The New Winds

After repeatedly feeling the gentle touch of Earth, Sasaiko finds herself in need of a bath. So she finds a bathhouse, scrubs, and soaks in the water. The bruise from the fall from horseback reminds her of itself as she leans back, and she hisses at it a bit before more gently reclining.

There was a sound of vigorous scrubbing from the men's changing rooms. It sounded as if it had begun before she even entered the woman's side, and it went on for a moment after before someone finally sighed. Ugh. He didn't smell like horses anymore, thank the kami. He also didn't feel like there was mud and grime and germs under his fingernails. Ok. Good. His body ached, and his lungs still burned, but he had managed to avoid breaking down into a fit of wheezing at this point, and so... the door opened.

Nobody else in here other than... "S...Sasaiko?!?" It was a co-ed bath, but ... they were betrothed. Was it proper? Certainly he had three towels and was wearing one right now, so everything was fine. But his face was beet red. "Ahem. If you wish I can find another bath." Yeah, that would probably be a little silly.

The entrance startles Sasaiko for a moment, and her hands move reflexively to cover herself under the water. But as she turns, she hears the voice, she sees the reddening face of her betrothed, and her own skin reddens with something that is not the heat of the bathwater.

"Saburo-kun? Oh, no, um, er, no, you don't have to, er, find another bath. It's, er, for both, right?"

She begins to regain control of herself.

"Ah, no, you are of course welcome to join me here. And I can look away while you get in, if you prefer."

Her own towel is folded behind her.

A thought occurs. "Though I do not have to."

He breathed. Carefully. Ok, what does etiquette demand. A close of his eyes and he had it in his mind. Etiquette ... well, honestly, the bathhouses were co-ed, so they should be fine. The fact that they were betrothed might be talked about, but he bathed with Mai last night and nobody had kittens. Closing the door behind him, he took a long, cleansing breath to clear his head. His face was still absolutely beet red. "I...I think it is fine as long as we are not staring, Sasaiko-chan." They were the only ones in here. He wasn't changing his statements to Toritaka unless someone slipped in.

Stepping up to the lip of the tub, he tried not to look at her, which meant he was looking away a bit. It was awkward, but he got into the tub and started to finally relax. His own coverings didn't include his chest, admittedly, but propriety had different demands. Finally, a sigh escaped his lips and he closed his eyes. "W...we are going to have to get used to doing this after all. And it is not as if it would have been a problem a year ago, or is one now, yes?"

She does look for a bit before turning away. There seems a fair bit there to see, at least to her eyes. And she blushes, as well, with some thoughts that flood her mind.

"I...don't think it's a problem, no, Saburo-kun. And even if people...want to talk, we are engaged. A bit of...youthful exuberance is not so bad, eh?"

There is is, again. Her coquettish smile.

"But you are right. We are going to have to get used to doing this. And together isn't so bad, either."

She lets it linger just a bit before pivoting.

"How did you do today?"

"If they are about to talk, then nattering souls will simply find anything to natter about," he said with a heavy sigh while his body started to gradually relax in the water. He picked a point close to her face to look at. That was a safer location to focus his eyes on than staring, for example, at her shoulders. He did swallow a little at that coquetteish little grin of hers. She enjoyed teasing him a little, though he forgave it. He'd actually missed it a bit.

"I seemed to be paired opposite Kaiu-san. It was a bit like old times. He claimed the horsemanship and I the athletics competition, and with good fortune, I will never have to perform in quite that fashion again for a while." A tired grunt. "The cultural lessons were less well done than I'd hoped. Memorizing the entirety of Rokugan's vaunted history is a considerable task. Still, I did not make a fool of myself, and if I understand how things proceed here, both you and I have secured graduation, barring the unforeseen." It was best not to assume, but he was reasonably certain of the responses he'd gotten.

"I think so, though I did not do as well in either the athletics or riding as I'd've preferred. Fell several times, in fact, which doesn't happen often."

She shakes her head. The water ripples with the motion, lapping at her bare, solid shoulders.

"Bruised myself above my hips in the back, feels like. Not enough to hinder me, but enough to annoy me."

The coquettish grin returns.

"You're not trained in healing prayers, are you, by chance?"

He nodded. He'd seen her horsemanship bout with Mai. It hadn't exactly gone terribly well for either of them. None of the four of them were really masters of the cavalry arts. Still, she was doing more than well enough to guarantee her graduation at the end of all of this. He was quite certain of that. He glanced over at her, the color returning to his cheeks for a moment while he breathed in the warm, soothing vapors around them all.

"Healing prayers? I do, in fact know at least one of those," he mused, quirking his lips. "Are you asking for my personal touch to remove some of that ache?"


(OOC Hehe I kinda wanna keep this one going a little longer regardless of the other one's fate. )

He's more forward than he has been before she thinks. Good.

"I'd certainly not mind if you took a look."

Mai had offered healing, so Sasaiko's bruising is cosmetic at this point. Still, it offers an opportunity--and one that can be explained away, if need arose. And so she turns her back to Saburo, facing away from the door, and rises enough out of the water that her full back shows to him, the water covering other things.

He swallowed some, and when he drew in closer to have a nice, careful look at the bruises, he managed to get his mind focused upon them instead of on all the other things that he might have been focused on at a time like this. It wouldn't be proper to think of such things. From memory, he began to go over the prayers to invoke the water kami to offer some soothing to his fiance's condition, keeping his focus in the process before settling back. "You did take a bit of a fall, did you not?" he said mildly. "Let's see about this."

(OOC: Handwaving the spellcast since she is recovered by the next day one way or another.)

"I've done better ukemi, certainly," she replies, and she shivers slightly at his approach, the feeling of his breath on her wet skin.

"I can't see it, though, given the position. That bad, eh?"

He started to look it over as the prayers to the water kami began to call forth their aid, a chiling, soothing sensation running over each of the bruises. His smile was small and he managed a little chuckle. "They look far worse than they actually are, though I doubt it feels pleasant to sit down. I have... a bit of experience. Let us hope that I don't end up looking as rough off or worse after the weapon's demonstration. I could end up pitted against Moto Ichiro. I doubt I would fare well against his skills."

Ichiro would have pulled a punch. Nope, he got a drunk.

"That's much better, Saburo-kun. Thank you," she says, before giving him a quick peck on the cheek and resettling herself in the bath.

"Though I do not know such prayers, so I will not yet be able to help you with such. Although I do seem to be able to aid in other ways, knowing how to apply the balm of Jurojin, for example."

He settled back, flush from that little peck and smiling over at her. "It seems that, between the two of us we both have a certain familiarity with two of the most important healing prayers. Sadly, my gifts with Earth magic have never been particularly potent. Though my Earth is not so deficient as it once was, it will never compare to your own." Not without extensive work, considering that he'd be focusing on the Void. "Jurojin has never been prone to hearing my own prayers, so someone else beseeching him on my behalf may be what I truly need."

She retains her smile, gratified that he sees them as complementary rather than looking at her as an accessory to him--or himself as an accessory to her. A partner, really.

"Of course I pray for you, Saburo-kun. And I will.

"Why? Is there a current complaint? You don't look like you've been drinking."

To be honest? His former dreams of becoming the next Isawa Tsuke had been shelved when two things happened. One, he was found to be Ishiken and thus pointed in the direction of an entirely different element. But, two, the very idea that he would marry a future magistrate of any stripe had led him to actively seek to train under Himeya, not only in void magic, but in the arts of the law he had not studied before, with the intention of joining the Inquisitors. If he was named an acolyte of Void later, that was... a good thing, but he wanted them to be able to complement each other and not simply be wed.

"Oh... heh. Jurojin hears my prayers. I know that he does. But I believe that his response to me has always been that I shall be given over to trial," he managed with a bit of a laugh. "But I've actually only ever had a sip of sake... and it does not agree with my constitution well at all."

(OOC: Until Stamina 5, he's 1k1 v Poisons. HAHAHA, noooot a drinker, this one.)

She gives a small chuckle.

"I'm not much of a drinker myself, to be fair, though it seems to faze me less than many. It's good, though, that I make tea."

She smiles at him. "I'm given to understand that it will be more important for you than it is for many."

He smiled warmly. "Any time that the two of us are able to share tea is a precious moment." There was a different sort of intimacy to being able to share the tea ceremony with her. Whatever benefits it conferred were tangential in his mind to the personal connection that it gave. "I certainly think, however, that it is the sort of thing I get a lot out of. And missing out on a few drinks... well, might be for the best in the long run."

"I hope you'll not take it amiss, Saburo-kun, that I like to see you smile."

And she chuckles.

"And I am, of course, ready to help you with your challenges, as I know you will help with mine. Between us, I don't think there's much we can't handle.

"Though anything you could tell me about life among the Phoenix would be welcome. I'd like to know what else I'm getting into by joining my life to yours. If nothing else, it will help me help you all the better."

"Mmmm, I have strong suspicion that you will fare just about as well as I will, but perhaps we can discuss law in preparation for the coming test," he murmured, continuing to grin. "I don't smile that often, but I reserve my best ones just for you, I'll have you know." Man, that was corny even for him and the color of his cheeks showed he was a little embarrassed.

"I should like to take a week in Tsuma, if you are able. There has been some latitude given as far as I know. I can tell you much in that time, though... obviously? Our lives revolve around spirituality and magic. A great deal more time is spent in prayer and meditation. I think a lot of that is because of how active the spirits of the Isawa Mori are." Though in truth they might be active because of the extra attention.