Sapphire Ambassadors

Magical painter or not, Inori very much had decided she was still a Matsu - not that she would let it get in her way, but training kept her sane. Always useful, that.

But first of it was sweaty business. It was Matsu training, after all. No clay pots full of sand to hold at arms length or to lug around, but she could still do squats or crouch-walk across the Tatami with a grim, determined expression and burning thighs. Could still do push-ups. Or do a handstand against one of the pillars.

Ah, Matsu training. Lovely.

Still incredibly hungover, Choudai had come to the dojo to try and sweat out some of the previous night's poisons.

He blinked a bit at the spectacle his Lion friend was making, then shrugged, and got to work on some exercises of his own.

And tried not to whimper too much at the consequences of his own actions.

Seeing someone come into the Dojo while upside down was already a strange experience. Plus her shoulders were starting to burn and telling her exactly what they thought of her idea. Oh, and blood rushing to her head. All that good stuff.

When that someone was also stumbling around almost like a reanimated corpse it definitely gave her pause.

Plus a convenient excuse to chicken out of an exercise. "Getting too tough for you, runt?" her memories of all the Matsu sensei added as she dropped back on her feet and oriented herself. Staggered a bit herself.

Right. Blood to the head

"Ba...Bayushi-san" she managed to get out unsteadily.

Ah, her voice, like a tanto through the forehead. He did his best not to wince.

"Matsu-san. Good morning. I hope Inari-no-kami has favored you this morning?"

He's certainly making me pay for my overindulgence in his blessings last night.

Blissfully oblivious to Choudai's misery or it's exact cause, Inori smiled.

"Hai. I hope you were favoured likewise"

No barley gruel this time

"So...you're here to train?" she said, still panting a little and unsteady on her feet.

Enough booze and decapitation somehow loses its sting.

"That I am."

He started doing some basic warm-ups.

"In part, to... alleviate some consequences of... questionable decision-making..."

The longer she looked, the more it became apparent that....something was wrong with the Scorpion.

"You look...unwell" Inori said, doing some basic stretches to limber up again and stay busy.

"Didn't know things were weighing this heavily on you"

"Too much sake."

Those three words, so much... meaning in them.

"A word to the wise, Matsu-san- never, ever match drinks with a depressed Mantis Clan samurai whose objectives have demonstrably failed. It is a recipe for total misery."

That is a lot to take in. On several levels.

"My sensei never let me have sake, and I haven't found much of an opportunity or cause since then, so I honestly have no idea" she said. "But just by how you come across right now, Bayushi-san, you make a strong case. No offence intended"

She frowned, in thought.

"Also...what Mantis? I was unaware their clan had a major failure or setback here"

"Yoritomo Tomodachi. Nice guy. Was hoping to get the next one of these hosted in the Mantis lands."

He winced during a particular stretch.

"An idea that's been about as popular as handing out a free punch in the throat among most of those gathered here. He wasn't here to compete, so I have to assume he was here to get that done."

"Hmmm" Inori said after a bit "A bit sad for him, but I was supporting the Phoenix bid, so..."

She mused, "Out of all the possible Clans to host this" and it's a stretch to call that ragtag band of cutthroats, scammers and outlaws a Clan on a good day "they were definitely the least qualified"

Inori was looking around for any beams or bars to hang off of - with no success - then continued speaking.

"I'll take your word for him being a nice guy though. Sometimes people are just...on doomed errands or missions"

Sometimes we send whole armies on doomed missions.

"I certainly didn't back them, but yes, I wouldn't be human if I didn't feel a pang of sympathy for Yoritomo-san."

The Scorpion might have found some benefit in feigning dissension in their ranks by having Choudai back someone else, but had evidently not passed those orders along to anyone else.

"Trying to convince everyone to go on a long sea voyage to a hot climate in places a lot of the Empire like to pretend doesn't exist? Or at best, have us hang out in the former Wasp or Centipede lands? The entire idea is... difficult to swallow."

As it stands, it seems it's down to hauling ourselves up to the Phoenix provinces for a more mystically-inclined version of Crane hospitality, perhaps with a few more annoying quirks, or trekking off to my Clan's lands to be spied on.

What fun!

"Yes" Inori agreed. "These are the logistical problems on top of all the political ones. I do not have much of a refined taste for the arts myself, but then I am also sceptical of what Mantis influence would do to it"

The Scorpion, while most loathsome, do understand what it is to be Samurai, and what they should do. They just refuse to do it. That's still MUCH better than the alternative here.

"Lots of politics and maneuvering, much of which I do not understand. I suppose I should trust the experts and my betters, but I don't always feel like I can...or should"

Choudai grimaced.

"Trust is a tricky business, Matsu-san. No matter who you offer it to."

"I suppose" she answered, buying time to think. Even stopped doing squats to consider.

"I would need more experience or knowledge of these things to make good decisions about who to trust, and I have to trust someone - or a few people - to function. No one is an island"

She stared into Choudai's face when she continued:

"For that matter, I am placing at least some trust in you, given all that we've spoken about. Should I not?"

Choudai actually seemed to ponder that.

"I would say that you can trust me, Matsu-san. I regard you as a friend, and I..."

Envy you your future.

"... think you'll go far in life. But you cannot trust this..."

He tapped at the mon on his kimono.

"... not to follow orders. Ultimately, we are samurai, and our lords' wishes mean more to what we end up doing than our own."

He started doing some push-ups.

"That said, so long as it's not a matter of conflicting Duty, you can trust me absolutely."

Our lord's wishes, huh? Why do I have a feeling like these three words will gain more weight in the coming years?

Choudai's words still touched her though, and she had halfway expected a different answer.

"Thank you" she said, bowing deeply. "I honestly had no idea how to answer, and there is no way to repay such an offer safe for doing the same. Unless it is a matter of duty I will be a friend, and someone to trust"

For what that's worth.

"I still do not know a lot about what you did, or what road you took, Bayushi Choudai, but there is...something there, I feel. Some quality that I like, and want to trust."

You never can know, either.

"If I had to name what you're talking about, Matsu-san? Probably just an echo of a little kid in his grandmother's kitchen. A little kid who just wanted to be a chef, to make wonderful food, and to make people happy by doing so."

He finished the set of push-ups and sat up.

"Before... all of this."

He seemed to mean his entire status as a Scorpion Clan samurai.

"I know now that Obachan was far, far kinder to me than she was to literally anyone else. I know that in many ways, her kitchen was her refuge from the things she did and had to do, and it's becoming that for me. But that little boy spending time with his Granny? He had nothing to escape. He..."

Deserved better. I deserved better, and now I don't anymore, and that's just something that has to be lived with.

"... was someone anyone could trust, anytime. Without question."

Inori nodded gravely.

Lots of feeling there. I wonder what happened to that boy since then - it probably wasn't all good. And led somewhere. Are he and Shosuro Hatsuki, and what else is he up to?

Strange that she would have these questions at a time like that. Especially since Choudai came across as very sincere in this moment.

Life as a Samurai is brutal that way. Even we too may at some point be asked to kill each other. I can tell myself now that it is all duty, and it will be - that does not make the thought much more palatable.

"Then, in that spirit...I will trust the boy who you once were"

She closed her eyes and tilted her head before opening them again.

"You know, I'm not so far away from the girl who just wanted to learn how to fight, to follow in her parent's footsteps. I can still clearly remember what that was like - it was not that long ago. And arguably not as innocent - I think she would not have been willing to trust you. I am now, since I have learned things are more...complicated and uncertain than I was lead to believe"

She paused.

"Than I would still believe had things gone well for me I was still destined for "greater things""

"I appreciate that, Matsu-san."

He grimaced as he started doing sit-ups.

"It's never as simple as they tell you it is as a child. But it's also simpler, in some ways, than it seems right after they hand you your swords. Not in terms of ethics or honor, those are almost never all that simple. But in terms of living?"

He shook his head.

"You can figure it out."