[D6: ME: Open] Back again

[Akodo Yaukwari]

"You spoke with the Naga?" Yakuwari asks, leaning forward with intense interest.

"That is a rare thing in this generation," he adds.

[Kitsune Shizenko]

The woman shook her head. "Actual snakes, Akodo sama... not Naga but they were part of the situation. Someone was taking the Naga eggs. There were poachers around and for some reason were taking them. An evil spirit wanted to corrupt them and try to use them to corrupt the forest and make it a dark place." Shizenko sighed. "But thanks to the team we were successful to find this spirit and stop the corruption."

[Akodo Yaukwari]

"Team, Kitsune-san?" Yakuwari asks. "You and...Raakun...I note, but two hardly makes a team."

[Kitsune Shizenko]

"There was a Toritaka and an Isawa as well... Toritaka Atsuto and Isawa Tsuyomi... I remember Tsuyomi sama was a scholar of the realms and the races that had inhabited the earth before the fall of the Kami. He invited us to Isawa Mori to continue our studies in the realms and the spirits of the forest. A samurai should never be alone in a unknown situation." The Kitsune explained.

[Akodo Yaukwari]

Yakuwari takes notes, scribbling furiously for a time.

"My apologies, Kitsune-san," he says at length. "I was not ignoring you, but I'm not yet skilled enough to write without looking at it."

[Kitsune Shizenko]

"No worries Akodo sama." She took her drink. "Slowly we followed the lead given by the snakes. I know it is a weird perk...and That the testimony of animals are not admissible but when it is the prevention of corruption one should use the resources given to one." Shizenko sighed. "The cleansing of what the spirit had started to corrupt was a sad sight."

[Akodo Yaukwari]

"How was the cleansing effected?" Yakuwari asks, continuing to write.

[Kitsune Shizenko]

"Isawa sama recited a prayer to the fire kami as I recited a prayer to the earth. Thankfully we weren't near water because that purification would needed a water shugenja." She drank. "The area then burned and turned over." Her head lowered as she prayed for the area to stay cleansed.

[Akodo Yaukwari]

"Reminiscent of the Kuni method," Yakuwari notes, "at least on a surface level."

[Kitsune Shizenko]

"Yes...They are the experts in corruption and their cleansing." She nodded. "Isawa sama knew the rituals well. For now the forest is safe." She patted Raakun. "That was our first adventure outside Kitsune Mori."

[Akodo Yaukwari]

"It seems to have gone well enough," Yakuwari says. "Success, even though the success was needed, is not to be disregarded."

The charcoal scribbles furiously.

[Kitsune Shizenko]

"Yes it was." Shizenko smiled. "Tell me Akodo sama, even if Otomo sama has left, how are you finding the contest. I understand it is your duty to keep up a objective eye but really... Have you find it entertaining?" It was out of the blue.

[Akodo Yaukwari]

"It has been edifying," Yakuwari replies. "I have appreciated seeing my Clan-mate's talents burgeon, among others. And the work of the Legionnaire has been illuminating. The ronin, the Tsi, has also been worth attention."

[Kitsune Shizenko]

"Many talented people, neh? They are very creative to show the virtues in such different ways. I feel my slow and steady way will slowly bear some fruits." She ask for some peach wine. Atakupo fill her cup.

[Yoritomo Tomodachi]

"Isn't that a Tortoise story?" Tomodachi quips, grinning.

[Kitsune Shizenko]

"Perhaps... She told me once that she beat a silly bunny using that tactic." Shizenko nodded.

[Akodo Yaukwari]

"She, whom?"

Yakuwari pauses in his writing.

[Kitsune Shizenko]

"The tortoise..." Shizenko giggled. "She likes to make up stories, Akodo sama."

[Akodo Yaukwari]

Yakuwari blinks a few times.

"What tortoise?"

He produces another sheet of paper.

[Kitsune Shizenko]

"This one was while visiting river back in in Kitsune lands. I met this old tortoise. She was telling a story when she was young. Some animals sat next to it listening to what she had to say. Wisdom comes in different shaped and sizes. My companion and I listened to this tortoise. Her story was very interesting." Shizenko drank.

"She was bullied by a hare, that told her that his grandmother could move faster than her. The tortoise told the hare that it doesn't matter the speed but being steady and mindful can also keep up with the times." Raakun nodded and Shizenko cleared her throat. "Mindful and careful were not the hare's trait. They decided to make a little competition. The tortoise and the hare had to do a circuit around a clearing in the forest. The hare started of fast and the tortoise was behind. The hare didn't notice the trap in his way. The tortoise that was being mindful and careful slowly made to the finish line, while the hare was trapped inside a cage."