Ryoichi Estate

Hatsumomo knew when to push her uncle and when to let him lie. As the food came, she waited for Yuudau to finish taking his fill before the decorated chopsticks came up in her hands and she chose her food. She gestured that Roy should go next.

And he should also answer Yuudai.

Roy fumbled with the sticks, managing to pick up some pieces of tentacle and squash. Was this what they ate in Tawakoshi? It was odd, but he didn't want to be rude. Who knew, maybe it would be good. He looked up at the Yuudai, and hesitated. How was he supposed to convince the man to help him?

"Why would you help me? Because I don't have any other way home...oh, I know! My cousin is a Minister of Isra, and he's in charge of importation and trade! You're a merchant, right? Maybe he could get some trade deals for you, let you ship your products overseas..."

Quiet Masami, pretty Masami -- she choked on her food, able to eat on her own although not able to select. She coughed and found the green tea poured in laquer cups.

"Father, so soon? But... he's only just arrived from a very long voyage," Masami said, her voice gentle and concerned.

"Oh! Thank you, sir. The morning sounds fine."

Roy was surprised that they were leaving so soon, but was glad that he'd be home quickly. Masami seemed disappointed, which was a shame. He liked talking to her, she seemed to think his stories were interesting. However, he didn't really like Tawakoshi. Hatsumomo seemed to know something he didn't, though.

"Who's Daimyo Zuikaku, Ms. Hatsumomo?"

[Skip Masami and Hatsumomo]

Around the time of the arrival of the foreigners, a third Samurai, escorted by only two dozen Wave Warriors, approached the Ryoichi Estate.

A massive shark was emblazoned on his banner, fluttering in the breeze that constantly came off the sea. His armor was studded with massive shark teeth, and was constructed completely of sharkskin. The Samurai in question was a former member of the Ryoichi House, and the newest member of the Daimyo's personal Guard.

"The Daimyo wishes for the candidate from Ryoichi House to proceed to the Throne Room immediately, as the others have just now arrived in port." He said, loudly but politely upon approach to the house. Significantly less formal than the greeting given to the foreigners, but these were subjects of the Daimyo, and to even be considered for this was a great honor indeed.

-- To Royal Fletcher

"Silk," Yuudai answered shortly, and seemed uninterested in saying anything else to the foreigner as the servants brought out the second course of the meal. Indeed, the entire meal would continue with this stiff and awkward silence, as it soon became clear that silence was what Yuudai preferred.

When the meal was finally finished, Yuudai wiped his mouth upon a napkin, stood, and left, leaving the women to Royal again.

Renouncing all of one's former allegiances was required of those who entered into the Daimyo's bodyguard. They pledged themselves to him, and in that moment became a member of his family, along with their wife and children, should they possess them at the time. Duty demanded he deliver the message verbatim, as would be required of anyone tasked with such a thing.

That he was sent at all was a sign of good faith, that the Daimyo trusted the samurai to represent him faithfully even in front of his biological family. The relationships between them were never forced to be severed, so long as the Samurai was not suspected of disloyalty. The Samurai waited diligently for the Master of the Family to come out.

It took a few minutes, almost totally because of the expanse of the Ryoichi Estate. Soon, however, another servant came to the door and bade the Samurai wait. He closed the door in the gate, and then the gates themselves opened, allowing the Samurai and the wave warriors into the courtyard where a handsome and beautiful peach tree grew at its center, old and magnificent in its age.

Yuudai stood on the shallow steps that led up into the doors of his domain, and as his eyes clapped upon his son -- his only son, Ryoichi Kaito -- he took steps downward, his hands clasped behind him. Yuudai cut a commanding and powerful figure. Indeed, it was almost a shame that he was not born into a more distinguished bloodline, for Yuudai rose himself and his family beyond the standards of mere merchants.

He, himself, was no mere merchant, and perhaps that was also a credit to Kaito in front of him. Perhaps, in some part, this might have been a reason why Kaito had risen to such prominence with the Daimyo, that the Daimyo had taken Kaito from Yuudai's family tree -- plucked like a peach.

And now, Yuudai would be offering his daughter -- Kaito's sister -- to the Daimyo's hand. What could Yuudai be hoping for? Perhaps that in pruning his tree, the branches might grow into a family that was higher than merchant class. Perhaps, he was hoping, that after years of going above and beyond his call, of raising the standards of himself, his family, his men, and his business, that the Daimyo might recognize the worth of the Ryoichi and make them a noble family instead, just as he had raised Kaito to Samurai.

Yuudai, for all of his great standing and esteem, was still a merchant, and so, a merchant must bow his head to the samurai, even a stolen son. He came upon even ground with Kaito, his steely eyes like stone, and he bowed elegantly at his waist. When he stood again, he spoke a word.

"Kaito."