The New Winds

Ginkarasu had made sure to take some time to fulfill a promise...or was it a promise and a half?

Mirai made her way to where the letter had asked her to go. A dinner was never something a ronin passed up on, and the sender was pretty decent company too.

Entering the tea house, Mirai looked around before spotting Ginkarasu. Giving a polite smile (since he seemed to allow such things without note), Mirai gave a low bow and approached. "Yasuki-sama, konnichi-wa. May this one sit and join you?"

Ginkarasu stood and bowed, "Hai, yes! Please!"

Mirai gave another slight bow before sitting (one could never bow enough). She was silent a moment as she waited for her 'host' to sit as well, always bad at starting conversations. Finally she gave a slight smile. "So... you made it. We both did I suppose. Congratulations Yasuki-sama."

He smiles back, "Congratulations Mirai-san! You proved yourself before all the Empire."

"Well, at least those present," she noted with a nod. "I want to say I knew I would, but really I've had plenty of doubts. Don't make this about just me though Yasuki-sama. You've nothing to be modest about with your own performance. I never doubted you."

He nods. "Hai, we both did. And its the whole empire! Topaz is the gempukku ceremony that everyone hears about! We've got a chance at new paths now!" He can't help the excitement really, it was so difficult to fully believe it.

For her part, Mirai seemed much more subdued, though she always seemed that way. Another slight smile was all she allowed herself. "And what do you plan on doing with your own?"

"Going home first, sharing the good news. Then seeing who needs a yojimbo. Maybe someone going to an Imperial Court somewhere, the Imperials seem to like me. Maybe someone on the road most of the year and in courts in Winter." He waves at the proprietor of the tea house that they'd be ready to put in their request.

"I figure, I should do that awhile, then figure out how else I can help the Crab. Or the Empire, depending on what opportunities open up."

Mirai's brow furrowed a bit in thought. "Hm. I thought your lord did more choosing for you than having such an open ended choice. Then again, I've never had one, so it's all outside looking in."

A nod. "Hai, my lord will make a lot of choices. And I'll get to tell my lord what I'm good at. And if what my lord chooses is what I'm good at and what'll make me content, or what'll allow me to get better, then I'll get something close to what I want and so will my lord."

He shrugs a little. "I'm not so important that they can't send me to protect a nobody going nowhere important, but that would be training too. And I've done well enough and have Imperial friends and connections, so unless my lord decides to waste that, then I'll get something close to what I want. Awhile might be a long time, or I find a way to make sure I'm better suited for elsewhere, and trust that my lord knows my value."

She gave a faint smirk at that. "Considering the entire Empire is watching us Yasuki-sama, I am quite certain your lord will know exactly what to do with you. After all, you showed your talents quite well here, hai?"

A nod. "Hai, I hope! But enough about me! What're you planning?"

"The plans of a ronin are not so set in stone," she remarked quietly. After a moment she shook her head and gave a bit of a smile. "If nothing else changes, I might go back north. I had an offer to travel with the Unicorn contingent to look for work in their lands, and it'd be a nice change of pace. That said, the best laid plans of a wolf are always prone to change. Perhaps I'll get an offer from one of the lords here for something more certain."

A brief nod. "Hai. I understand." He looks up as the proprietor arrives and orders himself some tea, and a bowl of stir-fry, then looks to Mirai and what she wants.

Simple habits died hard, so she just ordered whatever the cook recommended that was cheap. Realising what she'd done as their order was taken away, she flushed a bit. "Always pays to be frugal."

"Hai. Have to wean ourselves off Crane fine dining, eh?" He shakes his head a bit. "If I wanted to ever send a letter to you, is there a place that you'll return to and it'll reach you thereby?"

Shrugging, the ronin couldn't help smirking softly. "I can't help noting it'd be a lot easier to get a letter to you than me, but that's mostly because I don't know my plans yet. I'll write you when I do so you can send in confidence, hai?"

A brief nod. "Hai. It's possible. Though if I'm assigned to a merchant on the road, I may not be in the same place twice for the next few years."

"It would still be with a known caravan, likely with a highly regimented route. Still easier to track down than a lordless woman traveling who knows where," she said teasingly.