A Request & A worried Kakita

[Kakita Kenji]

Kenji was sitting in the canteen. He still had the events of last night in his mind, but now he had to concentrate. He had to ask Sakura today if she could help him and he had to talk to her about zashi.

He was worried about her. He didn't trust the redheaded boy, who even had red hair in Rokugan? He didn't want her to be expelled by him, or worse, hurt.

[Doji Sakura]

It's almost as if the Fortunes presented him a chance to speak with the person he wanted to see! Sakura wandered into the canteen humming to herself as she went to get some food, seemingly in a very good mood. Her pretty blue umbrella was tucked under her arm.

[Kakita Kenji]

If you think of the devil, Kenji thought to himself when he saw Sakura. He was happy to see her, but also had a heavy feeling in his chest. He hoped he could handle everything diplomatically today.

"Sakura-san" he waved her over. "Will you have dinner with me?"

[Doji Sakura]

"Hm? Oh Kenji-san!" Sakura beamed a smile and bowed to the boy, carrying her tea and steamed vegies&rice over "hai I'd love to! How is Kenji-san today? You've never come back to visit me in the forge, I'm nearly halfway done with my tanto now."

[Kakita Kenji]

When Sakura sat down with him, Kenji bowed briefly

"You expected me? I didn't think I could contribute much. But I'm glad you're making good progress. I'm still surprised that someone of your stature could muster the strength to swing a blacksmith's hammer, I would expect it from the Great Unicorn, but as they say, appearances can be deceiving.

[Doji Sakura]

"My father is from the Crab clan, so I have strong genes" Sakura said with a smile, sipping her tea before continuing "I'm stronger than i look for sure. As for expecting, it wasn't as much expecting as liking company. Zashi-san is with me every day though so that's fine, although a rude Moto came by today and called my work a waste of time. Really mean of him."

[Kakita Kenji]

"That could only have been Ichiro-san,.... and he insulted your work? Doesn't he know that the Kakita Swordsmiths are one of Rokugan's most sought-after artists?" He shook his head. "I'm sorry to disappoint your expectations Sakura-san, I'll definitely keep you company tomorrow morning," he said with a deep bow.

He ate a little of his food before continuing

"l,..." Kenji swallowed. "have two things to discuss with you, Sakura-san. One is a request, the other is... a concern I have. What would you like to talk about first?"

[Doji Sakura]

"It's ok, if you don't want to come you don't have to" Sakura said as she picked up her chopsticks "I was just hurt that someone thought making art was a waste of time. Just because it wasn't some big club, it's a waste? Hmph!"

She then looked thoughtful.

"The request is for art? I always like art."

[Kakita Kenji]

"No, no, no, I'd love to come and keep you company, I just didn't want to get in the way of your work....
If you ever feel that he has insulted your honor, you know where to find me," Kenji said, hoping to never have to fight against the Moto.

He was glad that she wanted to talk about art first.

"Yes, art! Aiichiro-ku,... -san, Kazuko-san, Ginkarasu-san, and I plan to organize a game tournament if we get the permission. It's about finding the student-game master of Hirosaka. Besides this extremely glorious title, we want to give the winner a gift, ... so I thought of you!" Kenji said enthusiastically.

[Doji Sakura]

Sakuras eyes widened, and she hid her face behind her sleeve.

"A-ano...t-thank you Kenji-san...but I don't think you can give me away as a gift. There would need to be nakodos and..." she trailed away, blushing brightly.

[Kakita Kenji]

"No, no, no, no, no, no, not like that. I would never, no, I mean I like you, but not like that!" he said, arms crossed while shaking his head. His head also began to turn red after he realized what she had understood
"What I actually meant" Kenji started in an attempt to save both faces " is whether you would produce something that the winner would receive as a prize"

[Doji Sakura]

"Oh...." Sakura nodded from behind her sleeve. "Ano...what kind of thing?"

[Kakita Kenji]

"It should be something small, something that can be done in a day or two. A hairpin, for instance, or some beautiful chopsticks. But you're the artist, you should decide, after all it's the product of your creativity!"

[Doji Sakura]

"And just for the winner? Hmm, well a hairpin would be more memorable I think. Chopsticks are more...I suppose commonplace, a hairpin can be displayed better as a reward" Sakura said thoughtfully, moving her sleeve away. Her face was now only slightly pink, but more in a cute way. "It depends really, I could make something from silver or gold if you can ask sensei for the materials. That would be pretty and quite quick to make."

[Kakita Kenji]

"That would be wonderful! When we ask for permission for the event, I will ask for materials to be provided for you," he bowed briefly to Sakura again. "Thank you for providing your services, I owe you a favor"

[Doji Sakura]

"It's no problem! What's the tournament about though? Isn't there already a tournament happening?" Sakura asked, curious

[Kakita Kenji]

"Games!" he exclaimed "Even though we're not quite sure if it will just be Go or if Shogi or Sadane or something else will be included, the tournament you're talking about is the Topaz Championship?"

[Doji Sakura]

"Hai, the Topaz championship? Ooh, games? Do you know about the dice game then?" Sakura asked, curious "I saw some people playing it before."

[Kakita Kenji]

"Dice games"? I've heard of Fortunes and Winds, but never played myself... but back to the Topaz Championship, which will be a long time after our time here, Sakura-san, we don't need to worry about that right now"

[Doji Sakura]

"It's not Fortune and Winds. They roll dice then quickly hide it under a cup, and the other person has to guess odd or even. It's a weird game, but the people playing it seemed to have fun. There was lots of shouting and throwing of metal coins around" Sakura explained thoughtfully.