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Post by Ikoma Noroko on May 13, 2014 14:55:33 GMT
Ikoma Noroko sat down at the small writing desk in her room, brush, ink, and paper at the ready. She wished she'd arrived at court a little sooner, so as to have more information about the participants in the previous day's trial, but there was nothing to be done for it now. Spymaster Ikoma Sume would certainly be interested in hearing that the office of Crab Clan Champion stood empty, with no obvious candidate for the seat. If the Emperor did decide to fill the position, perhaps he could be persuaded to fill it with someone...amenable. And she was sure the information about this Kaiu-General-turned-Scorpion could be of use. Not to mention that this kolat involvement would need to be hushed up in the official histories, and quickly.
Tapping the handle of the brush on the edge of the desk, her thoughts wandered to the Asako daimyo. Had truth been his only motivator? He had certainly seemed quite upset about the thought that he could be named daimyo, when they'd discovered the truth two years ago. But that hadn't stopped him from sharing the information or taking the position. And while he appeared harmless most of the time, he had an uncanny ability to become anything but...
She took up the brush and began to write.
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Post by Asako Chisato on May 13, 2014 18:53:55 GMT
Meanwhile, a few floors up in the temple, the very same man was busy writing letters of his own. His karo had to remind him of his duty to report what had happened to the elemental council and the clan champion. He had begun to pen his letters home after writing to his new friends in the crane, crab, and now scorpion clans. None of those had yet to respond.
He did feel, mostly, remorse. He knew that he had done the right thing, it was important that family history be accurate, surely everyone understands how important that is... he was simply correcting a mistake.
But did he make a bigger mistake?
He stops writing to then consider something else he had found. A woman he had met back in his brief time at the ikoma libraries. He hadn't seen her in some time, not since that winter... had he made a mistake with her as well?
He starts working on a new letter.
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Post by Asako Chisato on May 15, 2014 10:57:36 GMT
Asako Chisato's handwriting is very neat and proper, he has had a great deal of practice in writing, and seems to be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to it. What a shame that he has no sense of style in what he writes.
To Ikoma Noroko, Daughter of Ikoma Chiro, Librarian
It was good to see you. Much has changed. Thank you for your assistance. I am worried. Do you know what to do? I would like to see you again. Have you had rice today? Please, come see me.
From Asako Chisato, Son of Asako Chisatomo, Daimyo of the Asako Family, First of his name.
The letter is sent after he proofreads his clipped and awkward letter.
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Post by Ikoma Noroko on May 15, 2014 15:02:18 GMT
Noroko sighed softly as she waited for the ink to dry on her report, before folding it and carefully sealing it with her personal chop in wax. Of course, anything sensitive she needed to transmit was written in a cipher, though most of the information would likely be known all over the Empire within a few days. She stands up, intending to find a servant to mail the letter, when one appears in the doorway carrying a letter himself. Exchanging them, Noroko turns away and begins to read the short note from Chisato.
One would think that as daimyo he could have hired teachers to instruct him in the finer points of language and style, she thought, shaking her head and chuckling in remembrance. His earlier letters had not been any more elegant, and the poetry worse yet! Any Crane would have been appalled to read how badly he butchered a simple haiku. Perhaps it would have been different if there'd been any real emotion behind it, Noroko mused. Even the bluntest, least literate Hida bushi can get his feelings across when he needs to. Still...it seems that he trusts me yet. I suppose a visit could be enlightening...
Tossing the note into the brazier in her quarters, she runs a brush through her typically-tangled hair and straightens her kimono, then makes her way up to the Asako daimyo's much larger quarters.
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Post by Asako Chisato on May 15, 2014 20:34:30 GMT
He sits in his room, as she is shown in by a woman she had never met before, his karo, also of his family name. She introduces them both, as if they had never met before. Chisato watches Noroko through the introductions with a bright hopeful smile.
He bows to her, "Good day, Noroko san, it has been a while..." he says hesitantly, unsure what to expect.
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Post by Ikoma Noroko on May 15, 2014 20:46:54 GMT
"Chisato-sama." Ignoring the karo's introduction, the petite Ikoma returns the bow, smoothing her hair back unconsciously as she straightens. She doesn't smile, though the frostiness she greeted him with in the courtroom is absent. "Two years, when you wintered at my library. I admit I was a bit surprised to see you here, as I know how you hate to travel." Her lips curve upward at that, just slightly. "I was a bit less surprised to see your research leading you into trouble again."
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Post by Asako Chisato on May 15, 2014 20:53:33 GMT
He looks at her with a pinch of panic, "Trouble? How much trouble? Wait... which trouble? I don't want to be in trouble..."
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Post by Ikoma Noroko on May 15, 2014 21:06:32 GMT
She chuckles at that, shaking her head and taking a seat across from him. He hasn't changed much, that she can see--his clothes are nicer, and there's a small swarm of servants moving in and out of the room, preparing more tea. And the ubiquitous karo, of course. She has, though she doubts he will notice.
"You're the one who claimed to be worried, Chisato-sama," Noroko says in a soothing voice. "But I imagine this situation with the newly renamed Bayushi will cause a bit of trouble, neh?"
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Post by Asako Chisato on May 15, 2014 21:22:13 GMT
"Ah, right... that trouble. Satomi san is a very good friend. She helped me a great deal when I first arrived here for the wedding, and the new years festival. We've not known one another long, but I am glad she is in the clan she belongs to, now...
What do you think is going to happen from all of this?"
He looks to her with genuine concern. He has no vision for political futures it seems. "What do the histories of politics show us of such bizarre circumstances, Noroko san?"
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Post by Ikoma Noroko on May 15, 2014 22:00:39 GMT
"Bayushi-sama may not be quite as glad..." Noroko murmurs, looking at him out of the corner of an eye while pouring some tea for herself. She shakes her head quickly.
"As for what is going to happen? I'm afraid history provides few lessons in these circumstances, much as I am loathe to admit it. I can think of no instance in which an adopted clan samurai returned to her birth clan--either as an adult or a child." She hmms slightly, tapping the edge of the teacup with a fingernail. "The closest situation is that of the Scorpion children who were fostered by the Crane, when the former wandered the sands...but they were never formally adopted, as I am sure you know..."
"There is also the issue of the Crab Clan Champion. As I said in court, the Emperor has been known to appoint one, when no clear successor is evident. But that was a Lion, Akodo Kenburo. Adopted, interestingly enough, though I am sure you know that." Noroko drifts into familiar historian mode, and smiles at him, much as she had when they worked together--forgetting for a moment all that had happened since. "The Crab lineage from Hida has never fallen into dispute." She tilts her head and nods toward his book. "The most logical thing would be to find the nearest relative in the Hida kuge."
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Post by Asako Chisato on May 16, 2014 10:53:31 GMT
Having his talents directed toward something he knows he can do serves as an excellent distraction from his worries with Satomi. "Right, of course!"
He puts his tea down and he leans over to the side to collect his hefty tome. "I'll approach this from both directions... by following Hida kami's lineage straight down, and by going back through Kuon sama's ancestry. I am confident that I will be able to find multiple candidates. Hida families are well known for large numbers of offspring after all!"
He flips open to the appropriate pages, and starts sipping his tea. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ OOC: Hey gms! wanna tell me what I find? fire 5, initiator, loremaster, scribe, magistrate, forbidden knowledge for 10 points! To find the next successor of the line of Hida and Kuon.
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Post by Ikoma Noroko on May 16, 2014 16:43:14 GMT
Noroko smiled at his enthusiasm, but it was a false one, her mind racing elsewhere while he flipped through the pages of his tome. She really wanted to know how he'd uncovered that Hida Reiha has been a Kolat agent. There had been other sleepers in the past, she knew, carefully covered up in the histories, but the public nature of this one might be hard to hide. At least, not for a while. "Have you found it?" she asks after a moment, sipping at the tea.
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Post by Asako Chisato on May 16, 2014 17:38:35 GMT
He raises a finger silencing her, and requesting a bit of patience as he flips through a few more pages. His karo, Asako Megumi, watches on from a fair distance away with growing interest. At last, Chisato replies, "Yes, I think I have it... Hida Rohiteki san, Daughter of Hida Tsuru sama, who was brother to Hida Kisada sama."
He looks up, pleased with his investigation. "Unless of course Hida Kuon sama is hiding a child from all of us!" he adds as a jest.
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Post by Ikoma Noroko on May 16, 2014 18:51:16 GMT
"Surely the birth of a child to a Clan Champion would not go unnoticed. You or I would have heard, don't you think?" Noroko says, dismissing the thought with a wave of one hand. At least, -we- would have heard of it, I'm sure. Better check, though. "So this Hida Rohiteki-sama, do you know anything about her?"
----------------------- OOC: Somehow I thought the child was common knowledge, but apparently not! I have edited my previous posts to reflect such.
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Post by Asako Chisato on May 16, 2014 19:00:39 GMT
He smiles, "Why yes I do!" he proceeds to repeat himself from before unwittingly, "She is the Daughter of Hida Tsuru, who was Hida Kisada sama's brother!"
"She has a few sons as well, I believe. We should let everyone know her claim is the strongest!"
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