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Post by Shiba Kaigen on Oct 27, 2014 6:48:58 GMT
So here I am again.
Kaigen had no illusions about how the meeting was likely to go.
It had taken forever to extricate himself from Kyuden Seppun, although he had to admit, given the number of people who had tried to kill him and ended up dead for their trouble, he couldn't call it an utter failure.
He strode past a pair of his fellow Shiba, shining figures in their beautifully-wrought and decorated armor. He caught their sidelong looks and stifled a laugh.
No. I look nothing like you.
His own armor, spattered with mud and trail dust, patched in places, and almost colorless from wear, reflected none of the brilliant summer sun that hammered down on the road. And where each of them bore nothing more than a naginata and their daisho, Kaigen practically rattled with every step he took from his personal arsenal.
He simply waved his travel papers at them.
"I know the way, samas."
And besides, if you moved, I fear something might snap off.
He trooped up the path, handed off his satchel of letters to a rather dumbfounded young woman wearing a Shiba mon without armor, and then headed for... well, he couldn't really call it home. It never had been.
He strode up to the gate, tipped his battered jingasa back and looked up.
Well, no signs of mourning, anyway.
With a world-weary sigh, Shiba Kaigen entered his father's castle.
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Post by Shiba Kaigen on Oct 27, 2014 7:09:13 GMT
It was worse than he had imagined.
At least Sumiko is in the Crane lands.
As so often happened, Kaigen felt like this was someone else's family.
Sadako fluttered about, proud of her recent gempukku, while his mother and father went through the formalities of welcoming their son home.
Fortunes, no, don't get to the point, please, continue this inane small talk while I try to remember some topic that you won't find distasteful.
"... so, we heard of the recent events in Kyuden Seppun... do you know anything about that?"
I suppose it's too late now.
"Well, one of the Miya turned out to be a Shadowlands creature- I killed him, nearly got Tainted, long story- and a member of the Scorpion Clan turned out to have betrayed her own clan's plans by murdering Sezaru-san's betrothed. I killed her, too. Let's see, before that, there was a mess where we told stories for what turned out to be a kenku... oh, and I found the Asahina daimyo's infant child on the road to Kyuden Seppun..."
He tried not to enjoy the way his mother paled as he recounted his journey north.
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Post by Shiba Kaigen on Oct 28, 2014 22:59:06 GMT
It had been an... awkward week, to say the least.
It wasn't that he disliked his family... but they were almost strangers to him now.
Sadako had tried, at great length, to explain why, exactly, his kimono was unsuitable due to its coloring, the dye technique, his choice of obi, and so forth. He'd explained to her, patiently, that it was comfortable to fight in, cheap enough to replace when it got soiled with blood or shredded, and plain enough that he wouldn't mourn it when that inevitably happened.
She'd stopped talking to him about clothes after that.
He'd tried to stop talking about fighting... but every question he was asked seemed to lead back, inevitably, to some occasion on which he had chopped someone to pieces.
So they'd stopped talking altogether.
He was out in the gardens, practicing his kata, when his father found him.
"Son."
"Father."
Kaigen sighed.
"So. About this business you called me home for..."
"Your mother and I think it long past time you married, son."
"Father... knowing who I am... what I am... you should know that I have little gift for preserving life. I doubt I would fare well at creating it."
Shiba Gorobei sighed and ran his hand across his scalp.
"I know, Kaigen. But it is... expected."
"Like so many other things. If you and mother have someone in mind, do let me know."
"That's just it... we've had... difficulty."
"My sterling reputation causes difficulty, does it?"
"Not... exactly..."
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Post by Shiba Kaigen on Oct 29, 2014 2:54:56 GMT
"Is it the months on end in the field? My delightful grasp of social graces? My habit of leaving dead bodies everywhere I go?"
"Well..."
"Cheer up. Sumiko is already well-married, and Sadako looks to be following in mother's footsteps."
Two out of three is not bad.
"It's not the family we're worried about, Kaigen. It's you. There is more to life than death and killing."
"And yet killing is all I have any talent for."
Gorobei pinched the bridge of his nose in apparent exasperation.
"Have you tried anything else?"
"Of course I have."
Kaigen sighed and turned to resume his kata.
"But that's the trouble with killing... the better you get at it, the less use you are for anything else."
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Post by Shiba Kaigen on Oct 30, 2014 23:32:52 GMT
The painful silences continued.
So did the awkward, halting conversations.
But most frustrating to Kaigen, they simply refused to tell him that they'd picked someone.
"Father, you'd never even seen mother before the wedding. Why should it matter? I'll manage with whatever you and the nakodo work out."
"But we cannot leave it to political expediency, Kaigen. There is something... empty in you. We need to find someone who can help you with-"
"If we're discussing some sort of void in me, then by all means father, find an Ishiken."
"You are not helping."
"You are correct."
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Post by Shiba Kaigen on Nov 2, 2014 22:02:46 GMT
Kaigen's gaze continued in its efforts to bore a hole through the nakodo's forehead.
"I can think of far better uses for my family's accumulated favor and influence than this."
"They seem to disagree with you. And since time is pressing..."
"One week. Very well."
The elderly Asako rose to take her leave.
I cannot say I envy your bride, Kaigen. The poor girl no doubt thinks that since she's marrying a Phoenix, some vestige of grace and culture will be part of her day to day life.. but any grace and culture in your household will clearly have to be brought with her.
She had no way of knowing that Kaigen's thoughts were running in more or less the same vein.
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Post by Shiba Kaigen on Nov 3, 2014 10:59:31 GMT
It had been a long journey into the Shiba provinces... but Yukari had noted that the populace seemed happy and well-cared for.
You'd hardly know the Phoenix had been at war not so very long ago...
She stopped herself.
We were at war not so very long ago. I'm marrying into the Phoenix, time to start acting like it.
She still had a few Daidoji riding with her, of course... her mother had pulled some strings so that her daughter (barely saved from reaching the unmarriageable 20s!) could leave the clan in style.
And the castle looks nice.
Of course, by all accounts, Shiba Tsue, her mother in law to be, was a woman of the highest social graces.
Might be a bit like home...
The view was spoiled, somewhat, by a figure in dingy, worn armor running along the battlements at top speed.
One of the ashigaru getting some exercise? Some ji-samurai, maybe, who could not acquire better equipment?
She stifled a shrug.
No matter. She was marrying the sole son of a respected yojimbo and a talented courtier. It probably wasn't any of her concern.
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Post by Shiba Kaigen on Nov 3, 2014 11:10:45 GMT
Three days later
Kaigen sat on the battlements and reflected that, all things being equal, matters could certainly be worse.
His wife- and what a weird concept that was- was a sweet-natured lady, and certainly far better-looking than he'd expected.
He just wished she'd done better for herself.
Oh, she was polite enough not to say how let down she was, and apart from her look of shock once she realized that the wedding kimono was the only fashionable thing he owned, she'd comported herself cheerfully enough... but he could tell.
She was, as he understood it, versed in a dozen different completely pointless arts, and knew a great deal about things he didn't care about.
Just like me... I'm versed in the highly pointless art of killing, and I know a great deal about things she should never have to care about.
He gave a rueful chuckle at the thought and pegged a rock off into the darkness.
What a pair we make. I wonder who her parents offended that she couldn't snag some polite young Doji with a passion for haiku...
Hm. Maybe she's got the talent for a discrete affair or two... I certainly won't object if that's what she wants.
He was headed back south the rejoin the Legion in the fall in any event, so it wasn't as if he'd be hanging around to bother her.
Poor Yukari. Raised to be an artist, married a butcher. The Fortunes clearly have it in for more than just me.
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Post by Shiba Kaigen on Nov 3, 2014 11:25:37 GMT
He was out on the walls. Again.
She had been a bit shocked the first time he walked off in the middle of the night, but she'd already learned better than to expect something as civil as an explanation.
A Hida would have been less of a shock...
Still, there was nothing for it now, and while they hadn't exactly set one another's hearts ablaze, she would have to make do.
For a start, his horribly bare chamber needed something.
Of course, if he goes for walks in the middle of the night just to get away from me, I doubt he'll appreciate any overt redecorating...
But she couldn't help it.
Apart from his daisho, it wasn't even properly clean, let alone fitting for a samurai.
So she's roused a few servants to give the place a going-over while he was gone, and then selected a couple of wall hangings her mother had sent along.
Best to go easy... Since he seems to have nothing on his mind but warfare, I can meet him halfway...
A tapestry of the Battle of the Tidal Land Bridge went on one wall, while another got the piece she'd made of Empress Toturi II slaying a Yobajin chieftain.
As she looked it over, she tried to look on the bright side.
He may not be... cultured, but he's not entirely savage...
She'd lived in dread of her wedding night for some time, even before she'd known what sort of man she'd be with... but to her surprise, he hadn't pressed the issue.
Maybe he just detests the sight of me...
Well, that was a sobering thought.
But he had apparently been to the Empress' Winter Court, and had crossed paths with several of the Empire's notables... she'd nearly dropped her teacup when her mother-in-law had mentioned his friendship with a Yasuki governor.
Perhaps they bonded over sake...
She couldn't imagine what else a man with Yasuki Odai's reputation could have seen in her husband, but it indicated dimensions to the man she hadn't figured out yet.
All right, I know I was going to stop at the two wall hangings, but...
But the room needed a bonsai tree.
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Post by Shiba Kaigen on Nov 3, 2014 11:39:23 GMT
He was appalled to see a light still burning in his- their- chamber.
Perhaps she's having nightmares about spending the rest of her life with me. That'd stop anyone from sleeping.
Still, he supposed he could try to limit the damage.
Our parents will expect children... well. Give her some time to adjust to the idea. Perhaps she can fashion a bag to put over my head and paint Doji Hoturi's face on it.
...
Would that work?
Irrespective of anything else, after all, she was a very fine-looking woman.
But not tonight.
He slid open the shoji screen... and blinked.
Is this the right room?
The daisho stand was his, but maybe she'd moved it- certainly, the wall hangings, the bonsai tree, and the assortment of jade netsuke weren't his.
And the standing screen with the sparrows on it was definitely not locally-made.
Then it dawned on him, a moment before she spoke from the far side of the screen.
"... Husband?"
Unfortunately, for you, yes.
"It's late. Do you need the light?"
There was a pause, a sort of wounded silence.
Probably should have said something about all the effort she put in.
Damn.
Too late now.
"No... no, I can pick up tomorrow."
As she made her way over to the lantern, he peered at the wall hanging of Tsudao and the Yobanjin.
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Post by Shiba Kaigen on Nov 3, 2014 19:54:13 GMT
She paused by the lamp.
While he'd been exactly true to type, the fact that he was actually looking at-
"He wasn't that big."
He was pointing at the Yobanjin chieftain on her tapestry.
"I mean, yes, he was a big guy, but he's practically the size of an ogre here!"
Yukari couldn't help it. She winced.
Who in all JIGOKU had the charge of your education?! You semi-literate, thick-headed, boorish lout! There are dead leaves floating down streams into SWAMPS with more understanding than you! There are KAPPA with more refinement! There are probably ONI who would blanch at your manners!
"It is but a poor effort. If it offends you I will have it removed."
He gave her a glance over his shoulder... and then shook his head.
"No, it's fine. Makes Tsudao... ah, the Empress, makes her look even more impressive, and that's no mean feat."
He tilted his head to the side and she could hear the neck vertebrae pop.
She blew out the lantern with a weary exhalation.
I will not cry in front of him, I will not cry in front of him...
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Post by Shiba Kaigen on Nov 3, 2014 21:58:36 GMT
***Four Days Later***
He father found him out on the walls, doing his usual run.
"Good morning, Father."
"Son. Do you have a minute?"
Kaigen shrugged and pulled up short.
"Certainly. What is it?"
"I want you to answer a question for me son... what color kimono is your wife wearing today?"
"I honestly do not-"
The slap took him hard the jaw, his father's one remaining hand making a blur in the air.
"Exactly, my son! You are paying your wife a shameful lack of attention! Do you think she's like one of your soldiers who you can just ignore? She has left her home and her family to join us, and you cannot even change your daily routine to spend some time with her?"
Kaigen fixed his father with a level gaze.
"We have nothing to talk about, father. I have no idea what the poor woman did to you that you would inflict me upon her, but she has no joy in my company. Why would I increase her misery by hanging about with her?"
Gorobei ground his teeth together.
"You might at least show her the basic courtesy of noticing she's present."
"Courtesy has never been my strong suit."
He saw the slap coming this time.
"You can learn."
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Post by Shiba Kaigen on Nov 4, 2014 1:22:13 GMT
While her husband did what he usually did and ran around the castle- presumably as a means of avoiding her- Yukari settled down to making a painting of the oldest tree in the gardens, a gnarled bonsai said to have been planted before the return of the Unicorn.
That way she could allow herself the tears she kept stifling around others.
She could justify any wiping of her face anyone spotted to daubing off sweat in the summer sun.
Benten, I know you're fickle, but why have you done this to me? Not only am I married to a man I do not care for, I sincerely doubt ANYONE could care for him!
She choked back a frustrated cry as one of her brushstrokes went off-course.
And now I am profaning the skills I learned from my sensei because I cannot cope with adversity.
She gave a moment's thought to just chucking the whole of her painting apparatus into the koi pond.
But that wouldn't be proper.
She took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and resumed.
I may be married to an unspeakable cretin, but I am a daughter of Kakita. I can rise above it.
She set her jaw and got back to her work.
And wiped her face a great deal.
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Post by Shiba Kaigen on Nov 4, 2014 3:15:05 GMT
***Later***
It was, of all things, a breach of etiquette at dinner that had actually made the first signs of change for the better in their relationship.
Her husband had done his usual trick of donning something barely suitable for a valued ashigaru, let alone a samurai, although he had at least asked her if she felt up to sitting down to dinner with him.
In addition to her in-laws, there would be guests at the party... a passing Matsu and his retinue.
Upon learning that she had been born a Kakita, the Matsu's eyes had narrowed.
"I am so pleased that you have found a suitable home for so... refined... a bloodline."
This had been followed by several pointed, probing gibes too subtle to properly take offense with, but too cutting to not hurt. She had endured in silence, until, after a rather innocuous remark about the safety of the mountains being a fitting place for a Crane.... Kaigen had growled a response across the table.
"Continue speaking of my wife's family in that fashion in my presence, and I will be forced to do something unpleasant."
Dinner had been very quiet in the wake of this grotesque breach of etiquette... but there was something in Kaigen's tone and expression that had caused the Matsu to opt not to make an issue of it.
He was probably just defending his territory. Even if he holds me in no regard, his pride would not...
She blinked at the plain, coarse sheet of paper propped against her paint kit.
The calligraphy was atrocious, but legible.
'Wife'
She picked it up and turned it over.
To call it a letter would be akin to calling a moth-eaten rag "cloth-" technically true, but missing the point.
But it also represented the first effort at direct communication that he had initiated, so it had to be worth a look... She unfolded it and began to read.
'Yukari-
I am sorry for the distress I know I cause you. Rest assured, I wish you had been married to someone better... but you weren't.
I can't promise that I'll ever be what you want, but I'll try. I know I disgust you, and that's why I've been staying away, but the old man smacked some sense into me today and told me that wasn't helping, so... your move.
She read the brief, terse, poorly-written, inelegant note three more times.
Should I write him back?
... No, probably not.
Meet him before his run tomorrow?
Might work.
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Post by Shiba Kaigen on Nov 5, 2014 22:04:10 GMT
Well, there's a surprise.
She was standing on the wall, looking out over the mountains... but she had to be expecting him.
Early riser, that one.
Something like a smile tugged at his features.
And still dressed up like she expects the Empress to come calling.
I'll never understand that.
Her stoic expression when she turned to look at him snuffed out his burgeoning good humor.
Cold as ice.
"Wife."
"Husband."
How strange, that so much resentment, regret, and sadness could be packed into two words like that.
"I take it you got my... note."
"I did."
"Then you know that I'm terrible at calligraphy and bad at expressing myself to people I don't intend to kill."
She blinked, as if unsure how to process that.
"But thing is, I know neither of us asked for this, and we aren't happy with it, but that's no reason we can't try to make the best of it. So..."
... Is this the longest conversation we've ever had? By the Fortunes, how pathetic.
"... so here's what I'm thinking... I've got no... background in arts and refinement and all of that. And you don't want to hear about violence and bloodshed, which is all I seem to be any good for..."
She snapped a fan open with an audible crack that actually startled him a little.
"... but, uh... maybe we could meet halfway?"
Why is she... oh. Has she TRIED and I missed it?!
...
Women.
"... Have you tried and I've been too thick-headed to recognize it?"
Oh damnation.
Tears in her eyes were not what he was after.
"So that's a yes. Right."
He stood there like an idiot.
There was really nothing he could say.
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