The Day of Thunder

[Doji Hikaru]

(probably closed, please ask at least)

The problem with openly courting, Hikaru was discovering, was that it suddenly seemed aunties (and the occasional uncle) were everywhere...

From time to time, during a visit, Hikaru and Satsuki had gone off to practice swordplay together. This had typically drawn little to no attention. Now, though, it seemed that suspicious eyes had followed them. There were more than a few offers to go with them, strangely intent. They were going to do swordpractice; they weren't just sneaking off to make out!

Although, Hikaru suddenly thought, that didn't sound like a terrible idea...

Smiling, he turned to look at Satsuki, coming to a halt. "This place seems suitable enough, don't you think?" It was out in the fields, where the ground was flat. They weren't too far from the Crab camp, although the fog allowed them a bit of privacy. Still, Hikaru imagined Lady Anjing's gaze piercing though the mists to find them...

[Togashi Satsuki]

Satsuki on the other hand passed very little thought to any watching family-members (blood or chosen), as her mind had been preoccupied with all the work she'd been doing the past day, and above all else she was looking forward to spending some time with Hikaru. Even if it was just to continue the sword-lessons he'd been giving her while traveling.

"I think it will do quite nicely, yeah," she said with a light smile, looking around them to survey the area, and then settling her gaze on Hikaru. "Something wrong? You look like you're expecting an ambush or something..."

[Doji Hikaru]

Hikaru flashed her a smile; his face was much more expressive when it was just the two of them.

"I quite nearly am expecting an ambush." He said, his voice soft. "Now that our courtship is known, I feel that there are more eyes on us. Making sure we are not... you know..."

He turned, angling his body as he gestured westward. "Remember what Lady Makime said, if the chaperones are to ambush us, it will be from the west..."

[Togashi Satsuki]

Satsuki laughed, looking in the direction of the west. "You make it sound like Makime is going to announce something improper is going on, while Sora is beating you over the head with a stick."

Looking back to him, she tied her sleeves back with a long-strip of cloth, to make sure they wouldn't interfere with their practice. "Maybe you want to practice something else than swords, hm?" with a smirk she raised an eyebrow at Hikaru.

[Doji Hikaru]

"The thought had occurred to me." Hikaru murmured, chuckling softly. "I can almost picture Jiyo-sama's eye, glinting out of the fog..."

He looked at Satsuki as he mirrored her, securing his own clothing, noting the smirk, the raised eyebrow. "I am not sure what you mean, Satsuki." He answered with exaggerated innocence, his pale eyes glinting playfully at her. He hesitated as he pulled his hair back, securing it (his white lock somehow escaped, of course). "Although Lady Anjing asked me about our courtship yesterday..." His cheeks reddened as he remembered some of the more, ah, direct questions she had asked him.

[Togashi Satsuki]

"Ooh?" Satsuki drew out the sound a bit, with an upturn at the end.

Her own white hair was braided back into a long cord, yet somehow managed to be a bit of a mess in some places. Seems like only Ko was able to keep it sufficiently under control when she was by Satsuki's side.

"Now I'm curious what auntie Anjing talked to you about. From what I remember, her courtship with Hida was pretty fast - or so mom said. I think mom was one of the last to marry one of the Kami, with the exception of Hisomu and Reiko." Maybe mother and daughter had a few things in common there with taking their time before rushing in.

[Doji Hikaru]

"Um. Yes." Hikaru said. "It was very... educational." He tilted his chin upwards, defying the blush. "She said she would also speak with you at some point." He said sturdily.

Looking at Satsuki as she arranged her hair, Hikaru smiled. She was somehow both chaotic and beautiful at the same time, like the element she specialized in. His gaze lingered; perhaps someday he might help her to brush out those tangles.

"She gave me a great deal of advice." Hikaru said. He began to stretch, twisting left and then right, exercising his lean form. "Most of it on the subject of relationships, but some on life. It sounded as though she and Lord Hida have their differences, but that makes the relationship work all the more." He tilted his head, regarding Satsuki. "How was it with your parents?" Hikaru's mother never had a partner, at least not that he knew of...

[Togashi Satsuki]

Her expression was caught somewhere between a grin and a grimace. "Oh lovely." Maybe Anjing thought her parents hadn't given her the where babies come from-talk or something similar, but she braced herself for what would be a rather interesting and probably embarrassing conversation as her aunt overshared details of her married-life.

And like most young people, Satsuki preferred to not think of her parents and their generation actually having physical intimacy of that degree.

"Hida and Anjing can both be very stubborn people, you know, so I'm not surprised they've had their differences." Luckily she was too young to ever witness any of the fallout in their marriage when the Crab were ordered north. That would've been some epic shouting matches no doubt.

"Hmmm..." she adjusted the sheath of her wakizashi, like Genji and Hikaru had taught her to allow for a better draw. "I'd say my parents are very... rounding out one another, if that makes sense? Yin and yang. Dad isn't very talkative a lot of the time, but mom has like this sense of what he wants to say sometimes and she says it for him - I think that's why they get along so well too because they fill out eachother's strengths and weaknesses. Dad is more introverted, and mom's the extrovert. Probably the reason why our family has such strong relations to my cousins, aunts, and uncles, is because mom is really focused on treating everyone like family and keeping in touch with them."

"I get the impression that when she was young, the tribe was a lot more... communal, when it came to family and such?"

[Doji Hikaru]

Hikaru nodded, his smile taking on a tiny bit of a smirk "Good luck." The smile faded. "But... a lot of what she said made sense, too. I promised her I would keep it in mind."

Shifting, Hikaru began to practice his draw. His sword seemed to glide from its sheathe, sliding into a slow strike, and then circling to return home again. He moved slowly, carefully, focusing on each part of the motion. "Like Yin and Yang. Hmmm." Hikaru cast Satsuki a quick glance. "I confess I have not seen the inside of many relationships. Lady Nanzi and Lord Doji. Hadananzi and Ananzihime." Hikaru winced. "Little glimpses as I travel."

He drew again, this time pausing at the apex of his strike, his body fully extended. "Your family is large." Hikaru stated. "And always seems so..." Hikaru frowned as the words failed him. He straightened, holding his sword. "Open, perhaps? Warm? You have your differences, Genji, Rei, Dojihime," especially that last one, Hikaru thought, "but..." He shook his head, not quite able to express his thought.

[Togashi Satsuki]

"Auntie Anjing does have her moments of a sage," Satsuki joked warmly, indicating she did like the older woman and wasn't actually mocking her intelligence.

Seeing Hikaru practicing his draw, she settled into her own stance that Mirumoto had taught her, which was different from Hikaru's, and Genji's as well. Still she looked to Hikaru for indication if the stance was good.

"Open and warm sounds pretty right, yeah. That's just how mom is." Her chuckle was soft as she too began to warm up with her draw as well, making sure to make the draw itself quiet. A noisy-draw is a bad draw, she'd been told. A sign of a poor skill. "... But what is on your mind, hm?"

[Doji Hikaru]

Hikaru saw the look, and paused in his own practice to study her stance. "Good." He said, nodding, then tilted his head. "Perhaps a touch lower." He made a sinking motion with his left hand, palm down.

He turned, so that they might look at each other while practicing, as close as could be safely done while practicing with three and a half feet of razor-sharp steel. Hikaru's own draw was quiet; a very good duelist could see where it could be improved, but it was clear that he was good, at least.

"It is." Hikaru said, smiling. Then he frowned thoughtfully. "I'm not sure. Everyone so far apart, and yet they feel close. Does the distance not make it challenging?" He asked.

[Togashi Satsuki]

She nodded, and adjusted her stance, dropping her center of gravity lower with a small shift. Yes, that felt more correct. While Satsuki wasn't a complete beginner with her wakizashi, and her natural agility helped the smoothness of her moves, she just couldn't compare to the like of Hikaru who had trained with the sword for many years.

"It kinda does, but... I think that makes it more important to be open and warm with them? Isn't that like a saying; distance makes the heart grow fonder, or something?"

Draw, and sheathe. Rinse and repeat a few times, but judging from how she changed her grip each time, she wasn't satisfied with how it felt.

[Doji Hikaru]

"I have heard that." Hikaru admitted, tilting his head. "Perhaps there is something to it." He definitely seemed to be considering the idea, anyway.

As Satsuki worked, Hikaru watched, frowning as she changed her grip again and again. Suddenly, he sheathed his sword. "Here, let me help." He said as he stepped around her, frowning thoughtfully as he did so.

Hikaru stepped in behind Satsuki, his arms gently sliding around her, his hands finding hers. With a pressure that was at once both gentle and firm, he adjusted their position, his fingers guiding hers. "Try that." He murmured, his breath warm against her cheek. "And keep your fingers relaxed, here." His right hand gave hers a little squeeze. "I think you will find that to be much more comfortable."

Focused on her technique, Hikaru suddenly realized how intimate his assistance was. The solidness of his chest was warm against Satsuki's back, his arms around her turning it into an intimate embrace. Hikaru's mind suddenly flashed back to Anjing's talk of 'physical compatibility'. "How's that?" He murmured, letting his lips brush her cheek.

[Togashi Satsuki]

Satsuki was used to feeling warm a lot of the time, a blessing of being strongly aligned with the element of fire. But now she was feeling her face and neck grow hot as Hikaru's breath touched her skin. "Mhm," she nodded affirmatively, adjusting her grip with his directions.

Carefully, she moved the weapon with some light changes from her wrist, finding the motion working more easily now. "That's... better, yeah."

Score one to Hikaru easily. Probably a couple more points than just one. She thought she knew him well, and this was unexpected. But a good kind of unexpected. "A-anything else, to correct...?"

[Doji Hikaru]

Hikaru was typical very hesitant to engage in this sort of play. But when he felt it was right to do so, as he did now, he did so with both passion and confidence. "Yes." He whispered, lips touching her ear now. "Let me show you."

His right hand left hers, but did not go far. "Make sure you move your whole body when you draw. The rotational power comes from here." His hand settled on the curve of her hip, fingers pressing gently into her through the cloth she wore. "A single graceful motion, everything in unison."

Hikaru could feel his own heat rising, higher and higher. His lips brushed her neck, unable to resist. "Try it, Satsuki." He whispered.

[Togashi Satsuki]

Even underneath the sturdy clothes, her lean form was noticeable, but with a feminine softness on the hip that was usually hard to notice at a glance.

The shudder in her breath was noticeable as she inhaled. Focus, Satsuki reminded herself, and in that moment drew her wakizashi, keeping her grip correct, and allowing her hips - her center of gravity - to twist with the draw for one single graceful motion along with her arm's movement.

"Heh," she snorted a bit in surprise, pleased with herself. And with that allowed herself to lean back against Hikaru, her face turning to look at his. "You're a pretty good teacher when you're like this," she murmured, glancing down at his lips.

-----

D3 EA fluff kenjutsu/agility roll. TN 15 but added on +5 for... distractions. xD | 5k4 ⇒ 27 (TN: 20)

[Doji Hikaru]

As Satsuki moved, so did Hikaru. His breath caught as he felt her hips twist, his hand on them helping to guide her. It was almost like an intimate dance move as they turned, bodies close together, Satsuki completing an impressively graceful strike.

"Well done." Hikaru murmured. His arms instinctively slid around her waist as she leaned back against her. "Am I?" Hikaru said, smiling gently. "In that case, I shall endeavor to be like this very often indeed."

His arms tightened as he tilted his head, bringing his lips to hers. It was a deep kiss, full of passion, as though he was thirsty and she... no. As though he were a cold man desperately seeking fire.

[Togashi Satsuki]

Her swordarm lowered slowly as they embraced, their kiss as intense as a roaring bonfire. It felt like to her that she had melted away Hikaru's icy propriety, allowing him to fully show himself.

So it was with a great deal of willpower that she broke away from the kiss, looking into Hikaru's eyes with a playful fire in hers. "I'm shocked," she teased, "Doji Hikaru, kissing an unmarried woman out in public."

[Doji Hikaru]

Hikaru's lips tugged at one of Satsuki's as they parted, clearly as reluctant as her to stop. In this unmasked moment, Hikaru's passion lit his pale eyes as they met her bright green.

The comment made Hikaru blink, but then he flashed a quick grin, chuckling softly. "How scandalous." He murmured, his hand on her back holding her tight. "And what's worse, he may very well do so again. The lady has enflamed his passion so."

And yet, they were in public. Hikaru kept the embrace, but he did not kiss her again just yet, tension warring with desire on his handsome features.

[Togashi Satsuki]

With a soft laugh, Satsuki sheathed her wakizashi carefully to avoid any accidents with the sharp blade. "Are you thinking of seducing me instead of completing your quest now, hm?"

Her now free hand reached up to brush Hikaru's cheek, and then tap him on the nose. "It won't work."