[D12, LA, Open] The Betting Hall, D2

[Agasha Yuna]

"A rare treasure indeed. Worth far more than 10 koku."

"But, speaking of marriage, congratulations, Kuni-san! I heard the detail at court. A moshi. Moshi-ke no kashin Murakami Atsui, yes? Have you had a chance to meet him yet? Or hear a bit of detail about him?"

"And you, Doji-san? Are you already married? Or anticipating a match here at the court?"

[Kasuga Izumi]

"Oh, a Moshi man?" Izumi puts in. "He'll be housebroken, at least!"

[Doji Hikaru]

"Limits are hard to learn Kasuga-sama, painful things to learn." Hikaru pockets the coins "Yet ultimately necessary. You do not grow unless you know where those limits are. It is one the Crane has spent a generation learning"

[Kasuga Izumi]

"Yeah," Izumi agrees. "Seems things're moving better for you on that front."

She looks at the boards.

"Looks like the contest is nearly wrapped up. Good job on advancing."

She grins.

"Wanna bet on whether you make the final?"

[Kuni Shiori]

Yuna nodded. She'd probably learned all she could from the Tortoise and there were others to greet.

"Hello, Doji-san. I'm Agasha Yuna. You've done a terrific job in the archery so far." A bow.

And she also gave a friendly wave to Kuni-san, encouraging her to join the conversation. "Kuni-san, are you favoring one of the archers? Perhaps the impressive Hiruma Daichi-san?" A fellow Crab.

"I've placed my bet on Shiba-san."

Shiori perked up when she was addressed and moved to join the conversation circle, providing a deep bow to those gathering. "This one is Kuni-ke no kashin Kuroyama Shiori, pleased to make your acquaintance."

"I haven't put any money on anyone here but Hiruma-sma is doing rather well, it appears. I just hope to give my support to the finalist and potentially pick up some pointers on my stance in the future. There's no telling when I'll be using the skill again...perhaps at a carnival or festival in the future?" She smirked at that.

She would bow at the congratulations. "Thank you for the well-wishes and that is correct. I don't think I have, actually but I am told that he is a bushi from his Clan. He's at least used to working alongside shugenja," she said, offering a momentary smile at Izumi. Seemed like a bold comment but she supposed some figment of truth there.

[Kasuga Izumi]

"And listening to the women in his life," Izumi replies, nodding. "Like I said: housebroken."

[Agasha Sanjuro]

Sanjuro wanders into the betting hall not too early. He requests to make a 1 koku wager on Hiruma Daichi to advance to the next round. He slides the koku to Izumi and listens to the banter of the other patrons and guests.

[Kasuga Izumi]

"And what about you, Agasha-san?" Izumi asks the newcomer. "Any marital bliss to report?"

[Kuni Shiori]

"And listening to the women in his life," Izumi replies, nodding. "Like I said: housebroken."

Shiori nodded soundly on that note and took in the comment with some consideration before answering honestly. "Well, I suppose with a major change of his surroundings to a family like the Kuni, that may come off more than an advantage than not. It would make his adjustment easier, at the very least. Still, I think there's a bit of the Moshi I still need to learn for my future marriage."

[Agasha Yuna]

Sanjuro wanders into the betting hall not too early. He requests to make a 1 koku wager on Hiruma Daichi to advance to the next round. He slides the koku to Izumi and listens to the banter of the other patrons and guests.

Yuna bows to Agasha-san. "Agasha-san, it's good to see you. Have you met Izumi-sama, Doji-san, and Kuni-san?" She encourages him to join the conversation and provides any needed introductions.

"And what about you, Agasha-san?" Izumi asks the newcomer. "Any marital bliss to report?"

Yuna smiled. "I cannot yet speak to marital bliss, but being engaged has been a great happiness. I very much enjoy our conversations and letters. And the better I get to know him, I continue to find him the best man in Rokugan, and myself the most fortunate of women."

Still, I think there's a bit of the Moshi I still need to learn for my future marriage."

"I am not terribly familiar with the Moshi, but probably he would be glad for you to ask him about his faith and how best to support it in Kuni lands. My conversations about faith with Shiba-san have been very sweet. He gladly talks to me about the Tao, has been studying it, and made gift of calligraphy of it to me, and plans to build a Shinseist shrine on Sandpiper Island. And I've been spending more time in prayer to the Fortunes and finding that meaningful, too. The sun shines on every land, so that is not a worry for your Moshi, but perhaps arranging a shrine to Amaterasu would make him happy."

[Kasuga Izumi]

Izumi looks at Yuna, and her eyes widen for just a moment.

She returns her attentions to Shiori. "She's not wrong, admittedly," the Kasuga says. "The mirror you'd need to use will help him keep himself pretty, too."

She smiles, showing teeth.

[Kuni Shiori]

Shiori would herself bouncing between the sentiments from Yuna and Izumi in regards to her future husband. She perhaps found herself more in the middle than anything. "Setting up a shrine to Amaterasu would be a novel idea, Agasha-sama. Shrines aren't exactly plentiful in my House but perhaps that could be an opportunity to explore devotion to Lady Sun."

The Kuni weren't exactly known to be pious or have veneration for even the kami they commanded. "We can consider honouring Lady Sun more, although I'm not so sure if my House will be so easily converted," she said with an apologetic smile on the matter. "But yes, I'm sure he'll appreciate the gesture. Thank you for the suggestion."

"Of course, I'm sure that having such an attentive samurai like Shiba-san in the court consistently has done wonders in helping you bridge those next steps in the future. That sounds very much like a romance that has the full blessings of Benten-no-kami." It was indeed as proper of a romance as one could wish for, even if marriage was all but guaranteed at this point.

[Kasuga Izumi]

"There are quite a few handsome faces at Court this year, yes," Izumi says. "Doji-san and Agasha Sanjuro, here, among them."

She grins.

[Agasha Yuna]

"Agasha Sanjuro-san does represent us well," she agreed with a grin.

"But I must report that he is already married."

[Kasuga Izumi]

Izumi glances at Yuna.

She shrugs.

"So am I," she says. "Doesn't mean I don't appreciate a good view."

[Agasha Yuna]

Yuna nodded. "True. True. 'Appreciation of beauty is the beginning of wisdom.'

[Kuni Shiori]

"Daidoji Ryu-san too, I'd like to believe," she offered politely with a nod. "I'm kind of surprised that Doji Shinnosuke-san isn't flocked by an obvious following after his efforts in the play. Yes, there were many people involved too but it was entirely his production. He should deserve a bit more recognition for being the mastermind."

[Kasuga Izumi]

"Don't you know, Kaiu-san," Izumi says, leaning in with a smile, "that the Imperial Nakodo has taken an interest in him? Why, they've been seen to dine together repeatedly this season, and he seems to be able to keep up with her, ahem, thirst."

[Agasha Yuna]

She nodded.

"For sure. They are both quite handsome."

"And the Noh play really was one of my favorite events of the season. But perhaps his admirers are simply discreet and we do not know how many are pursuing him, or recognizing his talents in other ways. Beyond sharing sake and sadane together."

"This winter court is a wonderful opportunity to find an imperial patron for an artisan or performer. Perhaps he is even now being recruited to a troupe that performs exclusively in Otosan Uchi."

[Kuni Shiori]

Shiori raised her brows at that bit of gossip, placing her hands together. "...I see. Perhaps I'm a bit behind on rumours to have connected the dots on that. Maybe his admirers are discreet, often it is best to be when wooing a Crane, I imagine. At the same time, it also wouldn't surprise me if the interest is so exclusive enough that others are keeping away."

The age difference is enough that Shiori couldn't quite picture it, but strange things have happened.

"I'm sure that's enough of a sign that he's been earmarked for an arrangement in the future...or busy enough that he will be performing at a greater venue, as Agasha-sama suggested. I do hope that Yasuki Masaki catches just as much interest, in that regard. She also did much to plan our event a few nights ago."