Voices in the Crowd (D2, Late Afternoon)

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

Kasuga Seitouna wrote:

"Local 2110," replies Seitouna before going on.

"I know you know your competition. Do the Lion, though? And maybe they ought to.

"But for information...there are three bits. One helps one of my bosses. The other two help all of us. On the first, if you've seen or heard where Kasuga Saito is here, I've got an actual member of the Emperor's Court who'd be real happy to know.

"For the second, I know you've got a way out of town that ain't the gates. At least one. I'd like to know, maybe one you're worried the Lion're gonna find soon. Maybe the one the 405s use, eh?

"And third, might be some folks slipped in who really ought not to have. Bad folks. Folks who'll open the gates to the army coming in--crazy folks who only want to kill. Messily."

Seitouna pauses before adding one more bit.

"I want to make deals, and you can't deal with the dead."

The group exchanges looks. "Ain't heard of no Kasuga in this town, yo."

"Other than this one," one of the heimin chimes in.

The leader gives him an exasperated look. "Obviously, other than himself, baka." He turns back to Seitouna. "Why would we have a way out other than the gate?" He motions in the direction of the nearest gate. "It's a gate. You just walk through it."

Togashi Myo-en · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 4:27 am **Posts:** 418

Doji Koushi wrote:

Togashi Myo-en wrote:

"Who is the patient and who is the doctor, in this case?" Little does Koushi know that he's speaking to a monk with a notable penchant for metaphor! Myo-en casts him an inquisitive look with her intent dark eyes, while helping the child's parent hold them very firmly still.

Koushi bandaged the injured moppet with a poultice to reduce the swelling, thankful that a set wasn't necessary in this particular case. Ideally, she would keep off the foot for next few days, and he told the father so, but it didn't seem as though that would be terribly likely, given the situation.

Koushi smiled. "In this, I suppose that we are both. We are out of alignment, having allowed the Son of Heaven to be murdered by beings who are far from the place appointed them by Emma-O. And I suspect we can only be back in alignment when we have returned these spirits to Toshigoku, where they belong."

He smiles. "Of course, this is a just a scholar's opinion. A priest might have another idea."

"Physician, heal thyself," Myo-en murmurs, rinsing her hands in a bowl of rapidly cooling water. "I am not a scholar or a priest, Doji-sama. But whether these souls out of place are a cause or just a symptom, I agree with you that they must be put back. Somehow."

Tension stiffens her muscles and she winces as she looks up to see people still thronging the city gate while Lion guards struggle to close it. "War is so big, it makes one person's effort seem small. If the returned spirits attack here, we can't keep all these people safe." It just isn't possible, not for human hands.

Doji Koushi · **Joined:** Sat Apr 04, 2020 5:22 am **Posts:** 314

"No, we can't. But that does not mean that we cannot save a few, or even many. Our limitations are what they are; they are no reason to lose heart."

Agasha Manami · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 9:19 am **Posts:** 34

Nagiko wrote:

"I suppose that we will all be part of a siege sooner or later.'' She says.

Manami scowls. "I suppose. Not how I would want to spend a new year." She gestures to Nagiko's daisho. "Nagiko-san is perhaps better prepared for the season of war than a shugenja, even one trained by the mighty Mantis Clan."

Togashi Myo-en · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 4:27 am **Posts:** 418

Doji Koushi wrote:

"No, we can't. But that does not mean that we cannot save a few, or even many. Our limitations are what they are; they are no reason to lose heart."

"Are they not?" Myo-en frowns. "I want to curse the ones who created this misery, but anger is an illusion, and anyway, by all reports they are already cursed by Emma-O and do not mind it much."

Myo-en watches Koushi intently. "The hexagram I cast yesterday says we are in a time of repair, but repair that needs careful thought. And the Tao says the sage puts away excessive effort and seeks the downward-flowing paths. What is the downhill path to help these people? Is there one, do you think?"

Doji Koushi · **Joined:** Sat Apr 04, 2020 5:22 am **Posts:** 314

"If the downhill path means the one with the least resistance, then it is battle that is the solution. The enemy is near, and means to do violence to us. It is natural, then, to defend one's self and one's people."

Kasuga Seitouna · **Posted:** Mon Apr 13, 2020 1:38 am

Mindshred wrote:

The group exchanges looks. "Ain't heard of no Kasuga in this town, yo."

"Other than this one," one of the heimin chimes in.

The leader gives him an exasperated look. "Obviously, other than himself, baka." He turns back to Seitouna. "Why would we have a way out other than the gate?" He motions in the direction of the nearest gate. "It's a gate. You just walk through it."

Obfuscating stupidity or actual stupidity? thinks Seitouna.

"And on the other information?" he asks.

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

Kasuga Seitouna wrote:

Obfuscating stupidity or actual stupidity? thinks Seitouna.

"And on the other information?" he asks.

The heimin share glances back and forth. It was pretty clear they were confused.

"What was that, again?"

Kasuga Seitouna · **Posted:** Mon Apr 13, 2020 2:43 am

Mindshred wrote:

The heimin share glances back and forth. It was pretty clear they were confused.

"What was that, again?"

"First, have you had word if, or seen, a Kasuga Saito here?"

Keep it simple, he thinks. Make it easy.

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

Kasuga Seitouna wrote:

"First, have you had word if, or seen, a Kasuga Saito here?"

Keep it simple, he thinks. Make it easy.

The leader frowns. "Yo, we told you, you're the only turtle we've seen 'round here."

Togashi Myo-en · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 4:27 am **Posts:** 418

Doji Koushi wrote:

"If the downhill path means the one with the least resistance, then it is battle that is the solution. The enemy is near, and means to do violence to us. It is natural, then, to defend one's self and one's people."

"There are battles and battles, not all the same. Even Akodo agreed with Shinsei about this, if I remember it right." Myo-en dries her hands, her gaze going distant as she searches among memorized passages and proverbs. "'Military tactics are like water; it's the nature of water to flow away from high points toward low points. So in war, the way is to avoid strong points and strike at weak points.' But..." the sleek muscles in her forearms ripple as she squeezes the towel a little too hard, "Akodo doesn't have a lot to say about the people who are caught in the path of the flood."

Nagiko · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 6:07 pm **Posts:** 310

Agasha Manami wrote:

Manami scowls. "I suppose. Not how I would want to spend a new year." She gestures to Nagiko's daisho. "Nagiko-san is perhaps better prepared for the season of war than a shugenja, even one trained by the mighty Mantis Clan."

'' I doubt so. '' Nagiko chuckles. '' Although i must admit that i know the way of the sword, i was only taught enough to be able to defend myself. I don't know how useful i would be in a battlefield.'' She replied to Manami.

'' I have seen the powers of the teachings of Lady Fumiko, daughter of Kaimetsu-uo-shiryo. Probably you could rain thunder, fire and storms to those that dare approach you, neh?'' She compliments the Agasha.

Kasuga Seitouna · **Posted:** Mon Apr 13, 2020 1:45 pm

Mindshred wrote:

The leader frowns. "Yo, we told you, you're the only turtle we've seen 'round here."

Seems Fukurokujin's rejection is catching, thinks Seitouna as he follows up with "Fair. Did you also say whether anyone who's run into the city in the last day or so is--well, refugees are going to be afraid, but anyone seem particularly, oh, sneaky, the kind that might be competition for you?"

Voices in the Crowd (D2, Late Afternoon)

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