(Day 1, LN) Midnight Tea - Crab

[Vutall]

"He is not touched, he just has faced many hardships, and should he fail, it will cast a very poor shadow. I am sorry to hear about what happened at the Inn, though his frustration is not unfounded. For a long time the boy has struggled with being who he is, and his aspirations often go overlooked."

[Yasuki Ginkarasu]

"Well, yeah. It hurts anyone to not pass their gempukku before the whole empire. Why him?"

[Kuni Yotsuo]

Nodding at Gikarasu's qustion, Yotsuo waits for an answer.

[Kaiu Aiichiro]

If it was pity, well, then the entire boy's life should be whack. He was curious, but remained in quiet composture.

[Vutall]

“The Fortunes work in mysterious ways, Yasuki-San. “

He does not seem willing to explain any more than that.

“I thank you all for the tea and company. I should now go, time is short for one such as I after all”

[Kuni Yotsuo]

Yotsuo simply offers a bow to the man that wishes to depart. It might be very straining for him to manifest himself for all he knows, so the Kuni doesn't wish to keep him if that's the case.

[Kaiu Aiichiro]

"Your presence illuminated our souls by itself, Doji-dono. I will be contacting said boy later today. Do any of you wish to join me?" He says, bowing.

[Yasuki Ginkarasu]

"Okay! Be well Doji-sama! Good luck with the conspiracy!" Ginkarasu bows deeply to the Emerald Champion.

[Vutall]

A small nod, a brief flash of light, and all the crab were back at Yotsuo’s room, the man gone, and nothing of the incident, save for a teapot of tea, still warm, remaining

[Yasuki Ginkarasu]

Ginkarasu blinks a few times after the flash of light.

"You know. I don't remember anyone ever saying the Emerald Champion has the ability to teleport you to different locations with or without tea."

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"No, but spirits can blink into and out of existence like that sometimes. Either he is actually dead and in his spiritual state he learned of the importance of Hitoshi, or he is still alive, faked his death, Hitoshi is part of the reason he did so, and he has gained aid and support from shugenja capable of bestowing such gifts from the kami. The former seems more likely to me. I can't imagine that an Emerald Champion would give up the resources and position they hold when they would come in handy for protecting the interests of someone important."

[Kaiu Aiichiro]

He nods. "I was going to ask something alongside those lines. Glad also to hear it happened with you, Yasuki-san. Thought I was going somewhat insane. Anyway, Kuni-sama, I got something to say to you. Earlier on our trip we found a merchant with a faulty wagon. We helped him, and he was Doji Satsume-domo's servant. Some boys said that they saw a spirit floating over a nearby lake watch us help him."

[Yasuki Ginkarasu]

"Let alone a Clan Champion too. Why would the Champion of the Crane risk everything for a Mantis? Let alone the main defender of the Emperor." He frowns a bit. "He said the Fortunes work in mysterious ways. Maybe this is another thing like the Tengu?"

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"Well, if Doji-sama is now Doji-shiryo, then it's possible he was watching that earlier as well. But it could have just as easily been any other spirit," he says with a shrug. "My ability doesn't really help me directly with spirits on Ningen-do, only with visiting them in the other realms. I think. I've never specifically known of a spirit that was here on Ningen-do and attempted to travel to it. I don't know if I would be able to project to them, but I could certainly try. I'll give it a go in a little bit and see what happens."

"Well, it's possible that Hitoshi might be important in a way that is simply not understood by the mortal realm. It could be his fate to take an action that will have an impact on the flow of the empire. Maybe he is fated to become a samurai so that he can be standing in a certain place at a certain time that leads to him being hit by an arrow that would strike the Emperor or the next Emerald Champion. There are innumerable possibilities."

[Yasuki Ginkarasu]

A nod. "I think trying to figure out what it would be is just a road to madness. Kinda like trying to figure out what the most important moment of your life is."

[Kaiu Aiichiro]

"Kuni-sama, now diverting the discussion if you don't have anything more to add, how did you become a diplomat? Never saw you on the court training." He says, reading the Mon.

[Kuni Yotsuo]

"I have had some minimal individual training from the courtier that brought me here, but it is not my specialty. It is a special position create for me, to represent our Clan's interests in the spirit realms if it becomes necessary. It was deemed necessary to give me a certain level of authority in order to do so, since when I travel to other realms I must do so on my own," he explains. "If the clan deems it necessary to pass a message to or seek guidance from an ancestor in a more direct manner than offering prayers, I am likely to be the primary means of doing so."