[D4 EA] Ring Ring, Are the Fortunes Home?

[Shosuro Hatsuki]

Hatsuki had gotten up after finally getting some damned sleep, heading straight for the shrine. She probably should have stayed to have breakfast, for her child's sake if not her own, but there were too many things, both mundane and spiritual, to sort through.

Rinse hands.
Coin in the box.
Two bows.
Clap twice.

... What is going on?! Kakita Mikan of all people, then that shadow thing last night, my husband being here... Everything that can go wrong will, as the saying goes. I just hope it'll turn out all right in the end. At least for my child... But hopefully you'll do what you can to protect us.

Bow deeply.

She let out a long breath as she turned down the path that headed out of the shrine.

[Busubi]

Hatsuki had gotten up after finally getting some damned sleep, heading straight for the shrine. She probably should have stayed to have breakfast, for her child's sake if not her own, but there were too many things, both mundane and spiritual, to sort through.

Rinse hands.
Coin in the box.
Two bows.
Clap twice.

... What is going on?! Kakita Mikan of all people, then that shadow thing last night, my husband being here... Everything that can go wrong will, as the saying goes. I just hope it'll turn out all right in the end. At least for my child... But hopefully you'll do what you can to protect us.

Bow deeply.

She let out a long breath as she turned down the path that headed out of the shrine.

And the odd things kept coming all at once. Well at least if Choudai had been there, that would've been his comment.

After all, there was a monk sweeping the path exiting down the path Hatsuki was following. A gangly, thin monk just sweeping away at....well nothing really. Hatsuki certainly hadn't seen anything that particularly needed sweeping up.

[Shosuro Hatsuki]

And the odd things kept coming all at once. Well at least if Choudai had been there, that would've been his comment.

After all, there was a monk sweeping the path exiting down the path Hatsuki was following. A gangly, thin monk just sweeping away at....well nothing really. Hatsuki certainly hadn't seen anything that particularly needed sweeping up.

She paused at the odd display. In a way, one could see it as some sort of weird statement. Cleaning that which is already clean... or sweeping at dirt that will never be clean in the first place do to its nature.

She'd been looking at too much art lately.

"Good afternoon, monk-san," she greeted in slight confusion. "I'm Shosuro Hatsuki. Ah... Are you well?" She doubted someone sweeping plain dirt was fully well.

[Busubi]

She paused at the odd display. In a way, one could see it as some sort of weird statement. Cleaning that which is already clean... or sweeping at dirt that will never be clean in the first place do to its nature.

She'd been looking at too much art lately.

"Good afternoon, monk-san," she greeted in slight confusion. "I'm Shosuro Hatsuki. Ah... Are you well?" She doubted someone sweeping plain dirt was fully well.

The monk halted his seemingly pointless sweeping, and offered her a bow of the right depth, and a smile that was perhaps a bit too wide.

"A pleasure to meet you, Shosuro-sama. I am Busubi. I am well, but you seem to not be. Perhaps a conversation with someone uninvolved and unimportant would be helpful to you?"

[Shosuro Hatsuki]

The monk halted his seemingly pointless sweeping, and offered her a bow of the right depth, and a smile that was perhaps a bit too wide.

"A pleasure to meet you, Shosuro-sama. I am Busubi. I am well, but you seem to not be. Perhaps a conversation with someone uninvolved and unimportant would be helpful to you?"

Oh... This is the person Choudai talked about, huh?

Hatsuki blinked at that. Did she really look that poorly off? She thought she covered it decently, but perhaps not.

"I... suppose, though I'm not sure what to say about it all exactly."

What even could I say? Half of it's secrets.

[Busubi]

The monk halted his seemingly pointless sweeping, and offered her a bow of the right depth, and a smile that was perhaps a bit too wide.

"A pleasure to meet you, Shosuro-sama. I am Busubi. I am well, but you seem to not be. Perhaps a conversation with someone uninvolved and unimportant would be helpful to you?"

Oh... This is the person Choudai talked about, huh?

Hatsuki blinked at that. Did she really look that poorly off? She thought she covered it decently, but perhaps not.

"I... suppose, though I'm not sure what to say about it all exactly."

What even could I say? Half of it's secrets.

Choudai shrugged.

"Then I shall talk and you can listen as pleases you, Shosuro-sama." the monk said:

"the tortoise heard there was a head of lettuce at the end of the rainbow. he told the sage this, and the sage said, “tortoise, that is a myth. the real treasure is inside yourself.”

but the next time the tortoise saw a rainbow, he decided he couldn’t risk it. he had to see for himself.

so he hiked through the dark woods and over the high hills, around the vast lake, and up into the mountains where the rainbow ended. he climbed the rugged terrain until he was exhausted, and finally, he came upon the end of the rainbow.

and there was a head of lettuce!"


He looked at the Scorpion with his odd smile to see what she thought of that.

[Shosuro Hatsuki]

He really does like tortoise metaphors, huh?

She looked down, though, and sincerely thought about what was being said. "Hmm... I don't usually hear an ending where the tortoise is right in this kind of endeavor often."

[Busubi]

He really does like tortoise metaphors, huh?

She looked down, though, and sincerely thought about what was being said. "Hmm... I don't usually hear an ending where the tortoise is right in this kind of endeavor often."

Busubi grinned.

"Ah, but was he, Shosuro-sama? Was the lettuce that the tortoise fought so hard for the real treasure? He was right that it was there, and he did want it, but was that the best course for him to take?" Busubi asked in return.

[Shosuro Hatsuki]

"Maybe the real treasure he had inside him was the wherewithal to go through all that for the lettuce," she replied with a shrug. If this was just a thought exercise, might as well go with it. "What was the point of lying about the lettuce to begin with? Or maybe the sage just didn't actually know."

[Busubi]

Busubi clapped his hands together.

"Indeed! Or perhaps the sage was just lonely and wanted to have a long conversation with the tortoise? Also, consider what the tortoise could have done. He could have had a long conversation with the sage, he could have napped in the forest, rolled down the hills, swam in the lake, enjoyed the mountain snow, or admired the rainbow. But instead he just kept walking until he got to the lettuce." he replied.

[Shosuro Hatsuki]

"How do we know he didn't do any or all of those things on the way to the lettuce?" she asked. "The story was a bit light on details, and there's really nothing stopping him. I would posit that he had to take a least a few breaks, and even eat and drink other things before he got there."

[Busubi]

"How do we know he didn't do any or all of those things on the way to the lettuce?" she asked. "The story was a bit light on details, and there's really nothing stopping him. I would posit that he had to take a least a few breaks, and even eat and drink other things before he got there."

Busubi smiled a bit.

"And what would you do in such a situation, Shosuro-sama?" he asked curiously.

[Shosuro Hatsuki]

Busubi smiled a bit.

"And what would you do in such a situation, Shosuro-sama?" he asked curiously.

"I don't know. Is the journey just to find out if the lettuce is there? If that's the case, it seems like a lot of risk," she shrugged. "If the lettuce is important for some reason, that's something else."

[Busubi]

"I don't know. Is the journey just to find out if the lettuce is there? If that's the case, it seems like a lot of risk," she shrugged. "If the lettuce is important for some reason, that's something else."

Busubi nods.

"Ah, but what if you are the Sage, Shosuro-sama?" he further inquired.

[Shosuro Hatsuki]

"I suppose that depends on what the sage truly wanted. If it was a long conversation, perhaps I would have asked the tortoise a question rather than simply make a statement," she suggested.

[Busubi]

"I suppose that depends on what the sage truly wanted. If it was a long conversation, perhaps I would have asked the tortoise a question rather than simply make a statement," she suggested.

Busubi nodded.

"I see. And what if you were the lettuce?" he asked i all seriousness.

[Shosuro Hatsuki]

Busubi nodded.

"I see. And what if you were the lettuce?" he asked i all seriousness.

She actually had some thoughts about that. "I would hope the tortoise decided to come for me. If I was lettuce, it seems prefer to nourish something else than just eventually rot in the ground."

[Busubi]

She actually had some thoughts about that. "I would hope the tortoise decided to come for me. If I was lettuce, it seems prefer to nourish something else than just eventually rot in the ground."

Busubi nods.

"Everything must follow it's nature," he agrees. "whether it's a sage or a sunflower."

[Shosuro Hatsuki]

"This conversation certainly went somewhere, though I'm not entirely sure where we've ended up," she mused. "What were you cleaning before, by the way? I didn't see anything to sweep."

After all the discussion, she felt a little more comfortable asking potentially impolite questions.

[Busubi]

"This conversation certainly went somewhere, though I'm not entirely sure where we've ended up," she mused. "What were you cleaning before, by the way? I didn't see anything to sweep."

After all the discussion, she felt a little more comfortable asking potentially impolite questions.

Busubi nods.

A good conversation should leave one with more questions than answers. Where will the next conversation begin if every question is fully answered?" he replies.

"Ah, I felt certain that were I to sweep along this path, I would gather something interesting, and so I have." he replied.