The Plights of Plums

“There she is.” Daikichi used an open palm to gesture to the gangplank of the Shibal. Crewmen worked haphazardly around it’s edges; two large men carting pallets of cargo on board, another tasked with scraping barnacles off of the hull from his perch sitting on a swing.

“My men will try to make this trip easy, but don’t expect it to be pleasant. Sleeping arrangements will be tight. Mine are the only private quarters onboard.” Daikichi turned back to survey the faces of his new passengers, feeding them a dangerous, crooked smile

[I’m starting it out from just before the two week trip to Second City, because I think it was the first time all of our characters spent a significant amount of time together. So I am just assuming that I'm guiding all of your characters to my ship for the first time. Sorry if this is weird, I’m kind of flying by the seat of my pants here, so tell me if I do something stupid.]

(You're doing fine! I'll post next just because. ^_^)

"Madame.. keep your kimono out of the mud.." spoke a worried voice out of the few worried bystanders walking alongside of Isawa Tyuki, Shugenja from the Phoenix Clan. She pursed her lips and then rolled her eyes and hiked up the hem of her kimono so it wasn't draped with mud by the time she made it to the ship. She would be traveling on with her newly befriended band of misfits. Well, they weren't exactly 'friends' but they would have to be something like that. At least for a while.

Tyuki saw the ship come into view, and then glanced to the one named 'Daikichi' and the look of pride on his face as he presented the ship. "Lovely.. cramped spaces.." She muttered this underneath of her breath and moved a hand up and brushed a bit of hair out of her face, tucking it behind of her ear. She was mainly dressed in casual clothes, her kimono choice for the day somewhat relaxed, but her current Yojimbo was quite worried about her appearance; and to be honest, what was to worry about? She had already left her soon-to-be husband from the Dragon Clan back wherever, and hadn't even gave 'dumping' the arranged marriage a second thought. No one was going to tie down Isawa Tyuki; she was born to be great, despite how shy she was from time to time.

Daikichi introduced his ship to the other members of their newly forming marry little gang, much in the same fashion that he had introduced it to Yoichi and himself not too long ago. Being able to maneuver on a ship was part of being a member of the Mantis Clan and this would be nothing new for him or Zoushi, his pet monkey. “Come on, Zou. Our beds are already made for the night. How about you and I go play a little game of Go while the others prepare for the voyage,” Shuzo said to his little friend that sat quietly on his shoulder.

Many members of the crew were far from what was considered normal by a typical family but they all seemed to meld together to form a typical Mantis family. Shuzo pardon himself as he made his way to what could be considered the Crew Courters of this ship. Even among the Mantis Clan, Shuzo was not normal. He was born to the Kitsune family, trained as a Tsuruchi archer, an eye-patch being worn at most times, and all while a monkey sat on his shoulder, quietly chittering away. The young man sat in a traditional style, setting up his board as he did so, “I’ll be a good sport, Zoushi, you can go first.”

Kyo had been pleasantly silent on the trip to the docks, his hands within each sleeve of his kimono as stone clacked against wooden sandals. The small black cap remained on his head, slightly bowed, his eyes and lips just brushed with the lightest hint of amusement and pleasure. Kyo understood from his Sensei long ago that a Neutral On, or Face, was never truly Neutral. Beside him, Kaiu Ruyua adopted her own usual expression; she looked as if she was far too good for whatever situation had been presented. He paid her very little attention and she did the same back, with a slightly hint of frostiness from her camp.

The Kitsuki's attention was drawn to the ship when a new... Well, he supposed they were to call each other Friends simply because Fate assigned them to that. Kyo would have preferred the luxury of his own quarters rather then sharing, which could be very awkward, but he simply smiled and nodded his head in thanks to the seafaring Captain. Rather passively, he simply observed the rest of the troop, pausing to chat lightly with one or two of the party as they boarded. His eyes did linger for a while on an odd eye patched man with a pet, but Kitsuki's mind was busy considering the future to truly take notice.

Eager as he was to leave, Yoichi dreaded setting sail. He felt as though his head were in a vice, his stomach was inside out, and his lungs were boiling. But what else was new? Still, he was sure the sea would do nothing good for him in his typical morning state. The short trek back to the boat had been hell enough for him. Aside from the occasional cough, he remained silent the entire way there.

He didn’t really bother to take a good look at any of the people he would be sharing the ship with until they made their arrival at the docks. Aside from his fellow Mantis, they were all the retainers he specifically hoped he would not have to suffer. With his observations came his immediate judgments. First was the clearly insufferably stalwart and philosophical Dragon investigator. Yoichi was sure Kyo’s inquisitive nature would prove to be a constant annoyance, but at least his wife was nice to look at.

The Phoenix shugenja wasn’t bad to look at either, but there was almost an air of naivety to Tyuki, which was enough for some Samurai, but not Yoichi. He learned early in life that the nice ones were not worth chasing. He found the women with a hint of cruelty in their eyes typically had more of what he was after. He would have to make it a point to get to know the Tyuki’s apparent rival, and possibly the investigator’s wife a little better. They both seemed infinitely more interesting to him.

Then there were the Crane and the monks. How he felt about them was no secret.

Yoichi was used to seeing the type of people that made up his present company. Only he usually saw them in the courts where he felt a great sense of pride every time he was able to ruffle their feathers with his family’s signature style of diplomacy (if you could call it that.) He was sure he would enjoy watching them adapt to the relatively harsh conditions of the ship just as much.

Eventually he would, anyway. Currently, there was a tugging in his stomach that pulled upwards to his throat. A tugging he knew all too well. If he submitted to it then and there, he would lose quite a bit of face with the group. As much as he would have loved to vomit in the Crane’s hair or on the Dragon’s wooden sandals, he decided against it and hurried quickly up the gang plank after Shuzo the curiously one eyed archer, and his monkey. Luckily for him he was always a sickly pale, or what he was doing might have been clear to the others. “Forgive me, but I am eager to set sail.” He gave a quick, short bow to the other retainers, and one to the Captain of the vessel before hurrying off to find a place to vomit unobserved and hopefully grab a drink afterward.

Watching each of the misfits slowly disperse in the direction of the Shibal without even offering a word made Daikichi’s smirk fade. He could break them down from the looks they stole at one another, their trust seemed misplaced if not non-existent. A two week trip like the one ahead of them might have them at each other’s throats. He offered a nod to each as they passed and then moved to check on the preparations.

His first mate, Nobuo waved his hand in dismissal as he approached. Daikichi rolled his eyes and shrugged a little in frustration but didn’t pursue the issue; he knew the older man could handle it. He looked back to the dock to see some of the passengers still filing up the narrow gangplank. Bringing up the end of the line was the sorceress Phoenix-clan woman and her small entourage. Fair in the face, thought Daikichi, but far too pampered. He nodded in observance as one of his men slipped by and up to her.

It was Seiiji, one of the cut-throat brothers, who approached her with a sly grin tugging at the scar on his cheek.

MEANWHILE UP ON DECK

“Excuse me...” A easy-toned voice rang from one side as Yoichi emptied his stomach overboard. This section of the deck must have not been as uninhabited as he thought.

“Are you going to be alright?” The girl leaned cutely to the side to look at Yoichi’s haggard face.

MEANWHILE BELOWDECKS

Barking erupted with a clatter of paws on hard wood next to Shuzo. The shiba-mutt that the crew called Bunko-chan flew into the small common room in reaction to his own pet monkey. The dog and monkey had met one other time under quite similar circumstances.

TYUKI

Seiiji continued plodding up the dock, now close enough to Tyuki to reveal his brackish teeth, capped and ugly on his knife wound of a face. He reached up a lanky arm and brushed aside a lengthy tuft of bangs. He stopped a few feet in front of Tyuki’s entorague, and offered a shallow bow.

“I’ll carry your luggage to the hold.” He said, the stupid grin still turned on.

The look of near panic on Tyuki’s face as the (frankly) scary man approached brought back Daikichi’s crooked smile. He walked over to address her as Seiiji carried off a pair of bags.

“Honestly, if he didn’t garner that kind of reaction from people, I would never have hired him.” Daikichi said jovially as he casually rested an arm on the back of the daisho set strapped into his belt.

Zoushi and Shuzo sat on one side of the board before them and gave his friend on his shoulder a chance to make his first move. Just as the pet was about to screech and point at the board, only one of the ways a monkey could communicate, another animal of another species barreled into the room. Shiba-chan did what she seemed to do best, barked, ran, and scratched into the room, and jumped up onto the Go board, knocking the pieces everywhere. Shuzo simply sighed at the slight inconvenience. It was no big deal really, Shuzo knew that Zoushi needed to play with other animals, but finding all of the scattered pieces would be tedious. Still, he patted the girl on the head and nodded to his own pet.

Shuzo’s monkey leapt from his shoulder and onto the back of the dog, which in turn bolted in the direction from which it came. Picking up the pieces, Shuzo remembered his and Zoushi’s first encounter with Shiba. It had not been very pleasant for anyone on the ship. Zoushi had gotten chased into the kitchens and up one of the cabinets due to Shiba chasing him. As if things had not been worse, the monkey began to throw whatever it could get its paws on: spice jars, bowels, blunt objects, knives, and other less savory things. It did not get better quickly either. The same series of events would happen every so often though out the trip until strangely the two stopped fighting and started sort of playing with each other. Shuzo could not explain it and nor did he really care as long as they were not fighting.

With the pieces in their bag and the board put away, the archer decided that he would try to see if he could find anyone else to talk to. Given his history he was not fond of many people but perhaps his compatriots would not be so bad. Only time would tell.

SHUZO

“Ahh, Bunko!” A lower, female voice called down the narrow passage leading up to the commonroom that Shuzo was proceeding out of.

A dour looking figure nearly crashed into Shuzo trying to get into the room. She pushed away from him and immediately bowed apologetically, her unkempt hair falling down around her head like a mop. She spoke without rising.

“Kitsune-san, forgive me. I was trying to tie up the dog so she couldn’t bother you. It looks like I failed...”

The light of the day rippled across the surface of the bay, water lapping gently against the side of the boat as Kyo found a less-then-chaotic spot of the deck to stand. From his sleeve a long fingered hand moved to the wooden banister and laid idly, his legs (generally as sturdy as a mountain goat, thanks to years climbing rocky terrain) swayed slightly with the gentle bob and ebb of the ship. His wife remained close and yet put distance between them, standing with her back to the same view that the Dragon admired as the rigging of the ship was bought into place and the cargo of the trip was loaded.

Somewhere below deck, animals began loudly berrating each other and the Kitsuki sighed warily, his On losing the twitch of amusement it generally carried for a moment. This was certainly going to be a long trip aboard if there would be no peace. Kyo was a man of inner tranqulity, of honesty. The cramped saltcaked boards would reply with a dull thud with each of his steps and he could barely turn his head 40 degrees without seeing some other human in proximity far too close.

The inspector turned from the horizon and began to watch the others of the boat; he had chatted to some of them idly in the castle, had made easy and polite conversation with them as only a good Courtier should. They would be much closer at the end of the trip, a good community to bring about the foundation of a new Clan of Rokugan.

TYUKI

Dakichi shifted his weight a little, letting his head tip. Without losing his smile, his eyebrow raised almost imperceptibly.

“Captain Yoritomo Daikichi.” He offered in kind. “And if that’s the case, I may have to reconsider Seiiji’s position.” He beamed a little at his joke, despite how flat it may have fell.

“Come,” He placed one sandaled foot on the gangplank to steady it, and then held a hand out offering her the way. “Let me see if I can’t make you comfortable before we launch, shall I?”

Tyuki felt a breeze caress her skin gently, her hair being disturbed and brushed across her forehead. She wrinkled her nose, a few strands having blown by and tickled her nose. She felt a sneeze beg to send her body into a mini orgasm, but she held her breath for a moment flared her nostrils with her head bowing gently. She not only bowed her head to stop herself from making cute faces toward Daikichi, but also to show him a bit of respect. She then looked back up toward him, the sneeze passing and leaving her alone; or so she thought. She sneezed and pulled a silk cloth from a fold in her kimono and gently covered her face, a bit embarrassed by her natural bodily function.

"Shugenja Isawa Tyuki," she said, not really having a title for herself other than what she was mainly good at; being a Shugenja. She gave a short chuckle at his joke, if it was one. She hoped it was, because then her small laughter would be misplaced. "He's scary, but I think I can handle Seiiji. If he stays quiet, it might make him appear more creepy," she said, giving him a tug of her lips; the smallest smile she could muster at this moment. Her eyes fell from his face to his hand and she let her's, clothed in her kimono's sleeve, slip into his while she took the gangplank onto the ship's deck. She had been on boats, but not with this many 'strangers.' "Being comfortable might be hard to come by on the sea, but when she's calm.. my heart worries. The sea should be alive, and full of waves to tell us stories and make our adventures worth remembering," she muttered, barely audible at this point, but she was sure Daikichi could hear her even with the ocean's gently waves rocking the boat, and the loud shouts of the crew bantering back and forth on deck.

TYUKI

Daikichi let out an amused noise, a stifled laugh.

“Well put, and quite poetic.” He walked just behind her as she climbed over to the deck of the ship, watching her carefully. He was not sure what to make of this girl. Each move she made seemed very deliberate, premeditated. Her soft tones, her demure looks, her strategically cut clothing. She even waxed poetic about the sea right in front of him. Was he meant to be attracted to her? Did she, or someone above her want him in their pocket? Surely her wiles were wasted on him. As he finally stepped back on board his beloved Shibal, he decided to be blunt about it.

“Isawa-san, are you married?”

[I think I gave you the incorrect tip earlier when we were on tinychat, Cowboy. The girl you’ve ran into is the one whose body is covered in scars. As a result she covers most of her body, and keeps her hair messy and long to shroud her face. She tries to carry herself like a man. The pretty/deceptively strong girl is the one who’s with Dylan’s character. Seems as though I had gotten myself confused.]

Daikichi smiled his crooked smile down at her as she squeaked out her answer. His eyebrows raised slightly and he nodded. He let the silence speak for him for a few beats before sharply inhaling through his nose, and then stopping a passing deckhand, grabbing him under the arm.

“Find someone who’s free, and have them gather our guests in the parlor. Tell Shin’Ichi that we’ll serve tea before launching.” He let the man rush off to carry out his order and then turned to the banister just off to the side where Kyo stood looking pensive.

“Inspector, have you met Miss Isawa? I’m told she isn’t married, but I’m sure she teems with suitors.”

Kyo's eyes had danced from face to face when he was sure he wasn't being watched by his subjects, carefully picking out their major features. He assigned small monikers to them in the back of his mind to make recalling their faces easier later on. Finally he had settled on watching a seaman and a rather pretty young girl in a kimino converse on the gangplank. An eyebrow lifted slightly and his fingers moved up to curl through his goatee, dragging steadily and grooming in the bright sun of the day. His wife gave him a rather sharp look of detestment as she realised that the Kitsuki had simply slipped into his casual game of reading others.

Kyo turned his attention to her and simply said, with an air of cold mock-politeness. "Why not go below deck, I'm sure you will find something infinitely more interesting where ever I am not." The corner of her mouth twisted in that odd little way it did, like he had something amusing and she hated that she thought of it like that, before she swanned away over the boards of the deck. The dragon watched after, a pensive look storming across his face.

It was interuptted by another. Before the Captain had finished his sentence the Kitsuki had adopted a rather soft smile, bowing deeply before the Shugenja.

"It pains me deeply that we were not acquanted at the Gathering of the Retainers, I spoke for far too long about matters of Poetry and Exploring I suppose. It is infinitely pleasing to meet such a lady on a day like so and I am sure that your..." He paused, smiling wider at Daikichi before pushing on. "Time is often taken by handsome young men. Are you looking forward to the voyage?"

“Failure is a peculiar word, after all it means that negative things came from inaction and Zoushi and the dog are playing. I count that as a good thing. And, if you must count something as failure then consider it that you failed to depress my monkey for a short while longer,” Shuzo told the woman with a slight smile. The archer almost could not even tell that she was in fact a woman with the way she dressed and how she carried herself. “Also, do not feel the need to use honorifics with me. We are on a ship that is more your home then mine.” Shuzo gave the woman a shallow bow, not too deeply since he did not wish to leave any intentional disgrace, and continued, “Thank you for taking care of me and my pet.”

Shuzo rose, unsure as to how the woman would react to his response. There was every chance that she would find his introduction shameful but there was no way to truly know. On top of everything else the young man was still quite ignorant in the ways of the world and he had never been exactly good with the people of the world.

TYUKI & KYO

Daikichi made another amused noise as Kyo spoke. Neither young nor handsome he was about to say in reply, but allowed Tyuki the time to respond to his questions instead of speaking himself.

“You seem to think highly of the water, Isawa-san.” As he spoke he used an arm to silently invite the pair to stroll with him to the parlor.


SHUZO

Masaa only raised from her deep bow the moment that Shuzo did, she did not meet his gaze though. Her shrouded eyes darted as if she could not find a suitable place to let them rest.

“Such a relaxed atmosphere wouldn’t be suitable for entertaining those of your statue. We on the crew are still common folk after all. I’m sure Buch-” She cut herself off, gasping slightly as if she had uttered the wrong word, but quickly composed herself once more. “Yoritomo-sama would find it unacceptable.”

[I thought I should add a note about this, because I’m not sure who does and doesn’t know: She was about to call Daikichi “Bucho” which translates over to “Boss” from Japanese. It’s typically more of a playful term of endearment then an actual title, so it’d probably only be used by the crewmen who Daikichi trusts the most. And yeah, that’s all stuff that you’re characters would probably recognise.]

Kyo smiled, perhaps knowingly, as Daikichi made an amused sound at his words. Then his eyes, bright and nearly eerie in how focused they could become, rested on the blushing Shugenja. From a quick closer inspection he imagined her to be quite young and inexperienced, however that was always a bad thnig. She had a lot to learn on this trip most likely and it would be important for all involved to shape her future into something bright for the Ivory Kingdoms and Rokugan itself. He nodded along, agreeing easily with her points on conversation and even with her admiration of the water. When Daikichi held out, indicating they move from the deck into the belly of the ship, Kyo stepped forward easily. He waited for Tyuki to begin moving, letting her set the pace however, while easily slipping into conversation. "Oh, but a Shugenja should think highly of all the elements of the world, I suppose. Otherwise they become like an artisan's tools in their eyes."

As they came down the steps toward the parlor doors, Daikichi spotted Shuzo and Masaa standing nearby, and heard the dog and monkey’s commotion. He tried not to show his displeasure at the animals wrestling through his freshly clean parlor. He let Kyo and Tyuki chat while he pulled Masaa away from Shuzo, the usually stoic woman seemed a little shaken as he approached.

“Get the dog out.” He said, a little hushed.

“I was trying, but-” Her already low voice was nearly imperceptible when she whispered. Her eyes darted toward Shuzo for a beat.

“Don’t worry about it.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “Don’t panic. Come back after and take tea with us.” He straightened up and let her go into the parlor to retrieve the dog, the woman still looking rather retreated.

“We’ll go inside in a moment.” He tried to be curteous to Kyo, Tyuki, and now also Shuzo.

Kyo smiled pleasantly and followed the pace Tyuki set. He was of course trying to be as respectful as possible to the young Shugenja as she began to speak of home; he was reminded of the sprawling mountains and valleys and hill sides of his home. The way the wind brushed through the thick long grass and how rice fields were cut into flat stair like steps up the sides of the twisting serpantine like landscape. And of course, the ever reaching sky above his head. On clear days it was a brilliant blue with a dark blue, nearly night like spot capping the expanse of the heavens. He chuckled when she suddenly realised about the introductions, making Kyo bow once more before replying in kind, to both her and the Captain of the ship. "My name is Kitsuki Kyo and I will be the Imperial Cartographer for this trip, of the Dragon Clan."

Kyo allowed the Captain and Shugenja to walk down the stairs first, following after them steadily with a pleasant hum. He politely ignored the crew member and the brief conversation they had, instead focusing on Shuzo with bright eyes and a smile. There was a slight nod of his head as he slipped his hands back into his sleeves.