D4EA, Lunch (Closed)

[Kakita Akuba]

Kakita Akuba, making use of the facilities kindly provided by their host, bustles about, preparing a meal.

The work goes well, and Akuba expertly plates a small assortment of pickled vegetables cut into translucent slivers atop a perfect small mound of shining white rice, morsels of fish suggesting the sweep of a wing and glistening with a slightly umami glaze, and a small fresh apricot, skinned and cut into a shape as of two hands holding a cherry between them.

Setting it out along with a strong tea and water, she awaits her husband.

[Kakita Hyoukasha]

Kakita Akuba, making use of the facilities kindly provided by their host, bustles about, preparing a meal.

The work goes well, and Akuba expertly plates a small assortment of pickled vegetables cut into translucent slivers atop a perfect small mound of shining white rice, morsels of fish suggesting the sweep of a wing and glistening with a slightly umami glaze, and a small fresh apricot, skinned and cut into a shape as of two hands holding a cherry between them.

Setting it out along with a strong tea and water, she awaits her husband.

He never did keep her waiting long and today was no exception. Even when he'd be up late at night writing on a play, he always made time for her. Even now when blank and crumbled paper taunted him, it only took a word for him to come to her, leaving behind his frustrations at the desk.

He offered her a tired smile.

"You are always the finest compliment to any meal, and this meal compliments you well, dearest." he offered, taking his place.

[Kakita Akuba]

He never did keep her waiting long and today was no exception. Even when he'd be up late at night writing on a play, he always made time for her. Even now when blank and crumbled paper taunted him, it only took a word for him to come to her, leaving behind his frustrations at the desk.

He offered her a tired smile.

"You are always the finest compliment to any meal, and this meal compliments you well, dearest." he offered, taking his place.

Akuba blushes at the compliment--still, after all their time together.

Recognizing the weariness in his face, she does not ask about the work. Trained as he was, she knows that the inspiration sometimes...hesitates, and forcing it never helps. Work might get done, yes, but there is a vast difference between work and art.

That, she can speak to as she serves.

"Beloved, I have to wonder if you're pushing too hard. It worries me."

[Kakita Hyoukasha]

Hyoukasha checukled.

"Ah, you always could see beneath the water with me, Akuchan." he said, referring to birds that swim gracefully atop the lake while kicking like mad beneath.

He shook his head.

"I had hoped that this gathering of artists would.....rekindle something in me. But all I see are flaws in the works of the future artistic heroes of the Empire and my own slow continued drift into irrelevance. You deserve better than a man destined to be a minor sensation at at Winter Court of the Badger."

[Kakita Akuba]

"I have such a man," Akuba reassures Hyoukasha as she pours tea and water for him.

"You will find your inspiration again, Beloved," she adds. "You always have. You always will. Even this...event can yet offer it. It has been some time since comedies of errors were in vogue; perhaps it is their time again?"

She sits back. "But it won't happen if you press yourself in such a way. Diligent practice, yes, but not constraint."

[Kakita Hyoukasha]

Kyoukasha took a moment to savor the aroma of the tea.

"With such a woman behind me, how can I not push myself to my limit? You are, and have always been my strength, dearest.....but I should not simply be a burden to you. Are you enjoying this comedy of errors writ large?" he asked.

[Kakita Akuba]

"Aside from the time with you, Hyou-kun?"

Akuba smiles.

"Indeed so. For all the foibles--and they are not trained as we are, we must remember--there is some promise here."

[Kakita Hyoukasha]

"Aside from the time with you, Hyou-kun?"

Akuba smiles.

"Indeed so. For all the foibles--and they are not trained as we are, we must remember--there is some promise here."

"Hm, some of them are, though not nearly for as long." he counters.

He takes a sip of the tea.

"Perhaps I am simply impatient. I see many flowers that are about to bloom, and yet they have not opened. The gardener weeds the soil and gives the flowers water...yet they all open in their open time, despite the gardeners wishes."

[Kakita Akuba]

"There's certainly enough fertilizer," Akuba quips.

"But as to gardeners, have you spoken with Utemaro's? I don't advise it. He...unsettles."

She shudders slightly.

"You need to eat, Hyou-kun. Don't forget to tend your own flower while you prune others'."

[Kakita Hyoukasha]

"There's certainly enough fertilizer," Akuba quips.

"But as to gardeners, have you spoken with Utemaro's? I don't advise it. He...unsettles."

She shudders slightly.

"You need to eat, Hyou-kun. Don't forget to tend your own flower while you prune others'."

That actually brings a small grin.

"My flower needs tending? Perhaps after lunch I might find the time for such." he offered, taking up his serving of lunch.

[Kakita Akuba]

"Oh, you!" Akuba teases, knowing full well what innuendo she had offered.

She attends her husband as he eats, watching him carefully as he does.

"Shall I sing for you, Hyou-kun?"

[Kakita Hyoukasha]

"Oh, you!" Akuba teases, knowing full well what innuendo she had offered.

She attends her husband as he eats, watching him carefully as he does.

"Shall I sing for you, Hyou-kun?"

He nodded, leaning back a bit to rest his eyes.

"That would indeed be lovely, Akuchan." he agreed.

[Kakita Akuba]

Akuba sits up straighter and begins to sing, singing a simple song with a soothing melody, her voice clear and controlled.

The leaves again show
The grain again grows
And the spring-greening world seems to know
Life begins again
Goes on without end
And the joy it presents calls us in
Come with me and see
How together we
Can partake of the infinite glee
At least for a time
As we hear nature's chime
And together may touch the sublime.

She sings well, long training clear.

All the while, she keeps an eye on Hyoukasha.

[Kakita Hyoukasha]

He did seem to visibily relax while she sang. He was quiet and still while she sang.

"Beautiful. Do you remember the first time I heard you sing?" he asked.

[Kakita Akuba]

"The first time, I think was at the Academy," Akuba replies. "You were a class ahead of me, and Sensei had you helping out with your kohai."

She smiles.

"I'd like to think I've improved."

[Kakita Hyoukasha]

"The first time, I think was at the Academy," Akuba replies. "You were a class ahead of me, and Sensei had you helping out with your kohai."

She smiles.

"I'd like to think I've improved."

Hyoukasha nods.

"Of course. But even so, you were breathtaking even then. I completely lost what i was trying to say to my kohai. Honestly, the song was threaded throughout my thoughts for days." he admits, thinking back to it with longing.

[Kakita Akuba]

Akuba moves behind him, letting her hands rest on his shoulders.

"You used it in your graduation piece, if memory serves."

[Kakita Hyoukasha]

Akuba moves behind him, letting her hands rest on his shoulders.

"You used it in your graduation piece, if memory serves."

Hyoukasha chuckles a bit at that.

"You've a sharp memory beloved. Sharper than mine...mostly I just remember that I said some words, overwhelmed with the possibilities of the future." he admitted.

[Kakita Akuba]

Hyoukasha chuckles a bit at that.

"You've a sharp memory beloved. Sharper than mine...mostly I just remember that I said some words, overwhelmed with the possibilities of the future." he admitted.

Akuba kneads her husband's shoulders, finding them tense.

"Admittedly, I was not the one on stage," she says. "It's easier to get things into memory when watching them than when doing them."

[Kakita Hyoukasha]

Akuba kneads her husband's shoulders, finding them tense.

"Admittedly, I was not the one on stage," she says. "It's easier to get things into memory when watching them than when doing them."

He allowed himself to be worked upon for a time, before tenderly reaching upon to take hold of her right hand, bringing it to his lips.

"I truly am blessed by Benten, aren't I?" he asked.