Following the Snake path.

[Kakita Sojiro]

Sojiro's second trip through the void with Shodai was less taxing, but no less exhilirating. Some part of him felt almost at home there, in a strange way, which was a direct contrast to many of the things he had heard about that form of travel.

He emerged in the port section of Kyuden Kasuga, a steady mix of rain and sleet falling from the skies. He pulled his winter cloak around him, put his hood up to keep the slushy water from running down the inside of his clothing, and took a look around. The place looked positively seedy - a rundown section of the harbor, a place that had a bad reputation even given the city it was located in. Night had fallen as he walked the streets, taking note of different saki houses, gambling dens, and geisha houses that were little more than brothels with fancy trappings.

Other samurai would have been reluctant to come here. Sojiro felt right at home.

[Kakita Sojiro]

He spent about an hour sniffing the place out, paying attention to where the sailors did and didn't go to drink or gamble. At length, he decided on a rather shady looking sake house by the name of the Salty Turtle and walked in. The place was dimly lit, and while the front served as a sake house, there were a few rather loud games of chance taking place in the back rooms as well as a rather steady stream of girls heading to the second floor, giving a clue as to the other services provided here. Grinning, Sojiro ordered a saki and prepared to lose some koku. After taking the time to observe from a distance, he deliberately walked over to a game that he suspected was rigged - there were just enough winners to keep more drunk gamblers coming, but far more losers. He walked in with his cup in hand and a smile on his face, playing the role of drunken samurai to the hilt.

Two hours later and many coins lighter, Sojiro had finally figured the trick to the game out. The rules were simple - the man running the game had two dice, and the gamblers placed bets on either Han (even) or Cho (odd). Once all the bets were in, the man threw the dice into a cup and made an ostentatious display of rattling the thing about before slamming it down on the table. The cup was then removed, revealing the number on the dice to the gamblers.

The trick to it was fairly simple. There were two sets of dice in play here. One set had numbers that would only add up to an even amount, and the other had numbers that only came out odd. The man running the game took a mental count of how much money would be made on each outcome and switched the dice out, most likely keeping the other set hidden in the voluminous sleeves of his kimono as he did so. The ridiculous display of rattling the dice around provided a distraction that kept the drunks from catching on to what was happening.

It was time to make his move.

With a wicked grin on his face, Sojiro placed two koku on the table, easily the biggest wager of the evening. There was no way the dice thrower was going to pass on such a payday.

"Cho."

The yakusa's eyes widened as he saw how much Sojiro's wager was. With a sparkle in his eyes and a smirk on his face, he produced the cup with a flourish and tossed the dice in before beginning his routine. He slammed the cup to the table with an obnoxiously loud "kya!", and as soon as he did so, Sojiro's hand shot out and gripped both the cup and the hand holding it. His predatory grin grew a bit wider as he let the facade of drunkenness fall.

"I've decided to change my wager. Han."

The yakusa's smirk quickly changed to a look of suspicion, and then hostility. He knew.

"You already made your wager! You can't go changing it now that the dice have been cast!"

"Oh come now, they haven't been revealed yet. Surely there's no harm in changing my mind."

"That's not how the game works, crane. You make your wager, the dice are thrown."

"Perhaps it's time to add a little more spice to the game, then. A little more.... chance." He raised his voice to address the crowd. "After all, we're all gathered here to pay tribute to the Fortune of Chance tonight, am I right sans?!" He waited for the crowd to give it's rowdy affirmation before proceeding. "And what better way to do so than to add even more chance to this game?" He lowered his voice so that only the yakusa could hear him as the crowd riotously toasted the Fortune of Chance around him. "Care to take a gamble with me.... san? I say those dice show Han, and you know I'm right. But, if you're fast enough to pull it off without them noticing, I'll remove my hand long enough for you to switch the dice. All you have to do, is arrange a meeting with your boss. Tonight. No questions asked."

"Do we have a deal?"

Sweat had begun to bead on the yakusa's brow. On one hand, it was highly frowned upon to arrange such meetings without prior approval, but on the other hand, two koku was a lot of money to gain... or to lose.

A few seconds of thinking later, the yakusa grinned, although he was still sweating. "I would love to know what court you crawled out of Crane-san, so I am certain to never go there with my money on me."

"I spent a lot of time with the Otomo."

Laughing rapaciously at Sojiro's quip, the man spoke loud enough to address the crowd with his speech, although they had no idea of what had just transpired. "You have a deal crane-san. Han for you, then."

The yakusa was good. In the time it had taken him to make the proclamation, Sojiro has moved his hand and the dice had been switched while the drunks were busy staring the man in the face as he spoke. He quickly pulled the cup away. "Unfortunately crane-san, it would seem that the Fortune of Chance does not approve of your addition to his game. Cho!"

As the crowd erupted into a cacaphony of wild yells and desperate groans, the yakusa leaned closer and whispered. "Wait at the corner table outside in the main room. Two men will come to escort you shortly, and I do hope the Fortune of Chance favors you as much as the Fortune of Courage does, crane-san. Kokatsuna-sama does not generally like unexpected guests."

"Well, hopefully Kokatsuna-san will make an exception, given the amount of money I've spent to set our meeting up tonight. I'll be waiting."

[Agasha Shodai]

While Kakita Sojiro ventured into the seedy-looking Salty Turtle, Void Master Agasha Shodai instead took a walk around the Kyuden Kasuga ports. Agasha Sho, as he had been born, had spent many a day - and week - in places like the Salty Turtle, but Agasha Shodai, the man he had become after achieving Enlightenment, has spent many months atoning for the mistakes of his youth.

Besides, even considering the Tortoise Clan's principal allies were the Phoenix (the founder of the minor clan had been Agasha Kasuga,) it just wouldn't do to have the Void Master enter such an establishment and the speed at which Sojiro and Shodai had begun this trip had precluded the opportunity for Shodai to acquire the materials for one of his alternative personas he'd developed over the years to help disguise himself.

It had been an idea he'd come up with after attending one of the Shosuro Acting Troupe's kabuki performances where one actor had been forced to juggle two different roles - simply by changing his mask and voice - because they were short handed after one of the Actors had been arrested on suspicion of murder. The man had seemed so different between the two roles that the young Phoenix had thought they were, as the card had said, seperate actors. It wasn't until he asked to be able to compliment the two actors' skill that he'd learned otherwise.

And the discovery had given the shugenja, who'd always felt limited in what he could do because of his higher station, something new to think about.

Shortly thereafter, Asako Jinjutsu, Shiba Shugo, and Isawa Shisou had been "born," each concentrating on a specific aspect of Shodai's extensive skill set:

Isawa Shisou was his first try. He was the stereotypical Isawa - lots of knowledge, poor social skills - and typicially was used as a sort of "wandering magistrate" - one trained in the rules of law, but with no official authority - and offered to help people resolve their disputes without escalating it to a REAL magistrate.

Shiba Shugo came next. Shugo was a wandering weapon- and armorsmith and well-versed in the use of the products he could create. On more than one occasion, Shodai - as Shiba Shugo - had served as a yojimbo to a caravan in exchange for meals and introductions by the caravan leader to any smiths from other countries known for the quality of their work so he could seek to improve his skills.

Asako Jinjutsu, the persona that he'd first spent time with Mitsouko-sa with, had embodied Shodai's medical acumen. The Void Master's third "child" had "died" during the battle with the fallen Isawa Isshin. By that point, Kakita Mitsouko had already been aware that Agasha Shodai and the simple Asako medic had been the same person, but where Shodai had gone into battle as Jinjutsu and had been carried back to camp as himself had been the death knell for the character...

Word of Asako Jinjutsu's true identity had spread during the remainder of Shodai and Mitsouko's quest for answers and there had been a great many letters related to the medic awaiting the Void Master upon returning to Kyuden Isawa. Most had been positive, but a few had been from the more headstrong of Jinjutsu's patients that had been upset they had "wasted" the time of an important man with their minor issues.

"Child..."[/b] The Void Master spoke the word aloud to himself in disbelief at the discovery he'd made in Kyuden Otomo. Even as he stood on the muddy streets of Kyuden Kasuga, within the body of the woman he loved more than his own life, a new life was taking shape: a life that was part Mitsouko and part Shodai - a child of their secret love... Even though, because of the realities of the Empire, Shodai may never be able to openly prolaim to be father of Mitsouko's child, there was something oddly comforting that, if anything were to ever happen to him, there would soon be a new life that would embody the love they felt for each other.

The Void Master unconsciously rubbed his chest to fight off the subtle itching of his new tattoo that he'd added to his body a few weeks ago; shortly after that blissful night at Seawatch Castle. He'd hoped to reveal it to Mitsouko at Winter Court, but her surprise for him had definitely trumped his for her.

Right then and there, Shodai wished he were still by Mitsouko's side, but her hurtful outbursts, which the doctor within the Void Master knew to be something that many women did early in pregnancy - some texts suggested it was because a portion of the woman's wisdom and honor was being transferred to the child, but others thought were something less esoteric, had made it clear that Mitsouko did not want to see or talk to him until after Sojiro was safely returned from his quest.

It was not an exile that the Kakita Daimyo would have inflicted on him if she weren't pregnant, but Shodai was bound - both by honor and by love - to obey her command.

He had to believe that... Or else there was truly nothing left in his life other than power and duty.

The Void Master continued his lonely walk; he hoped that Sojiro's plan would pan out...