The New Winds

A green-yellowish blur of a girl moved through the streets of the spiritual district, a small monkey following in her wake; the two of them were running like there was no tomorrow, laughing and chittering like they were all alone rather than the Imperial capital surrounded by Monks and the Lion bushi that protected them. The Six Great Temples lined the street she was running down, but even if the gods were judging her from above, for the moment she didn't care.

Yesterday and all the days before were harsh and disciplined; tomorrow and the days after might be more of the same. But for just a short while, today, she felt *free* enough to let loose.

Now with privacy and a view of the horizon, Feng Cheng contemplates the drill demonstration he was able to see at the Emerald Champion's palace. A true formation, every soldier serving the empire directly, every step in synch, and every war cry calling out as if the fate of the Empire depended upon it. Feng Cheng knew his kiai wasn't required to sound like that yet, but surely it shouldn't crack even once out of 10 times! Sensei said it was expected of boys just before their last year at the dojo, but he isn't any boy: he was everyone at that simple dojo's senpai, and more importantly, a serious contender for Topaz Champion this year. Heeding the words of advice from the Akodo guard just outside the halls dedicated to their kami, Feng Cheng took a deep breath, cleared his mind of all thought but the ancestors who you can feel behind you, and let their honor flow through you as you release that breath in the loudest yell you can muster.

Zooooom

The yellow blur fast approached; rushing up the steps to the Temple. There would be other Lion there, of course. Samurai who might think less of her for acting like the child she could still claim to be; but for the moment she still didn't quite care. It wasn't as if the guards on duty here were likely to know who she was, anyway. Her clothes did carry the mon of the Akodo, but it *probably* wasn't the case that they'd gotten word of her arrival. Right? That would be *too* paranoid.

Zooooom

When she heard the attempt at a war cry from a boy outside the hall just up ahead, Yui stopped behind him. That wasn't the way a war-cry should sound, was it? Contemplating an appropriate response that balanced her need to march to her own drum for a little while longer, with the need to not be entirely out of bounds, she nodded and came up with something she felt acceptable.

"HAAAAH!" She adopted a striking stance... which looked a little silly without a sword in hand.

It looked even sillier when the little monkey climbed up her shoulder and screeched in imitation.

Hearing someone behind him, Haruki turns around to face the new arrival. He raises an eyebrow at the pose she is making, unsure of her intent. Did she approach the noise ready for a fight but never learned how to fight without a weapon, or did she think the kiai was a joke. At least it's better than last time he practiced his war cry, there was no doubt with those Moshi girls. They compared his sound to a biwa with a broken string! Regardless of her reasoning, it would be best to address the problem smoothly.

Bowing quickly, Haruki did not see the monkey until it was already on her shoulder. "Sorry for any trouble Akodo . . .-Sama? I thought I was in a discrete enough location for no one to hear me practice. It's rare to see a monkey out of the Mantis lands, let alone one so civil".

"Kana-chan isn't a monkey," she said with a firm nod, "she's Kana-chan. Monkeys eat bananas, and she wants nothing to do with them."

She then peered at any mons that might be visible on him, struggling with their meaning, "And think nothing of practicing your warcry, ehm, err... ah!" thinking herself quite clever, she bowed to distract from the fact she didn't know what family he was from.

"This one's Akodo Yui," she added, "of the honorable Lion clan, as is Kana-chan. But neither of us is old and venerable enough to be called Sama yet. But we're working on that."

Knowing that not recognizing the mon of a vassal family is far less egregious than shouting in the middle of a city, Haruki ignores Yui's ignorance. With a gentle bow, "I am Isawa Haruki of House Kaito, it is nice to meet you. Might I ask if you received an invitation to the Ruby Champion's experimental training regiment as well?"

Edit: Name change from Feng Cheng to Haruki

"Oh..."

Wait, is he Isawa or Kaito?

Being a little confused at the introduction, she had heard much of the Isawa but nothing of this house Kaito. Maybe it was just the name of where he lived? So she opted for the most obvious choice in terms of address.

"...Isawa-san, you got one too? What a coincidence!"

Of course, she realized there were likely many students from across the empire to be gathered for this training, so maybe it wasn't as much of a coincidence as she was making it out to be.

"I've heard much of the Isawa! I take it to mean there will be classes on magic as well then? Nobody told me there'd be a chance to learn how to make it rain fire from the skies."

Chuckling to avoid thinking about this potential accidental arsonist, Haruki then looks upon where Yui and Kana ran from and notices she's been running down Seppun's Path.
"I presume you are trying to see all the temples while we still have the chance? I've already visited the temples to the Kamis Akodo and Hida, shall we visit the other 6 together? We could stop for tea in the very spot Shinsei rested on his journey to find the 7 thunders."

Edit: Name change from Feng Cheng to Haruki

"Oh no," she said, "I was just running for the sake of running. Honoring the Kami is fine and all, but sometimes you just want to be like the cat running through the fields." She took out a small piece of food from a pouch and fed it to the monkey on her shoulder.

"However, Kana-chan and I would still take you up on your offer," she said with a solemn nod, "there is a time for running, and a time for looking at temples, after all. Do the Isawa spend much time in the temples in their homeland?"

"I am certain we spend more time than most, but I wouldn't call it much time. We aren't monks after all, we have duties that call us away frequently. Luckily for me however, I don't have to worry about duties for today, so I'll have plenty of time to see every temple in this city." He pulls out a bit of silk a couple of inches long, looks it over, then puts it back in his pouch carefully. "My next stop will be to the Temple to Bayushi. Do you have an offering on your person already? After that, I plan on visiting the shrines to Shinjo, Shiba, Hantei, Togashi, then finally to Amaterasu"

Haruki turns to the horizon, bows twice, then starts to walk away from his yelling perch.

Edit: Changed Name as part of character sheet change, name was Feng Cheng, now it is Haruki

Yui froze just as Haruki started walking away.

"Wait, we're supposed to give offerings? I..."

...hadn't been planning on going to any temples!

"...uhm... do the Kami like dried fruit?" She then looked at Kana-chan, who was staring at her quizically. "Oh don't worry, there'd be plenty left for you!"

She was already learning so much. First that the Kami here needed offerings as well. Second, that they liked dried fruit. Third, how to teach restraint from gluttony to a monkey. Okay, the second one of them wasn't a certainty... and she had yet to succeed at the third... but she *was* learning!

Chuckling quietly while his back is turned to Yui, Haruki stops, then turns around and looks at her.
"Every kami requires an offering as you go into their temple, it's a basic sign of respect to them. You also can't use an offering that has no meaning to them. So I doubt your dried fruit will cut it, but don't worry. You can always make a donation to the temples and they will provide you with a proper gift. Hope you have enough for all 6 temples. Wouldn't want to disappoint any of our Founders."

"They don't give us students much for such things," she declared as if she were making the most insightful statement ever spoken. "But why should the Kami not be satisfied with fruit? It comes from the trees they have placed here in the world for us to care for and eat from!"

She wasn't sure if the Kami made the trees, or fruit, but it *sounded* right to her.

"And Kana-chan is sacrificing much to give some of it up for the Kami. Surely a sacrifice like that is more worthy than something bought for with money?"

"Yes it is true that some kami made the trees, the fruit, along with everything else we see. However, each kami represents a different component of the world. You would not give a koku to Ebisu and it would be an insult to give a dagger to Fukurokujin." Placing his palm over his face and shaking his head, Haruki takes a second to collect his thoughts to avoid causing a scene.

"Look, I understand you probably don't have enough money to pay for every single donation, I barely had enough and I spent a whole week gathering all the offerings I would need for this pilgrimage. I guess we have enough time to find some proper offerings. I would be willing to help you look. Let's call it a game, you've heard of scavenger hunts right?"

She nodded along as he explained about different offerings. He seemed to know what he was talking about. Not unlike some *other* people she knew. No, this one seemed an honest sort. A little bit... dull... though. At least, until he started talking of games. There had never been much of that around her house, but a scavenger hunt, *that* she'd played. At least, she was pretty sure she did.

"Of course!" she declared proudly, "I even won one, once! But it was an easy one, so it doesn't count. So then, what are the rules of this scavenger hunt of yours, and when do we begin?"

"Well, we'll have about 2 hours to find 6 items: a pure black stone, an empty sheathe, a rock that's wrapped up like a baby, a broken mirror, an empty cut with minimal features, and 4 cherry bunch. We'll keep it to the Ochiyo and Juramashi districts, no breaking the law, and we'll meet in front of the temple to Bayushi at the end of the time limit. We can start now."

"Okay!" She yelled with optimism, already running away by the time he'd be able to get a reply in.

Trouble was, she didn't even know what some of those things he'd said really *meant*. What in Jigoku was an empty cut with minimal features? And where was she supposed to find some of the other stuff *anyhow*? Or wait, maybe this was one of those riddles the monks sometimes gave out? That seemed plausible... and just made things even harder on her.

So, she was just running aimlessly; and obviously so to Haruki watching; looking more than a little confused as she considered her options.

(Sorry, typo didn't mean empty cut meant "empty cup)

He stretches, making sure to look around and get his bearings. He can't steal and he barely has any money, so he will have to find things on the ground or convince people to give him stuff. So going through the list, a rock would be easy to find if you look for chips in the path, cherries are in season right now, so they should be at their cheapest cheapest, but you can't buy things in the spiritual district. So he'll need to run the path south. Just need to get out of her line of sight without her noticing.

Getting out of her line of sight was pretty easy, given that she was totally distracted by the task at hand. And the act of running. There was a *lot* of that happening.

"Alright Kana-chan, let's go get... some cherries!"

The monkey screeched, delighted with enthusiasm despite not understanding a word.

Surely she could go just *ask* someone if she could have some cherries?