|
|
Post by Akodo Ichiro on Mar 15, 2018 23:23:55 GMT -5
Ichiro took the lull in the conversation as a chance to show Hisui the gift he had bought Uetani.
"Since I hear fuyuko-sensei was adopting Uetani I had something made for her. He pulled out a small box and opened it holding it towards the unicorn. Inside was a necklace with a silver crane artfully crafted holding a beautiful sapphire in its mouth all together it was a doji mon. "I hope she would like it since she is becoming a doji."
|
|
|
|
Post by Utaku Hisui on Mar 16, 2018 0:21:01 GMT -5
She looks at the gift. The silver crane, the blue sapphire, the Doji mon. A very intricate design, and one that clearly took quite a bit of work. Someone very skilled labored a long time to make that necklace, and Hisui couldn't help but admire the craftsmanship. She remembered the necklace she got for Fuyuko mere days ago, with its simplicity.
"It's lovely," she says, factual. "If I was a Doji, I'd be flattered. However, I can't honestly tell you how Uetani-san will react. I don't know her well enough to say if she'd have preferred something simpler. But, as I said, this is a lovely necklace. She'll appreciate it for its beauty alone, I would think. Not to mention the thought behind it."
|
|
|
|
Post by Akodo Ichiro on Mar 16, 2018 0:33:44 GMT -5
"Yeah the guy was good but may have gone a bit overboard, I hope she likes it. The thing cost most of my allowance for the next few weeks. I'll be eating school food and ramen for a while." He smiles happily though "but it'll all be worth it for one smile from that girl."
|
|
|
|
Post by Utaku Hisui on Mar 16, 2018 0:36:27 GMT -5
"Believe me when I say I know exactly how you feel," she says as she returns the jewelry. "It's the little things, not the grand gestures, that make it all worth it."
|
|
|
|
Post by Akodo Ichiro on Mar 16, 2018 0:41:06 GMT -5
Ichiro nods as the box finds its home back in his pocket. He relaxes again in the chair
"so battlefield bushi to choir teacher huh? there is a story there to be sure."
|
|
|
|
Post by Utaku Hisui on Mar 16, 2018 0:53:45 GMT -5
"Ah. That story."
She takes a moment to steel herself. He didn't need to know about the people she lost or how much pain that caused her. How the event haunted her still, and affected her mental ability to return to combat duty. She didn't know the boy, so she decides it was better to edit most of the details. Just the most basic form of the story, something that anyone who looked up her service record could know.
"It was a rescue mission. We were getting a group of Crane samurai trapped behind enemy lines out of an urban warzone," she says, sounding as neutral as she could manage. "During the trek to the extraction point, we decided the jungle route offered the least chance of being spotted, as one of the courtiers had valuable intelligence on enemy movements."
"We knew the risk of ambush was high, of course. But you know what they say about straight lines and shortest routes. As we approached the halfway mark, we were ambushed." She looks at the bouquet, at the flowers symbolic of death. She recovered herself before she spoke again. "We were pinned down, outnumbered. So I took it on myself to break the enemy lines. I cut them down, until one of them blew me up."
"One moment I have a katana in the chest of their CO, the next I'm looking at one of my ribs blasted out of my side. The next thing I knew, I woke up in a hospital and being told the Crane we rescued had paid for everything. But I wasn't going to recover in time to get back to the front, even with magical help."
|
|
|
|
Post by Akodo Ichiro on Mar 16, 2018 1:05:50 GMT -5
Ichiro winced a bit she was putting on a brave face but he knew enough veterans growing up that a story like that leaves scars and not just physical ones.
"I am sorry to bring it up, I should have thought more carefully. I am glad you made a recovery though it sounds as if you were rather lucky." he had been on missions before after his gempuku but nothing during war time but he had seen men die and knew the type of injury she described and knew it took most that suffered it.
"But this is not a night for sad stories, there will be plenty of time for those. Tell me of you and Doji Fuyuko-sensei, how you met and such." he attempted to turn the conversation to something more happy.
|
|
|
|
Post by Utaku Hisui on Mar 16, 2018 1:10:15 GMT -5
She smiles, thankful for the change on topic.
"There's two stories to that. Uetani-san actually asked me that when we first met, too. One takes place years ago, and the other you actually interrupted. Which would you prefer to hear?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Akodo Ichiro on Mar 16, 2018 1:13:57 GMT -5
Ichiro gave the woman a grin "Well any story with me in it is one I am at least curious about."
|
|
|
|
Post by Utaku Hisui on Mar 16, 2018 1:18:28 GMT -5
She laughs. "That one, then."
"It was late, as you know. I just came from a small gathering of sensei in the Teacher's Quarters. One of them suggested taking a dip in the baths, so I decided why not? And I sat down, saw a small group of students gathered around Mirumoto Aiko-sensei. I figured I'd take a spot not far away, in case my old friend decided to invite me to join."
"As it was, she was distracted. But then another old name from my teenage years saw me. Fuyuko-sensei. We talked a little. She asked if I wanted to have tea with her to catch up. I agreed. We would have talked more, but then she saw you walk in." She smirks. "You can probably guess the rest of the story from there."
|
|
