The New Winds

Haruki sent a request to Ikomo Eichiro for a simple cup of tea. Nothing like a hearty cup of red tea to keep your mind going.

Eichiro arrives back at the inn, he hadn't worn his brown pants today and that was a mistake. After spending an inordinate amount of time getting the right amount of mud off of his feet and legs, he finally made his way into the common room of the inn.

His greeting for Kaito Haruki is friendly, but a bit tired. "Thank you for the invitation, Isawa-san. I heard there was some excitement in town that I seem to have missed."

"Yes, it seems that a sake house that was being burned down went out with a bang."

"Oh? I hadn't visited yet. My sensei had admonished me to only drink after the event was over." Eichiro eyes the tea pot, "He said to keep my head clear, I suppose I got myself into trouble without the addition of sake."

"It probably has more to do with how stressful everything is now. Why, I heard last night that some drunk ronin brandished weapons on some kids."

"That's terrible," Eichiro says, "Why, we depend on our hosts to keep us safe. Exploding buildings and brigands threatening students. Why, we aren't even allowed to carry our weapons until we complete the tournaments."

"I wonder if every year is this exciting, I hope the runner up and the Topaz Champion write back soon. Maybe things like this happened last year too."

"Funny you should mention that, I thought I heard something about a Sugai being angry with someone. But enough about dishonorable actions, how about some tea? I chose a special red blend, it's said to have quite a bite to it."

"Funny you should mention that, I thought I heard something about a Sugai being angry with someone. But enough about dishonorable actions, how about some tea? I chose a special red blend, it's said to have quite a bite to it."

"Yes please," Eichiro replies, offering his cup.

Haruki does the tea ceremony, as expected a somber expression throughout the whole process. Looking more like a guy in mourning than his usual neutral expression.

(Ooc for those of the western hemisphere, when I refer to red tea, I mean black teas like Congou or blends like Earl Grey. Higher in caffeine and lasts longer and not the Bush tea from Africa)

D5 LA: Tea Ceremony/void TN 15: 5d10o10k4 25
+1 void point

Eichiro knows the mores of such a ceremony, and participates quietly.

As it concludes, and they settle again the young courtier's curiosity gets the better of him. "Is there something wrong, Isawa-san? I do not want to make you share that which you do not wish, but it is one of my goals to bolster anyone that I can."

"I recently got word that an acquaintance of mine had a choice of two equally worn paths, and he chose the one less traveled."

"Hmm..." Eichiro contemplates, "Hitting me with the hard stuff. It is never a joyous occasion which such a thing happens, Isawa-san."

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asks, genuinely.

"Not too much, but it makes one think. Life is much more complicated than we were ever taught as children. There's a lot of things your elders expects of you but never actually say it."

"We're becoming adults in a few days," Eichiro considers, "We'll have assignments and duties beyond 'go to dojo' and 'do what your parents say'"

"I can't say that I know much about that stuff, but I guess since we're still kids for a couple days, we don't gotta worry about what the other clans think about our behavior and.." he stops, thinking about it, "We can rely more on each other to figure some stuff out before we're supposed to know everything."

"Assignments haven't been THAT easy for years, but you could still follow bushido to the fullest and come to the right answer. But now that we are about to be adults, situations arise where we need to weigh multiple tenets against each other. "

"I'm simplifying of course," Eichiro says, "but I understand what you're saying."

"I..." He stops and drinks some tea. He seems to consider something, but decides against it.

"I don't know. I don't know if it will get easier with time either." He takes another drink, "We're told the great stories about Matsu and Isawa, about the heroes of our past and the righteousness of their deeds."

"And from where we stand, it seems so easy to make those decisions that they made."

"At the end of the day, we just need to take a hundred lifetimes to truly internalize them, I guess." He takes a sip and relaxes a little, realizing that talking about this subject specifically wouldn't get you anywhere in a day, and there were more pressing matters. "Well, we might have a thousand lifetimes but we still need to live today. Have you thought about what to give Toshimoko-sama?"

Eichiro seems glad to change the subject, "I have a bottle of my villages spiced wine hidden away. A bottle given to me by my grandfather for a special occasion before his retirement."

"What more special occasion is there than dining with the Sensei of the Kakita Dojo at the Topaz Championship."

"Ah, but if everyone had the same idea it wouldn't be so special. Would it? I'm still in the process of figuring out what exactly I will get him."