The New Winds

Kokyou helps his clanmates bringing in some of the requested wares for the shop. He stays a bit longer after his last man-of-the-sea task is finished before he joins up as a competitor at the Tournament to check and browse the exotic wares being displayed.

Mai "supervised." As they finished, she approached, Kokyou and bows. "Hey, Kokyou-kun. You ready?"

"Born ready, Mai-chan. Wha' do ye 'ave in mind?" He asks, waving towards a crown filled with jewels, "A princess crown be rather extravagant fer us Rokugani. But 'twould indeed look good on ye."

Mai laughed. "A crown is pushing it. I was talking about Topaz in general, but wouldn't mind doing some shopping if you're up for it."

"Ye shall wear somethin' these Crane maidens would 'ave thar jaw dropped t' the ground when they see ye the first day. So much they would become Unicorn, so purple in envy o' yer greatness." He nods and then shrugs a bit, "The Championship be jus' another formality t' our Greater goal. Ye reached first afore. I'll make sure one o' us gets at a prominent place once again."

Mai nods. "Good. I think there's another Mantis too. Though I never heard of him before. Regardless, we will give these Great Clans a showing. I even trained in polearms just for the weapons test." Mai tried to think of how she could help Kokyou. "Come to me if you get any injuries. I can cast healing now. Though I sensei felt it was best if I learned combat spells for the most part, so that's all I'll be able to do."

"Pole... arms?" Kokyou opens a sly smirk for no apparent reason if not naughty ideas in his head, "Good thing t' handle the naginata. Mighty fit fer a well-trained beauty."

Mai blushed when she made an educated guess at what Kokyou was implying. "Bisteno, actually. Hit' 'em hard. The Mantis way." Mai gave a mocking flex she had seen sailors do before.

"Ye're packin' quite a bunch thar, Mai-chan. Here I be corrected. I initially thought ye wouldna grow as much. But Fortunes proved me wrong." He smirks, looking at her with admiration. "Thankfully."

"Well, I gotta try to keep up with you. How many horrible monsters do you plan on slaying on this trip?"

He gets some air into his lungs to inflate his chest and nods. "I look fore fer ye t' grow even more."

With a nonchalant shrug, he replies, "Just the ones that dare to cross us."

"Well I can help out now." Mai pats her spell scrolls. "Of course, probably the most horrible monsters we'll meet this time is some stuck up members of the Great Clans. Though the ones t that school weren't so bad. Anyone you're looking forward to seeing again?"

“Well. I enjoy thar presence well-nigh equally. Havin' had many o' 'em in the trip wit' us was quite nice.“

He raises an eyebrow to add, “, since we be speakin' o' all o' 'em maidens, nah jus' students.”

A sigh, and he mentions, respectfully, “Utaku-sensei. For sure.”

Mai quirks an eye brow. "What is it that impresses you so much, Kokyou-kun? Her riding ability?"

"Definitely. Ridin' a big animal wit' her thighs while bouncin' all that wit' no hands." He raises his hands up as if arrested, "Weren't ye impressed?"

Mai gives a laugh. "Not as much as you. Though I wish you luck. I'm sure the maidens will be throwing themselves at you soon enough just waiting to show you their horsemanship skills."

"Although some say I be a stallion, as Mantis I actually be a man-o-war wit' plenty o' space fer a rather... specialized crew of maidens, battle or otherwise." He wiggles that eyebrow back.

Mai laughed again. "A ship in every port? I'd expect nothing less from you, Kokyou. But how do plan on handling the jealous ones who want Kokyou-kun all to themselves.

"Like the sea. I plan t' be mysterious, vast, bountiful 'n... unpredictable." He winks to Mai, taking the crown on display to put it on her head gently

"If anyone can pull that off, it would be you." Mai poses. "Do I look like some sort of gaijin..." Her brow furrows. "What's the word for it? Lord?"