Ryoichi Estate

The litter carried her to the curtain wall of the Ryoichi Estate, gilded in gold and red. A servant helped the Mistress of the Theatre out of it, where her silk parasol was immediately opened, casting shade upon the creamy skin of her naked shoulders, where a pretty feminine tattoo curled along one collar bone.

She was expected at her uncle's estate, but information given to her beforehand let her know that he was not there and instead down at the wharf, seeing to his trading interests.

Servants of the estate saw her through the gate and to the front doors, lead the kimono clad actress and dancer through the halls and out once more into the backyard where hundreds and hundreds and pink lotus blossoms floated on a pool of cerulean.

A pagoda was set up to almost look like it was floating, and that was where she saw Ryoichi Masami sitting, pretty as a doll, and likewise always treated as one.

Hatsumomo was led toward Masami, and closed her parasol, leaning it against a carved column before she took her seat. "Well, your note was fairly dramatic. Perhaps in a diffferent life you might have made something of it," Hatsumomo joked to her blind cousin as she reached out to pour herself some tea.

An elegant, black brow perked on Hatsumomo's face with the blushing Masami's words.

"Interesting. I wasn't sure that you did anything outside of live within these walls," she spoke, perhaps a little haughty but not necessarily mean. She sipped her tea and enjoyed the high quality. Most everything from the Ryoichi family was high quality, in that Hatsumomo could at least depend on.

The wind danced among the floating lotus blossoms on the pond all around them for a moment as Hatsumomo looked at Masami's downward turned face.

"The daimyo?" she asked then, and glanced around. There were no servants near, and perhaps Masami meant to have it that way. Hatsumomo laughed gently and then turned back to look at her younger cousin. "Which daimyo?" she wondered with a faint tip of her head, the decoration in her hair chiming quietly with the gesture.

Hatsumomo sighed, her eyes rolling as she sipped her tea, swallowed, then spoke.

"You are not being very clear, child," she said, even though she must have been less than five years older than Masami. She couldn't exactly remember; keeping pace with her uncle's daughters had never been a prerogative of Hatsu's.

"Spit it out, then. What could you possibly have that the Daimyo Akagi Zuikaku would want?"

The Litter came rumbling up to the gates of the estate, where Hatsumomo and Royal would then step down. A small door was opened with the gate of the estate, so that each of them could file through.

Servants were waiting on the otherside, speaking in quiet and quick Tawakoshi to Hatsumomo and glancing at Royal over and over again. They were trying to be subtle, but it was hard not to stare.

Roy hopped off the litter, nodding with agreement. A bath certainly would be nice. He watched the sack containing the duck, wondering how it would be cooked. He'd been looking forward to eating it, considering how much trouble he'd gone through to catch it. If only Uncle Renalt let him buy ducks from the market, he wouldn't be all the way in Tawakoshi. But nooo, only the finest ingredients for Uncle Renalt. He'd been kidnapped by a dragon, chased a thief across Sakand, and now he was in Tawakoshi all because of Uncle Renalt's insistence that Roy go out and fetch him ingredients. He couldn't very well complain, though. He lived with his uncle for free. Usually he worked in the shop, but Uncle Renalt always had errands for him to run.

Masami was trying to focus on the chords of her instrument, as her instructor was showing her. A new song she was learning, and it was a bit slower than others, given she was... well, blind.

She was dressed prettily, in a feminine dress that draped around her, a sash around her waist to accentuate its smallness, her long and wide sleeves rolled away from her wrists so her elegant hands could more easily play the instrument. It was difficult, more so than usual, given the wound she had upon her armor that she told no one else about.

She was trying to learn a particularly difficult variant when noise continued to grow out in the halls of the room. She turned her head in the noise's direction -- the loud gossip of servants -- with a gentle, thoughtful frown on her face. The instructor seemed annoyed and bade Masami stop as he went to go tell the servants to quiet down.

As soon as the paper screens were opened, however, Masami spoke.

"Miyu? Is that you? What is going on?" Masami asked from where she sat.

The servant came into the room and bowed, a smile on her face. "There is a foreign visitor to the estate, miss. They say he is the spirit of a fish and brought a duck as a feast for Master Yuudai to eat tonight."

"The spirit of a fish?" Masami asked, and she could feel the Cat inside her grow interested. After all, Cat ate fish, didn't they?

"Yes. He smelled awful, but it was the only way he was able to cross the seas to come to us. Indeed, the first thing he wanted to do was go back into the waters."

"He is bathing?"

"Yes, Miss."

"And after?" Masami wanted to know.

"I don't know, Miss. He has come with Miss Hatsumomo. She is also bathing -- separately, of course." Miyu had to verify this, as Hatsumomo had a certain reputation.

"Hm. I would like to meet this Fish Spirit," Masami said.

"Yes, Miss. I will inform him."

When Royal Fletcher stepped out of his room, there was a servant sitting on her knees nearby, almost as if she herself was like a neatly folded robe waiting to be used. She looked up, her face older, perhaps in her fifties, and when she saw what Roy was wearing, she went into a flurry of conversation.

She was speaking in rapid Tawakoshi, clearly... somehow... offended? Shocked? by his stepping out in the white robe, for what Roy had failed to notice is how sheer it was, and how the white clung to his body. The woman was blushing red and gesturing with her hands for him to turn around and go back inside.

She didn't want to lay hands on him -- for mortals were not supposed to touch the spirits -- but she most certainly herded him back into bathing room. She picked up the black robe and snapped it open, fluffing it out so it would be easier for Royal to put on.

Two robes, a light layering that kept one warm without making one hot, and a way to keep the outer robe clean by not letting it rest against the body where sweat and oils might damage the darkened material.

Once Royal was properly dressed, the woman gestured for Roy to follow her, and she led him back into the main wing-roofed building. They walked through the hallways, with many servants moving to and fro, pausing when they passed to bow their heads, and then stare at Royal as he went by.

Roy hadn't realized that he was supposed to wear both robes until he ran into the maid, but that was sorted out quickly. How embarrassing! Couldn't they just make one robe that worked on its own? Oh well, at least they were comfy. The staff around here were certainly very nice, but they seemed awfully quiet. It was a far cry from the staff back at the family estate, who chattered and gossiped incessantly about anything and everything. It was kind of odd, being in such a quiet place with so many people. He was led to the blind girl's room, where he stepped inside and glanced around nervously. Who was she? Clearly, she knew him already. What could she possibly mean when she said it was an honor to meet him? Was that just an odd translation?

"Um...hi. It's nice to meet you too. What do you mean by my story? I have a few...things just happen to me sometimes. What's your name?"

He sat down across from the blind girl, glancing at the assorted sweets and tea. They certainly looked good.