The Show Must Go On [Day 3, Early Afternoon, Open]

Yogo Aya · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:42 am **Posts:** 719

Aya tilted her head a bit at the fan toss.

Well, that was one way to get a read on the man she supposed.

"It's a good thing he's working with fans, instead of say, knives. I've heard of dying on stage before, but dying in the audience is another thing entirely." she offered to Norikami.

Bayushi Norikami · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:22 pm **Posts:** 315

"It was a knife in all ways but public", he said with a smirk.

Shosuro Uruwashii · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 8:01 pm **Posts:** 71

Shosuro Sara wrote:

Sara slowly moved towards her daimyo, her powder blue umbrella keeping the worst of the weather off of her. "Konnichiwa Shosuro-ue."

Bayushi Norikami wrote:

He went toward Lady Shosuro, he wanted to enjoy the performance but he also had to report.

Yogo Aya wrote:

Aya hoped that some of the storyteller's skill rubbed off on Noribaka. It would be sooo much better to listen to a story on the road that didn't end with, "And then we screwed like rabbits!"

Uruwashii remains focused on the performance as the other Scorpion gather around her. "Go eat some of the Yasuki's food," she murmurs softly, never looking away from Degarashi.

Yogo Aya · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:42 am **Posts:** 719

Aya apparently didn't hear anything other than the antics going on stage.

"C'mon Noribaka, I saw the Yasuki had a stand with food at it. I'll let you treat me just this once." she said to her partner, obviously about to head that way.

Bayushi Degarashi · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:02 pm **Posts:** 1027

Taking a calming breath following the sudden projectile, Degarashi began centering himself for the next tale.

*****
Fluff Acting: 6d10o10k3 35
*****

This time, as he began, he let down his hair, an unruly long mass of tresses common to the Bayushi. After a moment of rearranging, he had the dark locks easily draped over one shoulder. He then slightly unfolded his fan and pretended to comb it through his hair, occasionally sighing wistfully. After a moment he put down the fan and raised his hand as one might when summoning a room servant.

Then he bowed, as a servant would when summoned. "Hai, Bayushi-sama?"

Degarashi made his voice soft, but thick, rolling over his tongue with a hint of lust. "Where is my dear husband?"

"S-sama," he stuttered, "he commands a battle along the borders currently. It would take many days to reach him."

His eyes grew cold, yet still hot. "Send word to him. Tell him his wife lies in his bed chambers, and has a great hunger for him."

He nodded quickly, remaking his topknot as he did, then took up his fan and began creating the hoof beats once more.

"Shosuro-sama, Shosuro-sama! I bring word, tell the general that his wife lies in their bedchamber, and she is greatly hungry!"

Hoof beats again.

"Soshi-san, I bear news! The general's wife suffers from a great hunger and cannot leave her bed, she is starving! Tell him at once!"

More pretend horse noises.

"Yogo-san, I grave news! The general's wife has starved and lies unmoving in her bed, he must know at once!"

Hoof beats again, followed by taps of the fan against the stage, as of geta moving across a wooden floor.

"Bayushi-sama, terrible news has arrived. Your wife has died of starvation in her own bed."

Degarashi bowed slowly, placing his hands before him and hanging his head low. He took in a deep, shaking breath, and let out a long, weary sigh.

"Finally."

Matsu Mogami · **Posted:** Tue Apr 14, 2020 6:46 am

Mogami frowned again, not laughing at this particular joke, and turns to her budoka.

"This is why it is absolutely important that you always say exactly what message you are given, no more, no less."

The two men nod, but snicker a little at the punchline between themselves.

Mogami turns back to the stage to continue watching.

Shosuro Uruwashii · **Joined:** Mon Apr 06, 2020 8:01 pm **Posts:** 71

Uruwashii's expression remains pleasantly amused through the skit.

Ikoma Homura · **Posted:** Tue Apr 14, 2020 12:46 pm

Nagiko wrote:

'' Hai, more like that.'' She giggles as well, behind her fan. '' Have never understood the Dragon if i must be sincere. Their ways are strange.''

Homura banks the information on the Mantis fleet, deciding to focus instead of the performances.

"One needs to spend some time with them to understand the intent. They wish to guide without telling you the guidance, so you can learn it yourself. At least I believe that's the intent."

The Lion performance then happened, and some may feel concerned being stood next to a Lion. Homura covered her mouth...but Nagiko could hear her laughing. After a few minutes she said simply "that's the best one so far. So accurate as well."

The flying fan had Homura taking a step forward in front of Nagiko, ready in case of sudden attack, but she relaxed quickly and stepped back.

"Planned perhaps?"

The Scorpion performance had a raised brow. It was interesting but not as good as the others. She looked to Nagiko for her opinion.

Seppun Horonigai · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 4:03 pm **Posts:** 1054

Yasuki Yukarin wrote:

Yukarin twiddled her thumbs. She had half expected a throng on peasants for the free food and drink... but what she hadn't fully counted on was that no peasant wanted to be seen doing so while no one else was.

The Seppun's eyes blessed by Amaterasu-no-kami see, as a single ray of light from the skies bathe over the little sake cups, and then, the light fades.

The Imperial maiden slowly moves around the crowd and reaches up the Yasuki. She browses at all the things displayed, and looks up to the girl again with a bow. "Konnichiwa, ne! Seppun Horonigai-desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."

Since it was not a gift, but just something for the taking, the Miharu provides a, "Shitsurei shimasu~," and chews on some salted walnuts in one hand, while the other holds a cup of warm sake. She turns back to the stage to watch the skit while taking a small sip.

Bayushi Degarashi wrote:

"Finally."

And she nearly gags on the joke as the sake doesn't go down immediately where its supposed to.

The Seppun coughs a bit covering her mouth with a hand full of walnuts, and provides short apologetically bows to Yukarin and those around. "Gomen *cough* gomen."

Matsu Kōgyoku · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 5:36 pm **Posts:** 368

Matsu Kōgyoku was moving through the area when she stopped by the gathering. It was perplexing why so many samurai had chosen to partake in entertainment when the enemy was practically at the gates. And as she was passing by, she registered the last skit.

She had thoughts on that. They took external form of a deep frown.

Kasuga Seitouna · **Posted:** Tue Apr 14, 2020 3:00 pm

Seitouna allows himself to laugh more openly, or, rather, fails to stifle it as well.

And if someone had actually listened to the servant, he thinks, there'd be no confusion.

But there'd be no joke, either!

Suzume Chihaya · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 3:29 pm **Posts:** 850

That joke made Chihaya chuckle as well, though a small voice, somewhere in the darker places of her mind, stole that last line to torment her with later.

Finally...

Bayushi Norikami · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:22 pm **Posts:** 315

Welp, when the direct vassal of your boss's, boss's, boss's, boss's, boss's boss says go pay a Yasuki for refreshment, you do exactly that.

He went with Aya.

"Sake if you have it, and do you have any wagashi?"

Yasuki Yukarin · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 9:22 pm **Posts:** 802

Seppun Horonigai wrote:

The Seppun's eyes blessed by Amaterasu-no-kami see, as a single ray of light from the skies bathe over the little sake cups, and then, the light fades.

The Imperial maiden slowly moves around the crowd and reaches up the Yasuki. She browses at all the things displayed, and looks up to the girl again with a bow. "Konnichiwa, ne! Seppun Horonigai-desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."

Since it was not a gift, but just something for the taking, the Miharu provides a, "Shitsurei shimasu~," and chews on some salted walnuts in one hand, while the other holds a cup of warm sake. She turns back to the stage to watch the skit while taking a small sip.

The Seppun coughs a bit covering her mouth with a hand full of walnuts, and provides short apologetically bows to Yukarin and those around. "Gomen *cough* gomen."

"Irasshaimase, Seppun-sama."

Yukarin bows deeply.

"It is no problem; It WAS an amusing skit after all, neh? Feel free to stay under the awning if you wish to stay out of the rain while you refresh yourself."

Bayushi Norikami wrote:

Welp, when the direct vassal of your boss's, boss's, boss's, boss's, boss's boss says go pay a Yasuki for refreshment, you do exactly that.

He went with Aya.

"Sake if you have it, and do you have any wagashi?"

Bowing deeply to the Scorpion as well, Yukarin poured a cup of the warmed Golden Carp and got a cup of the wagashi as well, "Of course, Bayushi-sama; Anko does go well with sake, after all. The offer extends to the both of you as well about drying off while you refresh yourselves."

She motioned to the awning with a practiced motion.

Yogo Aya · **Joined:** Sun Apr 05, 2020 12:42 am **Posts:** 719

Yasuki Yukarin wrote:

Bowing deeply to the Scorpion as well, Yukarin poured a cup of the warmed Golden Carp and got a cup of the wagashi as well, "Of course, Bayushi-sama; Anko does go well with sake, after all. The offer extends to the both of you as well about drying off while you refresh yourselves."

She motioned to the awning with a practiced motion.

With an equally practiced motion, Aya snatched up the sake cup, and let it's warmth wash through her.

"You are the Fortune we need in these trying times, Yukarin-san, thank you." she said.

Seppun Horonigai · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 4:03 pm **Posts:** 1054

Yasuki Yukarin wrote:

"Irasshaimase, Seppun-sama."

Yukarin bows deeply.

"It is no problem; It WAS an amusing skit after all, neh? Feel free to stay under the awning if you wish to stay out of the rain while you refresh yourself."

Horonigai nods positively to the question, still recovering from the sake shot gone astray. She mentions her green and golden umbrella with bamboo motifs and makes room for someone else to get in line –– like one of those hungry and dutiful peasants just waiting for the opportunity.

Yogo Aya wrote:

"You are the Fortune we need in these trying times, Yukarin-san, thank you." she said.

The Seppun nods to reinforce Aya's words, and then looks to Yukarin with a good smile.

Yasuki Yukarin · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 9:22 pm **Posts:** 802

Yogo Aya wrote:

"You are the Fortune we need in these trying times, Yukarin-san, thank you." she said.

Seppun Horonigai wrote:

The Seppun nods to reinforce Aya's words, and then looks to Yukarin with a good smile.

"If we are going to have to stand out in the rain for entertainment, we may as well make it as entertaining as possible, neh? Especially since this may be our last chance for some time."

It might be noted that Yukarin had moved the awning almost entirely over the front of the stand, just a bit behind to make sure the stock didn't get soaked. For herself, she had paid a peasant with nothing else to do a Zeni to hold an umbrella over the two of them. It was just unfortunate she didn't have a tuxedo for the old man.

Bayushi Norikami · **Joined:** Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:22 pm **Posts:** 315

Yasuki Yukarin wrote:

Bowing deeply to the Scorpion as well, Yukarin poured a cup of the warmed Golden Carp and got a cup of the wagashi as well, "Of course, Bayushi-sama; Anko does go well with sake, after all. The offer extends to the both of you as well about drying off while you refresh yourselves."

She motioned to the awning with a practiced motion.

"Thanks."

He picked up the sweets and had a chomp or two. Not bad. He then looked out to the crowd of peasants who were eyeing him, the Yogo, the Seppun and Yasuki...and the spread.

He smirked and indicated they should come over by nodding his head toward Yukarin. Then he stepped aside slightly, not like he was getting out of their way, it was just to stuffy under the awning with Yogo-chan's mouth breathing.

Kasuga Asakuro · **Joined:** Sat Apr 04, 2020 12:13 am **Posts:** 274

Asakuro laughed loudly and for quite a long time after the "finally" line at the end of the story, if only because the plot was all too familiar to him: his own unwitting participation in a game of Turtlephone once upon a time in which a simple request from a Tortoise merchant-patron for a larger-than-normal shipment of seven-taste-pepper passed from Tortoise merchant to artist to smuggler, city to city across the Empire, until at the end of it all three Wako ship captains found themselves and their respective kobunes blown to smithereens at sea by a Tortoise vessel with orders to sail out and not return to Slow Tide until at least "seven ships tasted a watery grave at the hands of the Peppers" or so it went.

From what Asakuro recalled from hearing the result of this amusing tale from a passing Tortoise also spending the night at a less-than-reputable roadside in at the same time as him a few months ago (and also, as it turned out, another unwitting participant in this mistranslation of messages), the original merchant, sailing back on another ship to Slow Tide from a business venture, made contact at sea with the vessel and upon hearing of the other ship's orders offered a helpful correction to what had been relayed, even going to far as to show the other captain the filled-to-the-brim stores of seven-taste-pepper bags, whereupon everyone had a good and hearty laugh at the mistake that had developed over time!

... and then they blew up four more pirate ships on their way home.

Moto Baatar · **Joined:** Wed Apr 01, 2020 11:41 pm **Posts:** 304

Baatar joined in the loud laughter as the message got progressively more and more badly.

"Talking to people is hard!" he said with a chortle (and perhaps with some personal experience). "It's a wonder that it's allowed at all."

The Show Must Go On [Day 3, Early Afternoon, Open]

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