[D8, MM] A stroll and a game (expecting)

[Agasha Yuna]

She smiled. "It makes me happy to think my children - our children! - will be loved. They won't have to be anything in particular to earn it. They can grow into the people Heaven shaped them for, and every breath they take they'll know they are loved and wanted."

He could be that kind of father. She could see it. He had warmth and affection in his heart. He was thoughtful. Attentive. Not afraid to show that he cared.

He was going to be a great father!

She took a deep happy breath.

"The Miyas may be rather busy to visit us, though I will invite them to the wedding. But I'll take no slight if they cannot come. I feel sure Kaiya-sama will at least help me pick what to wear! She is a fashionista. Uncle Toma will come."

"Oh! How are things going for your siblings? Will they both still be there? Have you arranged marriages for them?"

[Shiba Ryusei]

"Anyone you want to invite. Shiba-ue will be invited, but, much like the Miyas, will likely be otherwise occupied. We'll be sure your uncle has a good view of the sea..."

One of the nicer rooms in the southern wing.

"Saburo will be getting married into the Shosuro- managed that during a nice chat with Soshi Eiji-sama. Oh, we should invite Soshi-sama.... he's a good fellow, and thinks well of you, so. But Saburo will probably be on hand. And Mai, well."

He chuckled.

"No betrothal yet, but I doubt I could keep her away with an army at my back, wherever she is at the time. Not that I'd try. She always wanted a sister, growing up."

[Agasha Yuna]

"I think we can invite Isawa-ke no kashin Miwa Akihiro, the shugenja who will be studying with the Ageki family and potentially a bride to my brother. It will be a first chance for them to meet, and she could travel back to Dragon lands with my family."

"Oh, I hope Soshi-san could come! He has been a good friend here. And his stories are wonderful. He'd keep a whole room entertained and smiling. I wonder if he is distant kin to your mother. She was an Ikoma too, right?"

"I can't wait to meet Saburo and Mai. Hmm... I should have gifts for them, too. Maybe some fine paint supplies? Unique colors?"

She had by now acquired the kimono silk she wanted. Enough for several dresses. Her final find was a beautiful orange silk with soft white embroidered flowers blooming on a tree.
https://ibb.co/rZdRdfz

"Shall we find a place to get a bite to eat, and a table where we could play Go?"

[Shiba Ryusei]

"I think at best Soshi-sama and mother are distant cousins, but... I could look into it. His being a friend to both of us is reason enough to invite him."

At the idea of gifts for his siblings, Ryusei thought about it for a second.

"Mai-chan would certainly like some unique paint shades.... Saburo-kun... okay, fair warning, he's likely to be very shy. But he likes poetry, and he's a better student of the Tao than I am. Just be prepared for him to sort of try to melt into the floor if a woman as lovely as you gives him anything related to either one..."

Ah, food and a game of Go...

"Should we look for something exotic, or something in the vein of a standard breakfast? I think something simple and not too filling might be best before court. And let us focus on the game- if we had a meal like the ones you host at the Dragon house, I might well lose track of whose turn it was!"

[Agasha Yuna]

"Oh, I am glad to hear Saburo loves the Tao. Yes, I can think of something for that. And he could open it privately."

"Mmmm a simple breakfast - even just a bowl of rice and a couple pickles - is fine. I plan to focus on the game! And I can't wait to show you my Go set. It's a very pretty set."

"I have been imagining playing Go with you since your first letter."

[Shiba Ryusei]

"Same here."

He grinned.

"I got that letter, and I thought, 'this Dragon seems like a very nice person, keen interests, could be a good friend.' All I was wrong about was the intensity!"

Our whole future, set in motion by her first letter.

Were you watching, Benten, Fukurokujin, all of you?

His own travel Go set wasn't a pretty one, exactly, but it had a fun refinement they could talk about later.

[Agasha Yuna]

She smiled.

"The best letter I ever sent. Except the one I'm sending you this afternoon," she teased. "And the one I'm going to send tomorrow. And the one you will find on your pillow a year from now."

A slight flush. Imagining.

"Ah, ummm, I'll sit down and set up the Go board."

His cue to secure the rice while she composed herself.

[Shiba Ryusei]

Ryusei... needed a moment after that.

Fortunes, may I always be able to make her smile.

May she always know how beautiful she is, and how happy she makes me.

He found his way to the proprietor and looked the man dead in the eyes, trying not to be phased by the fellow's clear fond amusement.

"Rice and miso. Er. Two. For two. Yes. Uhm...."

I spoke before the Throne. I represent the Phoenix in court. This should be easy.

"And tea, samurai-sama?"

"Uhm. Yes, uh. Tea."

[Agasha Yuna]

Back at the table, Yuna opened up the pouch that she had been carrying her Go set in, and set it out, on the side of the table. Breathe. Breathe.

They could eat first.

But it made such a pretty decoration for the table!

https://ibb.co/CPWsZQw

And a good distraction. Breathe. Breathe.

Kitsune-sama had promised her some useful tips. The sort a girl who had a mother who spoke to her probably wouldn't need. But here she was.

Excited to be a good wife. Determined, as with all things in her life, to succeed by gathering information. Research! Memory! Knowledge! Prayer! So armed, she could not fail.

Breathe. Breathe.

[Shiba Ryusei]

Ryusei picked up on some of her nerves, of course, since he was very much paying attention to Yuna- My Yuna- as he returned with the food.

He had a seat and smiled. The Go set was beautiful- the gold and the dark wood forming a stunning contrast.

"You know... I'm put in mind of something an old bushi at Shiro Shiba told me once. It was when I was just starting at the dojo, and I was getting a feel for the place. First day, you know? I didn't know anyone, and I'm stumbling over introducing myself to this guy- he turned out to be a former gunso, he'd dealt with plenty of scared kids in his time. You know what he told me, when I was standing there not sure what to say?"

He adopted a gruff tone.

"'Hell kid, it ain't possible to screw this up! Just be you.'"

[Agasha Yuna]

She grinned at the gunso's quoted words.

Be myself. Be myself.

"Ah, you are right. I am nervous. I want to be a good fiancee. And, even more importantly, a good wife. I tell myself: “Those with pure purpose have the strength to never fall.” That simply having clarity how important that is to me - clarity of focus and priority - is a big part of being the person I want to be with you."

Honesty was part of who she was and who she wanted to be with him. It was okay to just admit to a certain nervousness.

"But ... it is maybe like the Go. I enjoy playing. But perhaps I am decidedly less skillful than you, and the game is fun for me but a bit of a disappointment for you. But that's alright, right? I'll become a better player with practice. And it will be fun because my Go set is pretty, and we are sitting together, spending time together, talking, and nothing makes me happier than being close to you."

[Shiba Ryusei]

"You're absolutely right- I get to spend time with you doing something we both enjoy. So maybe I win the game... Or maybe you'll outplay me magnificently. We won't know until we play. That's part of the fun of it. And either way, I call it a win."

He grinned and took a sip of the miso.

"As far as your worries, Yuna... you want to be a good wife, I want to be a good husband. I care about you, and you care about me. Each of us wants the other to be happy. With that as our foundation? We'll be fine."

Sip.

"Or at least I tell myself that whenever I start to panic about the move you'll be making, and how far from your home you'll be. I'm... I know this is an outcome your house welcomes, but... yeah."

He chuckled.

"Anything I can do to make our home feel like home to you, don't hesitate to let me know."

[Agasha Yuna]

She nodded.

"It is a very good foundation. Solid. The earth kami would approve."

"Don't worry that it will be far from home. I've been in Phoenix lands many of my years. In school. And those were happy years. I'll miss the Izaku library and my role there, but I have the spiritual section well organized. Another will be able to care for it just fine. And my home will always be where you are."

She paused. "Truthfully, we won't have control over our assignments from the Shiba leadership over us. Duty may let us be together or require us to be apart at times. It will be fine. I'll always come home to you. Or you'll always come home to me."

He could see her relaxing. A bite of food here and there. Her spell of nervousness fading.

"I promise to let you know if I ever feel homesick for anything. Hmm..." What could she possibly miss?
"Maybe creating a Shintao shrine if you don't already have one?"

[Shiba Ryusei]

"We'll get on that the second I have access to the construction budget."

He grinned.

"Or I'll have Mother do it, since she basically runs things in all but name right now. But yes, we won't have a say over our duty, and who knows where it'll take us, but it's a safe bet one of us at least will be home most of the time. Especially once mother retires..."

He shook his head.

"Now that scares me just a bit. Mom's a few years out from it, but still and all..."

Deep breath. Some rice.

[Agasha Yuna]

"Perhaps she will appreciate the chance to work together, as duty permits, in these next few years? I imagine she would treasure the time with you, appreciate that you want to learn from her and work on it together, and be at greater ease to know she's had the opportunity to hand things over gradually. As the Little Teacher says: “Wisdom can be found in many places, but you must always begin at home.”

"Even a project for the three of us, as time permits. I'd enjoy spending more time with your mother and getting to know her better, and respectfully learning the processes she manages, the systems she's built. "

"Whatever comes, we can figure it out together. Face it together. But it is wise to learn from the one closest to the work first. And then we can bring in experts in new ideas - like the glass artisanship. “When seeking a teacher, first find those who know what you know, then those who know what you do not.”

[Shiba Ryusei]

"I know she pulled a lot of strings to get me here- she definitely has some ambitions for me, and for the house. So she'll likely have a great deal to run both of us through."

He chuckled.

"Beyond the things I already know how to do but that she does better, that is- she's already taught me the basics, but... I have a feeling she going to welcome any help she can get."

He glanced at her and smiled again.

Funny how that worked.

"Frankly, the fact that I'll be marrying a qualified karo is going to be news that has her walking on air. I'm sure there'll be some cultural adjustment,s some differences, but you've already had a more thorough grounding in what makes a house function than a lot of samurai ever get."

[Agasha Yuna]

She smiled.

"Your mother sounds very smart and very wise. I am sure it will be a pleasure to work with her."

And then a thought struck her.

"You know... my colleague at the Izaku library, Asako Emi, who gave me your name as a fellow delegate, had to hear about your being a delegate from someone. And might well have been in conversation with that person about me being a delegate. It was probably your mother!"

She laughed. Asako Emi had known her well. Her skill, her temperament, her training with Izaku-ue as a karo-to-be. Perhaps Benten-o-kami had a little help in getting them to this moment!

[Shiba Ryusei]

"... so you're saying that Mother and Asako-san shuld be ruthlessly interrogated one by one?"

He grinned.

"How dare they set this up, hm?"

Mom, I swear, if your engineered Yuna meeting me on ANY level, I couldn't love you more than i already do, but... this almost does it.

[Agasha Yuna]

She smiled. "If so, I'll only thank her for it!"

She had by now finished her meal. Attendants cleared her place and she pulled the Go board forward, offering up the two housings for the stones.

"Do you want to play white or black?"

[Shiba Ryusei]

"Hmmm. Well. As this will be the first of many games..."

He took a stone in each hand, moved them behind his back, and then put his hands out as closed fists.

"Whichever one you pick."

This is already fun!