good comp'ny, ma'am," Akutou replies. "An' there's a comfort in not havin' t' pack up th' tent ev'ry mornin', too. Food's been good, which I 'preciate mightily.

"Gonna be an interestin' time, though, if what all we heard earlier's true."

Akutou shrugs.

"But that's most always th' case."

He places the order.

"Oh, you've been a constant traveller prior to all of this? It would be interesting to hear about the places you've been. That is, if you're willing to share!" She nodded enthusiastically on that note. "And that bit of business with Shinsei and the Thunder Champions? Yes, I'm sure that has weighed heavily on all of our minds. I'm still trying to parse it, to be honest. More of the meaning of it all, than the Thunders themselves. The idea of destiny and the destination. We know where the Thunders are going, almost, but what does this mean for the rest of us?"

"If'n it's like what the O-Iemoto said 'bout goin' inta Hell," Akutou replies, "there'll be what the Thunders do an' then some excitement f'r the rest."

He stops for a moment, pondering.

"Don't know which team I'd prefer t' be on, t' be honest. Either way, it'll be a helluva thing."

"Of course, you might be saying that now..." she mused as she looked at the night street with the sound of the festival not too far from where they were standing. It seemed so unlikely that doom and gloom was going to happen in a place like this, questionable locals and spooky locales aside. "I'm sure it'll be the sort of interesting that the Empire might be talking about for years to come at least. I'm not so sure. I've been hearing and reading about such occurrences for years but now that I've supposedly found myself in such a 'moment'..."

She tapped on her temple as if she was suffering from a headache for a moment before letting out an exasperated sigh."It just feels so surreal! Or...maybe that's just the drinks and smoke talking."

"All depends on how things fall out, I reckon," replies Akutou.

"But what 'bout you, ma'am? Would you rather be a Thunder, facin' what they're like t' face, or facin' what needs facin' t' keep their backs clear?"

"Oooh, I can give that's an easy question to answer," she chuckled after just a moment's consideration on the matter. "The mention of Thunders and Champions makes me assume that this will be likely a job for someone who is more martially inclined. While I could fire a few shots with a bow, I don't think I've actually seen a real battle. While there are tales that normal people doing great things, I doubt this will be the case when there are so many able warriors...samurai among us."

"Somebody's got t' tell th' story," Akutou says. "A good report makes a world o' difference for them as follows after."

The food arrives.

"Ah! I receive it humbly!"

"That's where I fall in. At least, that's what I'm hoping for. With so many people here and everything happening at once, I don't know if I could be at many places at once to account for the full story. Maybe the Thunders are the main tale that will matter in the end but surely there are others worth telling. Also, capturing this all on paint or charcoal in one picture will be difficult too."

Shang nodded in approval at the food. "I thought I had my fill already but this chicken smells delectable enough to warrant a second dinner!"

"Might could be y' make it a larger piece?" Akutou offers. "I know th' O-Iemoto did that wi' some o' th' carvin' work he's done."

He picks off a piece with chopsticks, conveys it to his mouth.

"If you're willing to share a bigger piece, I'd be more than happy to take it," she smirked before dusting off her hands and likewise took some chopsticks to take one of the larger pieces.

Shang would partake in a bite of the food and as she chewed on it, she looked a bit thoughtful before speaking up once more as she was swallowing her portion. "...O-lemoto? I confess I was following along for a bit but this is the second time you've mentioned him. A friend or associate or yours?"

"My teacher," Akutou says, "an' th' founder o' th' school."

He grins. "I picked his pocket an' he took a shine t' me."

Shang raised a brow momentarily at that and nodded soundly. "That sounds like a story with a mostly happy ending that worked out, at least. Seeing as you have both your hands on you and talking to me, he didn't decide to enact justice to have your hand cut off for your crime! Were you part of the family prior to that?"

Akutou swallows the bite he'd been chewing and nods.

"Born t' th' Otomo," he says, "but th' O-Iemoto's a Seppun."

"Ohh...hmmm..." she pursed her lip in thought as she had been assuming that Akutou was a vagrant prior to the story. It took a moment for her to try to rethink the situation. "Being part of the Otomo already, what incited you to pick O-lemoto's pocket exactly? I assumed that you were lacking in coin or food but that was probably not the case if you were part of the Otomo family already."

"A body might well think that, ma'am," Akutou says. "A body might think that, indeed."

He takes up another bite of the chicken.

"Things ain't always what they oughta be, though."

The chicken finds his mouth.

Shang casually nibbled on her portion of chicken, perhaps her appetite wasn't as large as she imagined but she was still going to finish her portion. "No, I suppose not...I can think of at least one situation where some lands in the Empire are more remote than others. Just because your county is under the protectorate of a Clan, it doesn't mean that you have libraries or such. I was shocked at first that there are some Dragon settlements who have little idea of Togashi-Kami."

Akutou nods.

"I c'n b'lieve it," he says. "An' it's good t' check on assumptions."

He eats another piece of the chicken.

"Th' do on this's purty good."

After another nibble, Shang nodded sounded at that. "Mm! It does hit the spot after a few drinks, at least. A fine suggestion on the part of our host. Really kind of them to be so generous with their food and drinks too. I could only imagine that it had to be a fruitful harvest prior to our arrival. With all of this fog, I'm surprised anything grows outside of earthly subterrain vegetables and the like."

"There's a lotta good eatin' in tubers," Akutou replies. "An' there're a lotta plants as do well wi' partial light."

He grins.

"Chickens've been eatin' well, f'r certain."