At Closed DoorsCan you please follow me, Sho? it was after the dinner they had, after returning to Seawatch Castle. The negotiations had been made, the Kakita daimyo had met their men and allies, and in the next day she was returning to Kyuden Otomo to talk with Daidoji Fitsu. But before that, she had too much to talk with her betrothed Agasha Shodai, the Phoenix Void Master. Mixed feelings of love, gratitude… and grievance boiled in her heart. Also the long series of political issues between their clans after the fall of Toshi Ranbo were added to the personal feelings about the future of their relationship. But there was another feeling: longing…
They went upstairs and crossed guarded corridors to a main room. Shodai knew this place; as it was the same place where he found her belongings; were he found her blade which he used to sense if she was alive.
An aide was in there, waiting with a gentle smile; ready to serve.
Please, leave us alone. Mitsouko commanded. The aide just nodded and bowed before leaving and sliding the door behind her.
And make sure we aren't disturbed in our conversation. Etiquette right now was the lesser of the Kakita daimyo’s problems.
Mitsouko took a time to arrange her daisho in the rack, building some time to prepare her spirit. Harsh words sprouted in her heart; words that needed to be said.
We have much to talk, Sho. With a heavy sigh she finally spoke.
I don't know if I’ll have another opportunity soon… as you are very very busy nowadays. But... Another pause. Thank you very much for what you have done for me. I am sincere when I say I wasn't expecting you to come. But I am glad you did.Agasha Shodai sighed softly as he fought the urge to figit with his obi; it seemed it was finally time for the discussion that he'd been having nightmares of ever since word had come of Toshi Ranbo's fall before the Phoenix war machine was up and running.
"I felt the birth of the Oni Mark through the Void and the emotions that were overwhelming you because of it... I was on my way to you before the Mantis managed to capture you, Mitsouko..."
He looked deep into her eyes. "All through the fighting in Toshi Ranbo I could feel your cool, sure confidence in your Clan and the defenders of the city, but THIS..." He shook his head.
"I felt your self-confidence shake as I never dreamed possible, Mitsouko... Even if my presence was still constantly required by my Clan, I would still have arrived as quickly as I did. You hold my heart in your hands and embody all my hopes and dreams of a future that is better than anything I have experienced so far in this life..."The Void Master took a seat at the small table in the room; this was likely going to take most of the night... So much had happened since they'd parted ways at the end of the Month of Hantei to begin the one month separation prior to marriage; which had since stretched into nearly 6.
"Truth be told, Mitsouko, my schedule has become far less cluttered than it was a few short months ago... Enough that I could remain by your side for the rest of the War should you ask it of me..." He said simply, though he doubted that she would accept the offer... Mitsouko was a proud woman - rightfully so, given all she'd accomplished - who preferred to fight her own battles on her own terms and only sought help when dealing with something beyond her ken.
He expanded upon the meaning of his words.
"Kazuma, our wayward Clan Champion, finally saw the light of reason behind the Clan's decision to back Hantei the 40th and has forsworn his mistaken allegiance with Kaneka. He did so in time to lead the march - alongside myself and my brothers of the Elemental Council - of our forces to Crossroads Castle where he integrated our forces with those of the Emerald Champion.""Since he has returned, the Council restored him to his position as head of our military forces and command of the Clan for the duration of the war with the rebels..." He raised his hands to forestall a comparison to Bayushi Senshi's act of contrition.
"Since it was the foolish agreement of the Council to permit Kazuma to side with Kaneka in the - as it turned out vain - hopes that he would convince the traitor to see reason before the Empire could split itself in twain in civil war, the council has agreed that it should be the Clan that pays the debt of honor to the Emperor and the Empire as a whole."To that end, during Winter Court our ambassador will be announcing that the Phoenix will be erecting a shrine near the Valley of Two Generals and the Drowned Merchant River to house, shelter and care for the people of the Hantei Clans that have been displaced by the War."
"The costs to erect and maintain the shrine will be paid from the pockets of the Council and Champion ourselves and the Clan will handle the operations costs, with donations from any samurai moved to compassion graciously accepted. It will be our clan's way of making amends for the tardiness of our arrival..." He grimaced at the memory of the long months of frustrated aggravation in trying to mobilize a mostly pacifistic Clan for a War that many hoped could be solved diplomatically. Shodai, having had a great many opportunities to get a measure of Kaneka's character, knew that a war was inevitable the second the traitor had revealed his true colors...
Your clan was the first to declare loyalty to Hantei, and the Crane was the last, just followed by Scorpion... Didn’t you have the necessary time to gather Phoenix forces; to stargaze at will...? For all I know you were contesting your magic skills in the top of a mountain while thousands were dying, Sho!
Wayward Champion? Is that way you treat Kazuma, while you despise what the Shogun is making? What's the difference? Should I believe that right now Phoenix is making their best for Hantei? It's really ironic! Me and Fitsu returned on our words to defend Naseru...and we did it! We were there for him! You convinced me I was wrong about thinking Kaneka would be a better leader than Naseru. But you and the other four weren't able to move your clan towards this idea?You cannot imagine my face when reports of Kazuma visiting and licking Tomatsu's feet in Lion's encampment came to our hands! He has the audacity to come so close to Toshi Ranbo and what? He just watched us to fall by the privileged view of Lion's Champion tent? Is he still your Shiba champion? Her tone had raised by now, she was furious.
Right now, I can even have sympathy for the Scorpion Champion who humiliated himself, who maimed up himself, for delaying in take a side. While Shiba Kazuma… betrayed us deliberately. Can we say Phoenix is a loyalist clan or is acting out of fear, pushing by their allies’ attitude? Is it lack of warriors in your clan? What about managing to save the refugees, to relocate them? And now you talk about making amends? Shodai, please! I had to ask to Mantis to help me with that! Do you believe me? Mantis fleets help me to relocate while my allies did nothing! Mitsouko paused for breath, after this flow of rough words; she hid her face in her cupped hands for a moment, trying to regain composure.
And know what? I found Toku Sanjuro in the war. He helped me to save my people."I believe every word you say, Mitsouko... Not because I have seen the reports or witnessed them in my divinations, but for no reason other than because YOU are the one saying them. You have never lied to me and I have never knowingly lied to you." There was an apology in his eyes that she instinctively knew had to do with how things had ended with Sanjuro.
Hearing the hurt in Mitsouko's voice was like committing seppuku with a wooden knife and without a kaishakunin to end the misery. Shodai's face openly fell as the guilt he'd been carrying - about Mitsouko, about the debacle with assisting Senshi, with the war in general - began to eat at him again.
"You and the Crane are not the only one to have a crisis of faith in my Clan, Mitsouko..." Shodai said softly.
"But it would set your teeth on edge to see the bureaucratical inefficiencies of my Clan when it comes to things like warfare... I had no clue how bad it was when I was a simple cog in the machine as opposed to being a central gear. The largest problem is that when the Council is in command of things is that decisions are made by a majority vote... And we are short a Water Master. This meant that unless three of us agreed on something, the debate would continue. We had two Agasha against two Isawa with no 5th vote to break ties.The Void Master paused.
"As for Kazuma's status, that is not for the Council to dictate... When the previous Champion dies, the soul of Kami Shiba and every past Champion of the clan passes to a member of the Shiba bloodline - usually a direct descendant of the Kami himself, choosing one of its own accord. After the Soul of Shiba passes on, the sword of the Shiba Daimyo/Hatamoto of the Phoenix Clan/Clan Champion - Ofushikai, the Ancestral Phoenix sword, the very same blade Kami Shiba wielded until his death - is brought to the main hall of Kyuden Isawa where every samurai of the Shiba family - be they newly christened from their Gempuuku or nearing the end of their time in this life - are gathered to attempt to draw Shiba's own katana from the saya..." "That's the test to become Champion, you see... Ofushikai is every bit as aware as your Nushi Gashinshoutan - more even since it was the touch of a God that awoke it. Ofushikai is attuned to the Soul of Shiba and will fight the touch of anyone without it - only the host of the Soul, imbued with the memories and knowledge of every Clan Champion in the history of the Phoenix - like what happened with you and Saimei but multiplied by dozens, HUNDREDS of self-aware soul fragments, one of which belonging to Shiba HIMSELF - can successfuly draw the sword."Shodai's gaze unfocused.
"The Soul of Shiba has one overriding trait - it will not allow the Champion to take any action that knowingly threatens the Clan. Since the Soul did not STOP Kazuma from swearing fealty of Kaneka, the Council has no choice but to assume that there was some purpose behind allowing it... And whatever that purpose was it was either completed at some time prior to our Clan's march or the Soul decided that allowing the Clan to march to war without its Champion WOULD threaten the Phoenix. But just as when Shokujin and Kaoruko came to the surface of myself or your mother, when Kami Shiba rises to the surface of the Champion, you KNOW you're talking to a God, Mitsouko... It is perhaps the most awe-inspiring event a mortal can ever witness... And no Phoenix would ever question a Kami's actions."He shook his head.
"As for the delays in mobilizing our war machine... Most of the Phoenix samurai are unable to bring themselves to kill another or risk disrupting the balance of nature - as bad, or worse, than what we saw in Chikushudo - unless they believe there is no other course of action... It's partially because of our clan's reverence for life and residual guilt my clan still carries from the extermination of the Snake Clan..." A sigh escaped his lips.
"Now more than ever I'm grateful for Ojiisan Agasha's lessons in seeing the world from a bushi's point of view... I was one of the few voices urging haste, but there were things that caused me no amount of trepidation." He frowned trying to think of how to explain a heavily metaphysical concept to the woman he loved.
"But to answer your question, no, I did not know the Capital was about to fall... Divination is complex with the simple things and nearly impossible with larger things unless you narrow your focus tightly or something is a forgone conclusion. Let me show you..." He whispered a soft prayer and a cloudy image appeared over the table.
"First, you have to pick a principal focus: in this case, you..." A single Crane blue thread appeared in the cloudy image. "But then you have every action you can likely to take at a given instant of time..." One end of the thread split into hundreds or thousands of miniature threads in an outgoing cone linked to the thick thread. As the cone expanded, many of the threads bunched together after the initial separation.
"See how some threads cluster, but other's don't? A gathering of threads means that no matter which of those actions you take, things will still turn out the same way. Only after you actually TAKE an action do things become set in stone and the other possible actions are eliminated." One of the bunches swelled up to the size of the original thread and the others withered away.
"But that's when it's just one person. Watch what happens when you throw another person into the mix... Myself for example." A flame-red thread appeared at a right angle to Mitsouko's. As before, both threads split into hundreds of subthreads, but now half of them touched each other and then either moved in connection or bounced off each other, turning into a jumble of threads.
"All these touching threads represent the actions that the two of us can take together - talking, fighting, ignoring each other, making love, whatever - and then what can happen next, depending on what action we choose."Shodai waived his hand over the illusion and the view zoomed out to add dozens of major threads lining up with Mitsouko's or his own.
"Our actions do not merely impact us. You and I lead combat forces, so our actions have a trickle-down effect to our subordinates, then their's and beyond." The threads from Shodai and Mitsouko's possible actions interacted with the cones of their "assistant" threads until the image began to blur from trying to display all the possibilities until finally the image lost cohesion and dissipated.
"Now imagine THAT compounded to the size of a battlefield. Hundreds of thousands of people, their actions of any given second possibly affecting every other person fighting. Add to that the Fog of Destiny which appears wherever Tengoku wills for reasons only they know and obfuscates the divination..." The Void Master shook his head.
"I'm good, Mitsouko-sa, but I AM still human... There are some things that I am not permitted to know - or forsee - before the appointed time. That's what made the comet so important: celestial phenomena are the province of Tengoku itself. Interpreting such signs correctly can allow a Diviner to focus his search to a particular section of the cone of possibilities, but even then the fog obscures things..."Shodai fell silent for a few seconds as he looked up at her.
"I didn't learn that Toshi Ranbo had fallen until the shock you felt when you realized the battle was lost struck me through the connection of our souls, Mitsouko. The fog on the Divine Wheel that was concealing the destinies of those on the field of battle didn't fade until DAYS after the battle was decided. The others were thinking I was imagining things because I declared the fall without a means of proving it..."
He shook his head dismally.
"I lost count of the number times that I needed to enter that barren Void world you found me in in Kyuden Miya in order to vent my frustrations before I took it out on my well-meaning but naive clansmen... You have no idea how much I wish I could have been there for you, Mitsouko-sa; before, during or immediately after... I wish words could convey my feelings, but words alone are insufficient..."He bowed to her until his head was touching the floor, the equivalent of an eta bowing to the Emperor; he was throwing every shred of pride and dignity he possessed aside to convey how insignificant he felt at that moment.
"I'm sorry I'm not the seemingly omniscient shugenja that I seemed to be when we journeyed to free us from the kharmic cycle of our past lives... I'm sorry that the duty I never desired for myself was able to come between us... I'm sorry..." Shodai's voice broke as he fought to keep from openly weeping. "Yosha, onegaishimatsu, Koishii..."*Shodai kept his face buried in the wooden floor, praying that Mitsouko would have mercy. He'd thought that she would have understood the untenability of his position, but the hurt in her voice had shattered the one illusion of hope he'd been clinging to for months to provide him comfort in having done the duty he'd been sworn to perform.
*OOC: Sho's final words are "Forgive me, please, Beloved."Don't do it! I don't need your submission to my words, nor am I asking you to mortify yourself! Nor I am asking you to lecture me about Shiba’s Soul and stargazing metaphysics I am just... venting!First of all Mitsouko never had lose the respect she always had for Shodai, even if she was disappointed. And no matter how good the explanations about Shiba's soul reasons should sound to a Phoenix, it wouldn't have the same meaning to any other clan.
She knelt by his side, forcing him to gave up of his humiliating bow and facing her. Mitsouko kept her hand in his shoulder.
Can' t you see, Sho? Phoenix failed to Crane in the first test of our alliance! How can I make my kin understand it?Agasha Shodai let Kakita Mitsouko push him back up into a sitting position.
"Oh, I see it, Mitsouko-sa... I see it... But that was for you and you alone, so you could see the depths of a shame and guilt I feel."He contemplated her question.
"Perhaps of you point out the nature of our alliance, Mitsouko... The alliance is, fundamentally, no different than you and I are... Everything in history says that our relationship should not work as well as it does, beloved." "You and I are almost complete polar opposites: bushi vs. shugenja, courageous vs. contemplative, the list goes on... And yet despite these differences, you and I found something that bonds us together. You and I are equal but opposite; just like the concept of Yin and Yang - incomplete without the other." "If you look at my Clan's history, we have ALWAYS been the slowest to react: when the Mantis invaded our nation a few years ago, it was nearly a full year before the Champion and Council responded to the aggression. Our response time for dealing with Kaneka's betrayal was faster than it has ever been before; thanks to my prodding of the process. Had one of my predecessors been involved, the Phoenix would probably still be debating things in Kyuden Isawa instead of unleashing our might at Crossroads Castle."Shodai looked into Mitsouko's eyes.
"What failed was not the alliance, but the Crane's perception of it, Mitsouko. Your people were judging the Phoenix by Crane standards; an understandable reaction given the stress of the battlefield... But the Crane are masters of efficiency; the Phoenix are masters of reasoned planning. Your Clan outnumbers mine - in terms of raw population - 3 Crane to every 1 Phoenix. To judge us by your standards is like judging the quality of fish as you do the quality of rice."
"The alliance gives your clan a means to let the Phoenix know what you need and have someone sympathetic to that need. I am a major voice in the policy and decision-making process... But at the end of the day, Mitsouko, I am still a single voice. It seems rather unreasonable to assume that just because one piece is weighted in the favor of the Crane that my Clan could - or would - change its ways 'overnight.' The Crane have alway respected the Phoenix's way of operating; throwing decades of respect aside because the chips are down in the short term seems rather unlike your Clan."There were so many things rushing inside Mitsouko's mind,many things yet to be said, but suddenly she felt the absolute lack of understanding in both parts... So many attempts and so many fails; so many unspoken things, no real hope about finding a solution to both of them, if everything was so frozen and imutable. Mitsouko just collapsed and cried, desolated.
Agasha Shodai pulled Kakita Mitsouko close, letting her cry on his shoulder.
"Forgive my words, Mitsouko-sa... For they are merely the counterpoint that my Clan's courtiers would use. Not that they are any less hurtful to hear than vented frustrations." He whispered softly in her ear before sighing heavily.
"We were so HAPPY together that we forgot that while we lead large chunks of our Clans that politics do not simply fall into place when reality rears its ugly head."Mitsouko's sobs calmed down in his arms, and her voice turned in a whisper, her breath close to his neck. Her arms wrapping him in seek of comfort.
Yes... but we cannot pretend it it's not real. We are who we are, our clans depend on us. Sho, my clan is really weakened, uncountable things collaborated to undermine our force and I cannot simply turn away to live a love... When Toshi Ranbo fell I... talked with Naseru... I asked him permission to sepukku for my failure. But... here I am. Unable to serve my clan, to honor my oath to the Emperor in every of my choices, and now, more than ever, unable to keep my honor intact. It's such a dilemma, Sho, I live to serve but... serving already killed much of me. And it leaves no space for Mitsu and Sho.
"It's our nature to be too good at what we do, Mitsouko..." Shodai replied softly.
"It was true for our last incarnations and it was probably true for every one before that..."He paused as a thought struck him
"Hey... Do you remember the memories we saw when Shokujin and Saimei were still a part of us? She was a member of the Emperor's bodyguard and he was a courier, spending months on end on horseback... They knew their duty to the Empire would keep them apart, but rather than give up, do you remember what they did?" The shugenja asked his bushi love as he wiped her tears away.
"They made every single moment they could spare together count... Why can't we do the same?""I would love nothing more than to be able to come home to you every night for the rest of my life, Mitsouko-sa; it would be Yomi on earth to me... As you say, our Clans need us both far too much; now more than ever. Yet why should that stop us? I am not bound by distance as I was when I was Shokujin... We could serve our clans from our respective cities and whenever we miss each other too much to stand it any longer I can be by your side within an hour or two. And when we haul that traitor Kaneka in to face our Emperor for his crimes there will be time for our lands to heal and you and I will be an example of that healing force in action...""We can do our duty AND still have time for us, beloved." Shodai whispered excitedly, giving her a comforting hug.
"What do you think?"How? They weren’t married nor had the burden of their families’ politics clashing to one another. She raised her eyes to Shodai, and though her words seemed to put them more and more apart, her body was saying the opposite, as she moved to be more comfortable in his arms.
My clan is not interested in our marriage anymore, Sho. My counselors say it makes the Kakita weaker, it makes our clan weaker. I think… I think Yoshi- dono original plans were to have me as one rich hatamoto but my family pressed him towards the daimyonate due the lack of heirs from my uncle’s lineage. By other side, he permitted the omiai to do not refuse the first request of Shiba Kazuma. You aren’t at that time officially the Void Master and when my clan discovered we were already in love and… Mitsouko sighed, but kept her chin up playing with his hair, they weren’t never so intimate before and it soothed her pain a bit. She wasn’t caring about modesty, etiquette or whatever, that was a moment that maybe she wasn’t able to have again in the future. She was braiding his hair while talking, in a form of caress.
Even being the Voice of my clan, carrying the name of my family… there are things I cannot decide alone.The Doji sent envoys to Phoenix but I don’t know what happened next. My clan is trying to annul our marriage plans and I can’t blame them. It’s just impossible to marry each other with divided loyalties, though we once thought otherwise.The Void Master felt his heart beat a little faster... The last few months had been filled with tasks that had weathered his spirit harder than his full lifetime of experience. There had be only one thing that had kept him from becoming utterly discouraged, one thought that kept him sane in a time when the known world was going crazy, and she was in his arms.
And, Tengoku forgive him for being selfish, Agasha Shodai was never going to give that up. Not willingly and not because of something as shallow as politics.
"In my Clan, when the situation isn't compatible to what needs to be done, then we CHANGE the situation, Mitsouko..." He answered her worries, kissing her with a tender longing that conveyed all his fear for Mitsouko's safety, all his passion for her, all his hopes for the future, and all his will to fight for her.
As he broke the kiss he looked deep into her eyes.
"Our love may have begun belonging to our past lives, Mitsouko-sa, but now it is the one thing we have that is truly OURS. Death denied us happiness once, but our love survived it. Duty may try to interfere with it, but I refuse to let it win without a fight. Your advisors are speaking out of self-serving cowardice because they aren't getting an immediate return on the investment. What Kakita worthy of the name is incapable of patience?!""You are my heart, Kakita Mitsouko: my past, my present and my future. What we are, what we mean to each other, cannot and does not need to be encapsulated in formalities..." He said fervently, hoping she would understand his unspoken suggestion.
Shodai kissed her, and it was soothing and passionate at the same time. Then he changed his tone and words, there was a noticeable twist in his view of things, though not everything pleased Mitsouko's ears.
Mitsouko opened her mouth to defend her clan but realized it would led them to an endless arguing about their clans (again) than themselves and that's was exactly what they should avoid. Though...
Dear, I don't mind what happened in our last lives, I swear Sho and I forbid you of mentioning this tie again... Our life is already too shattered between our duties, our clans and what is proper; I prefer to believe it's new and created by who we are right now than as an inevitable condition of our souls. Right now I don't mind being rude, I prefer to believe this way, right? or...at least I can say it for me... I never believed that I could love someone like you... nor I had this certainty of love until the day I tried hard to hate you... and could not. Not truly.After everything they passed together Shodai was maybe one of the few persons able to understand Mitsouko, her fears, regrets and many of what was hidden to others. She was not saving herself. After all she passed, and her truth in Agasha Shodai's character made her totally exposed and raw. As Shodai himself was showing facets that he never revealed for her before. For Mitsouko such conversation could be either the end or the redemption for both. His subtle proposal was truly a surprise...but in fact it was an exciting side of him. For some minutes she stood silent, playing with her fingers in his forearms, doing circles over the fabric of his kimono in a distracted manner, while she was obviously immersed in thoughts.
Our future... Can I steal a bit of my own life for myself? If yes, I want. I don't want to make my clan suffer for my... indecency, though. And... It's...quite interesting to hear that from you, Shodai. She looked at his eyes again, a bit of teasing malice in her voice, though her eyes had still a hint of concern.
Shodai smiled at her, swearing that never again would the names of Shokujin or Saimei come from his lips while Mitsouko was within ear shot. She had a valid point; destiny may have thrown them together, but it was THEIR actions, THEIR choices that had resulted in their feelings.
"And I realize that this is coming out of the blue; The man I was when we separated at Kyuden Isawa never would have suggested it... But as the time away from you grew longer and longer still because of this damned war, I began to miss you SO MUCH it was as if I were walking around with a tanto buried in my belly. And then when I felt what happened today..." He drew her into a hug.
"I felt something far, far worse than missing you; the chill terror that I might lose you. After that..." He shook his head wryly.
"I spent most of my life following all the rules and politics; time wasted from getting things done... I put up with it because I had nothing better to do and I would always find some way to pass the time. But now I have you, beloved, and every second of every hour I have is infinitely more valuable than it was so much as a year ago... And I will not willing let others squander OUR time because they want to play their games."A sly grin crept into his lips as a thought came to him.
"As for your Clan, I have no doubt that for every detracting voice you have heard, you have two or more that are supportive. We can use our considerable influence - on both sides - to jam up the negotiations, leaving the current arrangements - perhaps with a few immediate tweaks to shut up the naysayers - in place for as long as humanly possible... All during which you and I are officially off the omiai market...""We can make the courtiers that would keep us apart chase each other's tails while you..." He chuckled, leaning in to kiss her on the neck, his warm breath tickling the nearly invisible hairs.
"...and I..." He kissed her on her strong jawline.
"...make each other deliriously happy. What doesn't hurt them is none of their damned business..." A kiss on the chin.
"Don't you agree?"Ahh... So... two oni, a witch from the past, a war, and the imminence of your betrothed to lose her soul was necessary to make you reveal me this man I never saw before? Hello stranger!She chuckled, her skin goose bumping from his kisses. Truly, Mitsouko was melting in his arms. Finding in there the necessary relief from her recent experiences. Would be her the first bushi to find solace in intimacy, in the arms of a loved one? There was little space for hypocrisy right now.
Maybe it's the time to make you many questions I never had courage to question to my future husband...but it seems our condition is more... how can I say? "Deliriously" is the word you used? Deliriously in the wrong... But I don't think the Fortunes will judge us as wrong...Shodai smiled at Mitsouko's playful words.
"Oh, he was always here... I hid him because that is what society expects of us, but I won't hide him from you anymore..." He ran his strong but gentle fingers playfully up her spine.
"You trusted me with some of your deepest fears and showed me your true colors, Mitsouko-sa... How can I do any less?""As for the Fortunes, I have no doubt you're right: Bishamon is on your side, Fukurokujin blesses me almost daily, Daikoku has showered us both our families with his aid, I can feel Hotei's contentment when you are near, and Benten..." He winked.
"Well, I'm pretty sure she's been on our side since that day when you breathed life back into me, Mitsouko-sa. By my reckoning, that's 5 of the 7!"Shodai's hands came to rest on the small of Mitsouko's back.
"I do not want to look back on this time and have any regrets for time wasted playing by rules that haven't changed in over 500 years... If you have questions of me, ask them without fear that it may change my feelings about you... No one - no Fortune, no Kami, no Elemental Dragon and neither Lord Sun or Lady Moon - can change my love for you, Mitsouko-sa."For the Phoenix shugenja - a man who has spent his entire life bending to the will of Tengoku in all things - to say these words to another was perhaps the greatest display of devotion that Agasha Shodai had ever given...
…
Mitsouko pushed a hand in his chest and made him lay down on his back over the tatami floor. She then crawled over him and then made herself nested in Shodai's arms once again, over his body.
Well you... should tell me... you always say you used your time to many other things and the Shodai I know, he... ara... How can I really ask that? I mean, you are 10 years older than me so you of course... she raised her chest a little to look into his eyes:
But well, tell me, how did you learn about 'man-woman' things? I mean, how, when... I am just curious. The Void Master smiled up at the Kakita Family Daimyo, his heart beating a little harder as he felt every sensual curve of her body pressing against his. He felt equal measures relief and anticipation: relief because she clearly felt strongly enough about him to accept his offer and anticipation...
Well, because she HAD accepted his offer.
A wan smile crossed Shodai's lips at Mitsouko's question as he resumed running his fingers up her spine.
"Well... You have to understand I was a lonely child - my 'cursed' eyes and early aptitude for magic made the parents keep the children my age away from me. As a result, I spent more time with adults - which typically meant I was in the Kyuden Agasha libraries. Watching the adults read and debate and discuss what they saw caught my interest and so I threw myself into learning how to read so I could do more than just watch."
"When I was, oh, 5 or so, I stumbled across a misfiled scroll that I opened before realizing my error: it was a scroll about Anatomy, intended for those studying the healing arts. It provided in-depth drawings of both male and female bodies..." He shrugged slightly.
"It was very clinical and didn't go too deeply into, as you put it, 'man-woman' things, but when I came into my manhood it saved my father the need to talk to me about it."
Shodai grinned playfully as he slid his hands up under the back of her uwagi jacket as far as her obi and traced circles; teasing the tender, marvelously soft skin at the small of her back.
"Beyond that... Well, even before I learned to teleport great distances, I had traveled extensively through the Empire." "I have spent quite some time with the Crab on the Wall, where the bushi there - men and women both - tell stories, and in their minds the baser the better, to remind them who they are fighting for... I have been subjected to - and seen others succumb to - the seductive efforts of Scorpion courtiers to seek an advantage in their negotiations... There are families among the Unicorn that still celebrate their time among the gaijin and perform dances that enflame the passions...""All these things - and more - furthered my education in 'man-woman' things..." He leaned up and whispered in her ear; it was a revelation that would likely surprise her.
"But to answer the question you REALLY want to ask... Despite the numerous offers I have received over the years, I have yet to make USE of that education..." He said with a grin that was equal parts shy and excited.
Mitsouko was somewhat shocked at this revelation; as Shodai was attractive and healthy so... but somewhat she understood his choice in dedicate his time to studies and knowledge. Her hand slid through the lapel of his uwagi and touched the bare skin of his chest, feeling his heartbeats, while she kissed over the collarbone and...
Sho... sorry if I don't stop talking but...I am anxious and...I have a lot-lot of questions but every of them sounds dumb or inadequate to the moment so I just don't want you think I am... well, before I was offering also my clan's alliance but now, it's just me and I... maybe I am more experienced than you. She holds her breath, expecting his reaction.
"It's fine, Mitsouko..." Shodai smiled as Mitsouko began to give as good as she got, though he couldn't help but wonder how she'd react when she saw the tattoos he bore on his chest and back. Tattooing of its samurai was an Agasha tradition dating back to the origins of his Family, when they used to provide the marks for the Dragon Monks to allow them to harness into the power their training developed.
"I know the truth of your heart; that is all that matters to me... What happened in the past is just that: in the past, as far as I'm concerned."He began to slowly undo the knot of her obi with one hand, but he kept the other stroking her spine and talking to see if she'd notice.
"As for my delay, it wasn't a lack of interest - any man who says they have no interest in 'man-woman' relations is either a eunuch, prefers men over women, or has become enlightened beyond the need for the physical. No, for me, it was something a little different...""My parents were one of those few couples that find each other, get blessed by Benten, and manage to find a matchmaker that convinced the Dragon and the Phoenix Clans - they were married in 1129, before the Agasha defected - of the benefits of the match. As a result, my childhood - what I had of one - was in a home filled with love and harmony. When I was young, I saw too many of my peers whose parents were much as Shinoburo and Tisuke were and I, in my youthful innocence, decided that I would only marry for love rather than politics." Shodai sighed wistfully as the knot became loose to cover the faint rustle of silk-on-silk as the obi opened.
"But as I grew older, I came to realize that duty to my Clan was more important than my childhood oath was, so instead I changed it... I swore that I would only have a 'man-woman' relationship because of duty to my Clan or with someone who knew and loved me for me." "There have been dozens of women who have tried to entice me over the years since I became a man, but in each and every one of them I could see the image of politics dancing in their eyes... They wanted me for the powers I commanded or because of my family's wealth and political connections or for no other reason than because I'm good-looking and available." He rolled his eyes in derision.
A playful grin filled the shugenja's features as he slid his hands under the untied belt, catching two handfuls of her squeezable waistline and effortlessly lifting her, pulling her forward so she sat astride his midsection.
Shodai's grin widened as her sash slid free, pooling limply on his belly, and her uwagi opening to show a thin line of skin from her neck to her navel, but no further.
"And to be perfectly honest - as Shodai, not the Void Master, not as a shugenja or any of the other things that others define me by - I think I like it much better this way, Mitsouko-sa..." He said, stressing the honorific while rubbing his thumbs over her tight abdominal muscles; savoring the feel of sights as yet unseen.
And Mitsouko was so focused in looking into his eyes, listening his words and sometimes staring at the movement of his lips that she didn't noticed anything else until Shodai was caressing her belly and instinctively she retracted the abdominal muscles, shivering a bit. Shodai was able to sense in his fingertips in mostly invisible reliefs of old cuts and scars from her bushi life and training. Also, he was able to see some bruises from the battle in the days before. Her pupils gone suddenly dilated, her lips parted while she was staring at him like hypnotized.
She leaned in to a passionate kiss, her hands caressing his shoulders over the silk. She loved Shodai's shoulders, well built from his training as yamabushi.
Yes, if you aren't so boring ahan... and a bit myopic maybe... you are always able to recognize your strong points, but unable to accept someone can desire you because “who” you are? Though Mitsouko obviously had this problem too, as sometimes is easier to see what isn't inside yourself. Her hand returned to where it has been minutes before, and revealed a piece of tattooed skin.
Mitsouko looked with unveiled curiosity.
What is this?A glimmer appeared in Shodai's eyes as she verbally jousted with him.
"Ah! But that's the crux of the question, isn't it? Determining if they want you for who you are or if they want you for WHAT you are... Do they love you or the IDEA of you... If a person claims love, but you barely know each other, that isn't love; that's lust POSING as love and it hardly compares to the real thing." He kissed her tenderly.
"Wouldn't you agree?""Consider us, Mitsouko-sa... When we began our journey, we were both willing to accede to the wishes of our Clans and marry if they decided it was our duty. But on our trip together, we saw each other at our best and at our worst. This let us see the person behind the armor of duty and status and forge the connection between our hearts that has led us to this point... This oh-so-DELIGHTFUL point."
Mitsouko's endearments had pushed his robe open enough to let her see his chest. "What is this?"The Phoenix smiled at his lady love and unknotted his obi. Shodai had been born about 3 years after the Agasha family's defection from the Dragon, making him one of the first Agasha whom would know loyalty only to the Phoenix. But at the same time the Agasha decided they could not turn their backs completely on their Dragon roots and so, after reaching their gempukku most began the process of acquiring tattoos that symbolized things of great importance to them.
Sharing the meanings of the tattoos was a gesture of respect for the others amongst the Agasha.
The first tattoo - the one that Mitsouko had seen - was of a dragon and a phoenix flying in tandem towards his heart, their long tails interwoven. The phoenix wore a crown of cherry blossom petals while the dragon seemed to be a bit fuller of body than normally depicted. The tattoo looked stretched in places on Shodai's chest, as if it pre-dated the muscles developed while learning how to use a katana.
"This was my first one; I had it added the day of my gempukku. It represents my parents - my father Keitaro, born when the Agasha still served the Dragon, and my mother, Sakura - and the intertwined tails represent their love for each other and for me."
Pulling open the other side of his uwagi revealed a Kenku swordsman with a crow on its shoulder. The Kenku's blade was parallel to a waxy scar that was burned atop his floating ribs. If it had landed a few inches lower, it would have perforated his liver or his kidney and have killed him.
"My time in Reihado Shinsei, where I began to walk the path of Enlightenment, as well as learn from Master Crow. The scar is compliments of Agasha Aizen, a yamabushi student I met when I was 12. Aizen's family was one of the few Agasha that remained with the Dragon and they were later renamed Tamori, but he felt my presence was an insult to the "faithful" Agasha and struck me with a katana of fire spell that I was unable to block in time."Shodai removed his uwagi, revealing five black bands - each a different shade of black ink, the last of which had an irridescent sheen to it - that carried a dragon scale motif that ran across his belly. What wasn't visible was the ornately detailed representation of the Void Dragon upon his back. This particular tattoo was uncommon, even among Ishiken shugenja: it represented his membership of in the Void Guard, the 5th of the Phoenix Clan's Elemental Guard, a top military secret of his Clan.
"These bands are the tail of the Dragon of Void, which I have on my back. It represents my rank as a master of the 5th ring of the Void path; they're slightly different colors because I added additional loops as I progressed from a beginner to where I am now."With that, he tossed his shirt aside. He then began to playfully kiss Mitsouko's neck, his chin brushing against her breastbone.
Mitsouko examined carefully every of the tattoos he showed, redesigning their contours with interest using her index fingertip while Shodai described every meaning.
You are...So...full of meanings. I feel poor in comparison... She leaned in and kissed his chest over the mythic creatures’ tattoo.
Something interesting was happening inside Mitsouko though, and she sensed it.
She never was a lustful person but now.... her blood was boiling. Her desire was aching and she licked sensuously the tattoo, sliding her hands over his ribs, sensing his muscles, grabbing his flesh. She blinked sweeping away the feeling it was due the recent touch of taint, of course she loved Shodai enough to have this urge but... the silk of her jacket slipped from her shoulder revealing more of her bare skin. Not entirely on accident, though...
Should I tattoo something too? Her teeth scrapped his skin softly, and all Mitsouko could think that moment was why she didn't have this idea during their travel. Such a waste of time! She was surprised by her own behavior, but it was fitting perfectly with Shodai's idea of "deliriously".
…. (fading camera)… 
