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Post by Utaku Hisui on Feb 1, 2018 3:28:50 GMT -5
"My father had a lot of friends among the Mantis, and he picked up their tastes. You'd need a lot of milk to drown out the spiciness of his version of this recipe," she says, smiling at the memory. Sure, her father tended to forget she existed and completely ignored her gempukku, but he was still her father.
"Well, years ago, I made a habit of singing by the like. Most of the time I'd be alone, but sometimes people would join me." She pauses, recalls the names, the identities. "All of them sensei, actually. Anyway, I started to think of the lakeside as my favorite audience. Not anymore."
At the mention of Mako leaving, Hisui turns melancholic. She dabs at some of the mutton dumplings, but doesn't quite pick them up. "She...she probably flew. She knows I prefer traveling by train. If she was avoiding me, that's what I guess she'd do." She shakes herself out of it, taking a bite of food. "But the rest of the day sounds fine! If we'd gone just a little later, we could have caught the peach blossom festival."
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Post by Doji Fuyuko on Feb 1, 2018 3:45:16 GMT -5
"Ah, I was only fed traditional crane meals as a child. My parents thought they could use culture to tame me." she says a bit sadly.
"Oh! Well then, we shall go to the lake and sing then, we can't disappoint your audience."
When her girl turns melancholic she reaches forward to touch her arm. "She needs time. That's all. Give her the time and she will be your freind again. I know it. There is too much love in that girl for her to be unable to forgive. But the rest was fine. And when I got here Mitsu-san wanted me to train him to surpass his father."
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Post by Utaku Hisui on Feb 1, 2018 4:04:39 GMT -5
"Did you need to be tamed?" Hisui asks, leaning closer out of curiosity. "And any audience that has you is an audience I don't want to disappoint. But the lake at night can be a wonderful view, even with that yacht there."
She nods at Fuyuko's words. The Crane's certainty was a comfort. "I hope she forgives me. For everything."
"Mitsu-san? Ichiro Mitsu-sensei had a son?" The Unicorn looks surprised. "A child of a Thunder struggling to get out of the parental shadow. I wonder if that's a problem for Aiko-chan's daughter."
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Post by Doji Fuyuko on Feb 1, 2018 11:52:24 GMT -5
Fuyu sighs. "In a sense. I was a bloodthirsty child. I picked up the sword though my parents wish I had picked up the fan. They disdained Bushi. They wanted to civilize me. In their eyes I am sure they failed." she says before she nods. "The yacht makes me sad, I miss seeing the goblin there. Sorry." she adds, hoping that comment didn't hurt her. After all, she still had regrets about how it ended with Kuneho even if she has no regrets about where she is now.
"I hope so too. I think she will. Just give it time."
And then the comment. "He did indeed. All intensity and fire that one. He came to me because I am the only living person he knows to have beaten his father in combat. I don't know how much I can help him though. But yes I think so. She was in my class but came in late."
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Post by Utaku Hisui on Feb 1, 2018 15:01:09 GMT -5
More food. More meat. It keeps her anger from showing through as she hears the story about being "civilized." She wishes she could say nothing and simply leave it in the past, but couldn't.
"If you ever feel as if I am trying to do the same to you…do what is right for you, Fuyu-chan."
The comment about the Goblin is met with a nod and a nostalgic smile. Hisui knows the Crane is happy now – happy with her – but the past can be persistent. She knows this better than most, thanks to earlier events. She adds only a hand, reaching out to be held.
"The quest to step away from a parent's shadow is difficult enough on its own. And a Thunder casts a darker, deeper shadow than most," she says, musing on the cases of the children of the Thunders. "And with Kaizen-san and Sakura-san, the shadows go deeper still. Let us hope they aren't consumed by them."
"It's why my children aren't with me here. We agreed that for me to find happiness and for them to find their own path, we had to take time away from each other. To make their mother's shadow a little less deep."
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Post by Doji Fuyuko on Feb 1, 2018 17:32:29 GMT -5
Fuyuko shakes her head. "You would never be like my parents. Aunt Masako helped me to realize that they were without honor. Perhaps in death I helped them move to somewhere where they could learn some. But they also made me who I am, good and bad."
"We can't all kill our parents and find a new life, I know their shadows are deep but I am hoping to show them other paths to glory that don't lead through that darkness. And still, your children seem happy. They don't seem distant."
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Post by Utaku Hisui on Feb 1, 2018 17:40:18 GMT -5
She listens. The reassurance, the gratitude to the Aunt. The shadow of a parent could be so difficult to climb out of. She lets her mind think on how she might help Aiko realize this, and then something else is dropped. Hisui wonders if her own parental issues, as well as Fuyuko's, might make them more conscious of that sort of thing.
It strikes her like a flash of lightning. We can't all kill our parents.
And suddenly, she's seeing a whole new side to the Dark Doji. And the Battle Maiden isn't sure if she should be scared.
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Post by Doji Fuyuko on Feb 1, 2018 17:48:11 GMT -5
Fuyu cocks her head a moment, hand outstretching. "Are you...well, are you troubled?" she says some of that vulnerability hitting again, she knows that face. Knows the face that comes after it, one of fear or revulsion.
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Post by Utaku Hisui on Feb 1, 2018 18:16:38 GMT -5
Hisui sees the hand. Considers, for a moment, rejecting it. But she pauses in that thought. Remembers. She does not know if her taking that offered hand is a surprise for Fuyuko, and she does not care. What matters is that her hand is there, to hold tight. She knows what comes next may be difficult.
"I...I won't lie to you. What you've said is troubling. But...the Doji Fuyuko I see now matters more than the shadow of what she used to be. Please, believe that." A squeeze. She takes a sip of the tea, calming herself just a little. Taking the edge off. "If you want to, you can choose not to tell me. But...I think, for my own peace of mind, to better understand you, I need to know."
"What did they do that drove you to kill them?"
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Post by Doji Fuyuko on Feb 1, 2018 18:40:20 GMT -5
Fuyu squeezes the hand showing more discomfort over her loves discomfort then guilt over the deed. "At it's heart? I was ordered too. Deeper then that well. My parents raised me as a weapon once they knew they would not have a courtier. Any servant who would speak to me was executed. I was not allowed to have friends. When I was old enough they would enter me in Iaido tourney's and they would tell me. Hurt this boy. Blind this one. And I was obedient. Like they trained me to be."
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