D3 EM - Bleary eyed and Bewildered

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

Iko woke up as the sun streamed through her window, she started going through her morning routine as the day dawned.

Mindshred · **Joined:** Sat Dec 07, 2019 7:24 am **Posts:** 1559

Iko's morning routine is interrupted by a discrete but noticeable scratching at her door.

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

Opening the door with little concern, Iko expects to see a servant with her morning repast, and so is fairly casual and unsuspecting.

Doji Suiminko · **Joined:** Sat Apr 11, 2020 1:56 am **Posts:** 120

Waiting on the other side of the door is a Crane woman wearing a hooded cloak.

"Hello, little bird." She offers Iko a warm smile. "Shibaraku watashitoisshoni okite egao de."

The next moment, the two of them were in Iko's room, door closed, and the Crane woman had removed her cloak and tossed it over a changing screen.

There was fresh tea at the table, and Iko was seated in front of it, holding a cup halfway to her mouth. The Crane woman was standing on the far side of the room, examining Iko's crystal box with mild curiosity.

"It's remarkable craftsmanship," she says, her tone light. "One might wonder what need you have for a box made of pure crystal. You do not strike me as a woman that appreciates fine art."

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

"A student of the Kakita Academy acquires an appreciation for all art." Iko replies after coming to terms with the shift after Suiminiko's utterance seemingly warped time and space.

"But it is not for its pleasing asthetics that I acquired it." She replied without using her guest's name.

"After my time over the last few years as this realm tracks it, I have come to understand a little of the necessity of such things."

Doji Suiminko · **Joined:** Sat Apr 11, 2020 1:56 am **Posts:** 120

"Hmm." She drops the box back on its side table with little care for its fragility. It was a testament to the skill of its creator that it endured with drop without a fracture.

"Necessity is a matter of perception. You might consider air to be a vital necessity, but for a fish, it is a death sentence." Her nose wrinkles up slightly as she looks down at the box. Then she turns back to Iko, her smile returned, and clasps her hands together in front of her in the manner of a pleased parent.

"So how are you, little bird?"

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

"Pleased to see that you have escaped the chaos of the courtroom." Iko replied. "And also pleased to have earned more responsibility among the Dragon in recent times. The growing conflict around the Empire has me mildly concerned however."

Doji Suiminko · **Joined:** Sat Apr 11, 2020 1:56 am **Posts:** 120

"There's a secret about chaos, you know. It doesn't actually exist." Suiminko begins slowly pacing about the room, arms folded behind her back. "It just one butterfly after the next, each one flapping its wings, ignorant of the lives it is destroying halfway across the Empire."

She stops walking and turns her head to look down at Iko. "A great deal of responsibility, and with it, a great deal of trust, neh? You're a butterfly with particularly strong little wings."

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

"At the level of samurai, the chaos may be imperceptible, but to those we fight for, for the commoners they feel it more than most."

Iko smiles. "And with a sympathetic soul now in the leadership of the Mirumoto in Aiki-dono."

"I assume that this may be of benefit to your august self?"

Doji Suiminko · **Joined:** Sat Apr 11, 2020 1:56 am **Posts:** 120

"The commoners?" Suiminko arches a disbelieving eyebrow, her smile shifting into a smirk. After a moment, she looks away and walks to the window, looking out across the courtyard below as freezing rain pelts it from above. She cranes her neck upward, peering up toward the sky as best she is able, then shakes her head and turns back to Iko.

"I must admit to a bit of disappointment, little bird. For all your time among the Dragon, you're still thinking like a Crane." She tilts her head a bit to one side. "Perhaps it comes with being a duelist? All those years spent bouncing from one master to the next, all those hours spent in the dojo, repeating the same motions over and over again, simply so that you can draw a sword slightly faster than someone else."

She makes a faint 'tsk' sound. "Try thinking like a butterfly."

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

Birds and butterflies. There is a metaphor there somewhere, I am sure...

"This one's wings are still forming, despite all my training with my newest sensei." She replies with a self satisfied grin.

"My recent assignments have seen my blade feature prominently, but perhaps a little information may be provided to the cause?"

Leaning in close, Iko describes the meeting with the Dragon delegation from two nights ago - specifically focusing on the Jade Hand that was delivered.

Doji Suiminko · **Joined:** Sat Apr 11, 2020 1:56 am **Posts:** 120

Suiminko listens intently, then spends a few minutes silently thinking things over. "That is quite interesting."

She seats herself at the table and begins idly tapping her finger against the edge table in a steady rhythm. "Are you familiar with the tattoos of the Togashi?"

~ tap tap tap ~

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

Iko's musical nature leads to her following along fluidly with the rhythm SUiminko is producing.

She leans slightly to bare the tattoo on her shoulder to the Advisor. "I know a little, I bear one of them myself. I assume there is some specific reasoning for your question though Master?"

Doji Suiminko · **Joined:** Sat Apr 11, 2020 1:56 am **Posts:** 120

"Mmm." Suiminko glances casually at the exposed tattoo.

~ tap tap tap ~

"Are you aware that they are maho?"

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

Iko can't help but allow a small gasp to escape her lips. "Then why have those who bear them...why have I not succumbed to the dark influence already?"

There is a little doubt in her voice, but mostly concern, and a little fear.

Doji Suiminko · **Joined:** Sat Apr 11, 2020 1:56 am **Posts:** 120

"Can you truly say that you have not been influenced?" Suiminko's eyebrows raise slightly. "Your mind is not quite the steel bastion you believe it to be."

~ tap tap tap ~

"But again, you are thinking like a duelist, focused on a single opponent. The inks of that tattoo are mixed with the blood of the Dragon Kami, allowing him to exert his influence over those he has branded with his mark." She uses her free hand to gesture to Iko's tattoo. "That may as well be a chain around your neck."

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

"We all are influenced by those around us, some more noticeably than others. If you have any techniques or advice, they would be welcome. To serve two masters is difficult enough, without the threat of mind control hanging over myself."

Iko answers without any irony about the way she was controlled by Master Dream all those years ago.

Doji Suiminko · **Joined:** Sat Apr 11, 2020 1:56 am **Posts:** 120

Suiminko clucks her tongue. "See? Right there, believing that you have two masters. It's subtle, but nothing remains hidden from me for very long."

~ tap tap tap ~

The other sounds of the room began to fall away, leaving only Suiminko's voice and the steady tapping of her finger against the table, which was now as loud as a drum. "It's no different than Kakita Takashi. One sought control of your body, the other your spirit."

~ TAP TAP TAP ~

The room started to fall away behind Suiminko, who was now wearing a featureless white mask. "You know what you must do, Iko. There are no more choices. A samurai cannot serve two masterrs."

The taps of Suiminko's finger were like bells, peeling out a deafening death dirge. Her voice cut through their noise like a single ray of crystal sunlight.

"Kill the Dragon Champion."

Iko blinks, and the room is silent. There is no sign of Suiminko, and the tea left on the table is quite cold. Looking down, Iko realizes that she is holding an origami dragon in her hands, torn cleanly into two parts.

Togashi Iko · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:00 am **Posts:** 408

A cold sweat upon he brow, Iko drains the teacup, pours herself another cold cup and drinks that too. Only then do her hands stop shaking and turn her attention to the destroyed creation before her, unfolding it carefully to see if any clues or markings were left in hidden folds.

Finding nothing secreted away, she tucked the pieces in behind her obi, as she sent for some breakfast. The unexpected meeting had set her routine off for the day and she lacked the mental fortitude to continue her fast.

/scene

D3 EM - Bleary eyed and Bewildered

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