[D13, LA, Open] The Betting Hall, D3

[Gusai Rioshida]

"Yeah, we do," Rioshida spits. "And they speak foreign when they do it!"

[Kasuga Izumi]

"Spoken like one who knows such words," Izumi says.

"But I'll take my winnings now, and bid you a good day. May you have many of them, as many as you deserve."

She turns her back to him.

[Gusai Rioshida]

The temptation to bury his fist right between her shoulder blades is barely swallowed. Rioshida stalks out of the room and down the street.

/exit.

[Kasuga Izumi]

Izumi scoops up her winnings, the coins vanishing with surprising ease--though she leaves two koku for the bookie.

She returns to Shiori. "My apologies, Kuni-san," she says, all smiles. "You were saying?"

tag

[Kuni Shiori]

"I didn't say I wished it on anyone, Kuni-san," Izumi replies. "I simply note that such things can and do happen. Hiruma-san might yet advance."

Shiori nodded twice at that and kept quiet. It didn't seem optimistic. At least, on first impression. There were many technicalities that were thrown around and it seemed like the Doji didn't make it after all. Was there a glitch in reality or did she end up in another realm much like her old one?

Her gaze went to the departing Gusai before bowing when Izumi returned from her conversation. "...It seems that Hiruma-san has made it after all. I was pretty quick in my estimation without knowing the rules it seemed, you were right. Does that put me closer to winning the bet or were the terms more about the finals, Kasuga-sama?"

[Kasuga Izumi]

"You had wagered he would advance to them, had you not?" Izumi asks. "Then the bet is won."

She smiles, adding "Unlike some, I can lose a wager with grace."

[Kuni Shiori]

Shiori would return the smile in turn, she hadn't expected to win so handily but that might have been the doing of the Fortunes and some luck on her side. That said, she hadn't had much dealings with the Kasuga and, admittedly, there was a non-zero possibility in her mind that she could have reneged on her bet.

"Oh, in the case, it was a good wager. Thank you for the opportunity, Kasuga-sama," she said before bowing in acknowledgment of her opponent. This was sort of a duel? She wasn't sure about the custom.

"I can't say have anything in mind for the immediate future, even in the next few days of court. If Kasuga-sama is fine with waiting, I might have a better idea later. Of course, unless Kasuga-sama is interested in doubling the stakes here?" She offered curiously.

[Agasha Sanjuro]

Agasha Sanjuro enters to collect his koku for Daichi advancing to the next round. He greets everyone assembled there. He smiles at Shiori and Rioshida.
He raises a cup to the health and healing of the fallen contestant.
He places one koku on Diachi to win, and says, "May the Fortunes bless you all," as he departs.

[Kasuga Izumi]

Agasha Sanjuro enters to collect his koku for Daichi advancing to the next round. He greets everyone assembled there. He smiles at Shiori and Rioshida.
He raises a cup to the health and healing of the fallen contestant.
He places one koku on Diachi to win, and says, "May the Fortunes bless you all," as he departs.

Payment is made without question, and the new bet recorded, Izumi matching it from her own stores.

Shiori would return the smile in turn, she hadn't expected to win so handily but that might have been the doing of the Fortunes and some luck on her side. That said, she hadn't had much dealings with the Kasuga and, admittedly, there was a non-zero possibility in her mind that she could have reneged on her bet.

"Oh, in the case, it was a good wager. Thank you for the opportunity, Kasuga-sama," she said before bowing in acknowledgment of her opponent. This was sort of a duel? She wasn't sure about the custom.

"I can't say have anything in mind for the immediate future, even in the next few days of court. If Kasuga-sama is fine with waiting, I might have a better idea later. Of course, unless Kasuga-sama is interested in doubling the stakes here?" She offered curiously.

"Oh? Double stakes, Kuni-san?" Izumi asks. She nods and matches the bet.

"I applaud your belief in your Clan-mate," she adds.

[Kuni Shiori]

"Oh? Double stakes, Kuni-san?" Izumi asks. She nods and matches the bet.

"I applaud your belief in your Clan-mate," she adds.

"While it's true that I have great confidence in Hiruma-sama to persevere in his skills, I have to admit that my reasoning is more in the spirit of the bet. I won this round, but it seemed more appropriate to see this bet to its conclusion at the point where it matters the most, the climax. It feels all too easy to just take wins and end it here, Kasuga-sama," she said with a smirk on the matter. "Let's at least make a story out of it."

[Kasuga Izumi]

"While it's true that I have great confidence in Hiruma-sama to persevere in his skills, I have to admit that my reasoning is more in the spirit of the bet. I won this round, but it seemed more appropriate to see this bet to its conclusion at the point where it matters the most, the climax. It feels all too easy to just take wins and end it here, Kasuga-sama," she said with a smirk on the matter. "Let's at least make a story out of it."

Izumi smiles.

"Fair enough," she says. "We can make a story out of it, indeed. But I hope yours and your Clan-mate's will be happy ones; you do know what happens to second place in the Wager, don't you?"

[Kuni Shiori]

There was an elongated pause as she slowly scanned the room. There was sure a great lack of people around in the betting hall when she recalled there were more than a few. Unfortunately, that meant there were fewer people around to give her the answers to the question.

After a moment of silence, she gave a slow shake of her head. "...I can't say I'm entirely sure, Kasuga-sama. This is new to me..."

[Kasuga Izumi]

Izumi nods.

"Nothing wrong with being new, Kuni-san," she says. "We all are, sometime.

"What happens is that the victor presents the loser with the Cup of Defeat, which that person is expected to drain. And then misfortune follows them for a year, until the next person drinks from the Cup."

She shakes her head.

"Last year's cup...the ronin the Centipede sponsored did not even make it off of the contest grounds before his began to overtake him."

[Kuni Shiori]

"Oh," she nodded with realization. "Here I thought something like the cup of defeat was more metaphorical than anything."

They were probably too young of a civilization for customs to become metaphorical or merely symbolic admittedly. Everything was literally and more than just performative.

"It does seem almost like a bet within a bet. Where the loser can only bet on themselves with rather high stakes. This sounds more like a curse than anything. Are they doomed to find themselves with a cycle of gambling until they find another brash soul to pass this lesson to?" She posed curiously, looking at Izumi. "Do you currently possess the cup of defeat, then?"

[Kasuga Izumi]

"Oh, no, Kuni-san!" Izumi says, laughing. "I've never competed in the Bowman's Wager itself. Archery's not my skill-set. I just wager on the Wager--and other events, of course."

She smiles.

"The sumai tournament was quite a good time for me."

[Kuni Shiori]

Shiori couldn't help but form a blush at her misunderstanding. Thankfully, the tradition of Kuni face paint did a good job of hiding that. "My apologies, I misunderstood, Kasuga-sama. For a moment I had thought you mean in terms of our bet rather than the actual competitors of the Wager itself. It should have been obvious with the betting hall," she said before offering a glance around the betting hall, in case there was indeed a sign that she had missed earlier on what happened to the losers of the final round. "I take it that Kasuga-sama raked in a large amount of winnings in sumai?"

"So, it's a sort of after-ceremony that is performed with the last two archers then?" She said with a glance towards the direction of where the archery took place earlier. "It would make sense that they took part in some sort of wager while they were busy competing every day."

[Kasuga Izumi]

Izumi nods.

"It was, initially, an informal thing," she says, "bushi amusing themselves relatively harmlessly while the negotiations that mark Court went on. But one of the hosting lords--I forget whom--took a fancy to it and started improving upon it, and then the Throne got wind of it and, well."

She shrugs.

"It became what it has been."

[Kuni Shiori]

She inclined her head, slowly processing this. "Improving on it...I can't fault the wisdom of the Throne as that was their ultimate decision. It is just a bit amusing that something went from an amusing gesture to something quite serious. Maybe it relates to the prestige it's gained when the custom finds itself touched by divine mandate? Do you think it's a sign that the Heavens might disapprove of coming in second? Or is this the contents of the cup?"

[Kasuga Izumi]

"Who knows?"

Izumi shrugs eloquently.

"As far as any of us see, it's simple water that's poured into the Cup. So where the misfortunes arise is anyone's guess. I'm given to understand several shugenja have looked into the matter, but none have been able to arrive at any definite conclusion."

[Kuni Shiori]

"So, I see..." she said with a tinge of disappointment, as she had considered seeing to this herself but it seemed she wasn't even the tenth one who thought of it. "Thank you for informing me, Kasuga-sama but still, I find myself a bit curious and among that number. There's always the possibility that it might be more mundane than it appears and any sort of curse is merely self-fulfilling. We tend to have very specific memories at times and that can made even more obvious under the guise of suggestion."