The Day of Thunder

The draw lot play had been stressful for Ayako, but it seemed to have gone off fairly successfully. She thought her sister Chizu - wherever she was - would have approved.

The young woman knelt and said a filial prayer for her sister, before slipping off her robe and stepping into the hot bath.

—
Void spent to negate Lost Love.
3LA Meditate for void recovery, Void/Meditation | 7k4 ⇒ 35 (TN: 20)

Another figure entered the bath house later, but not more than a few minutes so. Much like many visitors to the village, he was built fairly sturdy, had the appearance of a trained body at least. He wore a mask of all things, but took it off when he went to scrub himself down before entering the bath.

He didn't disturb Ayako immediately, though he did bow in greeting before slipping into the bath. The heat of the bath caused enough steam at first that she wouldn't notice he looked very fatigued, perhaps sleep deprived. Still, he laid back and relaxed for what it was worth.

The young woman's eyes flickered over to the new arrival as he entered, but she remained soaking in the hot water. She murmured "Good afternoon, samurai," with a polite nod as he bowed.

A hint of sympathy crossed the woman's face as Norikage leaned back and she noticed his signs of fatigue.

"It's the best afternoon, hoping this puts me to sleep", he said. "If I drown, tell Lord Bayushi that Norikage-san died valiantly."

"Ha! I wouldn't like to explain to Lord Bayushi how I somehow ended up with a dead, naked member of his family," the woman said with a chuckle. "I think we've all had sleeping problems lately, so get some sleep if you can. But if you start to drown, I'll have to wake you."

"I'm called Yoshitsune Ayako, by the way," she added, bobbing her head in an attempt at courtesy.

"It's a pleasure, Yoshitsune-san", he said in replay with his eyes closed. "Tell me your sleeping troubles, if it's not too much. Just the usual curse we're all under?"

There was a pause as the Crab considered how much to share, before finally she said, "Bad dreams. Sleeping poorly. I've... I've heard there is a lot of that going around. And you?"

"What you'd expect", he answered evenly. "I feel like I still see now what was pressed upon me last night as my eyes close...but I have no choice as this water is too pleasant, and my eyes too heavy."

He sighed.

"Honestly terrible."

"Yes, I know that feeling," Ayako agreed, recalling the horrors of last night's dreams. With a conscious effort, she set those memories aside and tried to focus on the present.

"Perhaps we could speak of more pleasant things," she suggested. "The Scorpion lands are quite far to the south, aren't they, Bayushi-san? What made you decide to come to Blue Lotus Village?"

"I followed someone this way, they were arguing with a magistrate about how to run their town and I managed to mediate", he chuckled. "By being the bigger asshole." A pause. "Still, she's not dumb, pretty smart actually. Looking after her has been nice, especially when she thinks she's got everything handled."

Bayushi Norikage wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 01, 2023 7:46 pm

"I followed someone this way, they were arguing with a magistrate about how to run their town and I managed to mediate", he chuckled. "By being the bigger asshole." A pause. "Still, she's not dumb, pretty smart actually. Looking after her has been nice, especially when she thinks she's got everything handled."

"Oh, is that right?" Ayako asked. "Did you convince the magistrate that they were wrong? Or just managed to get your friend away from them safely?"

"I called him an idiot and a coward, told him he doesn't know what he's doing, then she and I solved the problem there", Norikage answered. "Unfortunately, it was the same problem you see everywhere...except here."

Bayushi Norikage wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 01, 2023 8:08 pm

"I called him an idiot and a coward, told him he doesn't know what he's doing, then she and I solved the problem there", Norikage answered. "Unfortunately, it was the same problem you see everywhere...except here."

"You're not a trained diplomat, I'm guessing?" the Crab woman said with a grin. "Ahh, don't worry, I'm not either. How did you end up solving the problem instead?"

"It was a village being overcome by madness, how do you think?" he said. "Diplomacy was useless then, I'm good enough at it to know when it can help, at least."

A shrug. "The other half of the battle is extreme violence, unfortunately."

Bayushi Norikage wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 01, 2023 8:34 pm

"It was a village being overcome by madness, how do you think?" he said. "Diplomacy was useless then, I'm good enough at it to know when it can help, at least."

A shrug. "The other half of the battle is extreme violence, unfortunately."

"Ohh~~~," Ayako said, looking a little surprised. It hadn't been a more pleasant topic, after all. She scrubbed at her upper arm nervously, the water of the bath splashing as she did so.

"Well... I expect you did what was necessary."

"Apologies for it being a terrible story", he said. "I'm so tired I forgot you said you wanted to talk about something less depressing."

He sunk into the bath a little more.

"How about, do you have a favorite superior where you come from, and why?"

Bayushi Norikage wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 01, 2023 8:45 pm

"How about, do you have a favorite superior where you come from, and why?"

"I'd say Lord Yoshitsune," Ayako said immediately. "He's wise and so, so patient, even when we screw things up. He'll just have us do it again, until we got it right. He'd also say things like 'In battle, you're only as good as the warrior standing by your side', and he seemed to really mean it. He often made us do practice drills in pairs." She smiled at the thought.

"What about you?"

"Well, aside having met my Lord once, which is the obvious answer, I have a soft spot for my immediate superior", he answered. "Miyako Mitsuki is...well, she's trying really hard. Be a shame if she went gray before I did considering the age gap." He chuckled. "I'm not exactly helping though."

"Oh?" she asked. "Why wouldn't you be helping?"

"Well, when someone says something that's obviously wrong or inherently self-serving, especially at times like this, it's impossible for me to keep my mouth shut", he explained. "So I've caused a few problems with people who aren't used to being questioned...and I suck at apologizing."