There's a knock on my door. This is what I feared when Lady Sorano offered me her guest room: a late-night visit when I wasn't using the Transformation Jutsu. "Just a moment…" I say sleepily, calming myself and using the Transformation Jutsu. I hurriedly turn on my lamp and check my appearance in my hand mirror. There, Ruza's features are in place. "Okay, come in…"
The door opens and Lady Sorano rushes over, throwing herself down beside me. For a long moment she's silent, wiggling in close and putting her arms around me. "...It rained again yesterday…" She sniffles, resting her head on my shoulder. Another long silence. "I met this impossible woman, who said the most evil things. I- I know my family and I aren't perfect, but…"
"You don't have to be perfect, Lady Sorano. That's not what it's about… my family expected so much from me, I didn't feel like I could ever live up to their standards or make them happy…" As the memories of my childhood surface, I pull Lady Sorano a little closer. "You just need to do the best that you can…"
"No one's ever told me where I need to be my best, it's just always be here, meet this person, do that, and look perfect; no one ever treats me like I really matter and I'm sick of it…" I try to think of something to say, but Lady Sorano begins to sob, and I decide to stay silent. The quiet spins away into the night, and I hold Lady Sorano tight. "Miss Ruza… do you think you could cancel your lesson today, and we could just talk? I'll have them bring us breakfast, and after we're done eating I'll beat you at shogi again…"
In spite of remembering being soundly trounced at shogi, I smile. "That sounds good to me…"
I don't trust myself to sleep while using the Transformation Jutsu, so I ended up staying awake for the rest of the night. The breakfast the servants brought to the guest room is properly ostentatious, with all the pomp accorded to a meal served in the main dining hall. "It's been so long since I've had breakfast in my room," Lady Sorano says, as she takes a very large bite of her waffles. How did she fit that in there? "Ith thould dethinithley dothith mewoffen."
"Indeed." I say, drinking a sip of orange juice.
"I wasth wundthring," A swallow- "Would you like to join me and my family for evening tea, Ruza? I'd like you to be there."
"That's a generous offer, Lady Sorano. I think I'll accept." She nods, and continues to wolf down her waffles. I look down at her plate, startled. I don't think even Choji eats that fast. I try to keep up, but I'm not as hungry as Lady Sorano apparently is.
Lady Sorano gulps down her milk, a villainous white mustache forming on her upper lip. "Ruza, besides Naruto, are there any ninja that you personally know?"
"Only my younger sister. She's something of a rebel; she's the first on either side of my family to be one."
"Is she strong?"
"She's still a pre-teen, but she's strong for her size."
Lady Sorano nods, and takes another gargantuan bite of her waffles. "Tho femayuh niddja cabbe jutht ath trong?"
Please, please, please, don't let this conversation be headed where I think is- "Yes. The current Hokage, Lady Tsunade, is one of the strongest ninja in the world."
"And theeth a Sthinju, righ?" I nod, and wait for Lady Sorano to swallow her bite. Unbelievably, she picks up another waffle and sets it on her plate, bathing it in syrup. "Who are the two Uchiha left?"
Phew, arrow dodged. I was worried Lady Sorano would ask to be trained as a ninja for a moment. "They're both male; the elder is Obito, and the younger is Sasuke. Itachi was Sasuke's older brother."
"And are the Uchiha strong, like the Hokage and the Senju?"
"They tend to be, but nearly any ninja can get stronger with training."
"Do you think I could become a ninja?"
"...Most ninja start their training at a young age. I think it might be more challenging to start now."
"Thought it would be something like that. So, when did the Uchiha Massacre happen, again? About ten years ago?"
"To be a little more exact, I think it was about eight years ago."
"And Itachi got all of them?"
"I'm fairly certain he did. The only ones I know of that he left alive was Sasuke, and Madara and Obito weren't in Konoha when it happened. If there are any besides Obito and Sasuke left, they haven't come forwards."
"And after so long, you'd think they have done it by now, right?"
"I think so." I quickly take a drink of my orange juice before Lady Sorano can ask another question.
A few moments later, and Lady Sorano sets down an empty glass of milk. "Ready to lose at shogi?"
I'm barely half done! "Just a moment," I say with a quick smile. As fast as i can I eat a few more bites, and quickly gulp down my orange juice.
Lady Sorano snaps her fingers, and the servants swoop in, sweeping up the dishes- one of them even picks up the shogi board and carefully places it on the table between us. "You start…" As I usually tend to do, in my earlier turns I try to form a wedge shape that keeps my lances open to strike. Interestingly, Lady Sorano doesn't keep her pawns and other pieces free of the paths- but it can't be that simple. "What do you think of my brother Taizo?"
Oh no. "I've not really had a conversation with him yet, Lady Sorano." Thankfully, I add to myself.
"But you've seen him around, right?"
"Yes, here and there…" I decide to move forward one of my lances, capturing one of Lady Sorano's knights. "He seems tired. I've overheard a couple of the maids say he's hasn't been sleeping well because of some personal problem."
"But he likes it here at the palace, how could he not be sleeping well…" I can think of several reasons why, but I stay silent. "Maybe it's because he hasn't had one of those parties of his…" One of her pawns steps forwards, giving more room to her middle line, which is fast approaching my nearly complete wedge. "Are you a partying type of girl, Ruza?" Lady Sorano asks with a grin.
"No, I'm not one for loud music, but I enjoy being with my friends."
"Well, when you were with them, did you ever wish there was more to being with them, something different?"
"No, life in a ninja village is far from monotonous. Do you think Taizo might be like that?" Lady Sorano doesn't reply, and one of her bishops zips towards the side of my wedge, hovering a couple squares away.
After surveying the board, Lady Sorano asks, "Did your little sister ever tell you about her missions?"
"No, but because she's young I can't imagine that they're anything serious, probably just acting as a bodyguard to some trader."
"Who are some traders that you know of?" Lady Sorano's second bishop mirrors the position of the other, and in a flash, I realize that I'm already too far behind to win the match from the current set up. How does she do this?
"The only trader I'm familiar with is Amane Tatsuyama, who is a seamstress. She's a quiet and gentle young lady only a few years older than me."
"Ah, you're no help, Ruza! You could at least secretly be into leather or toes or something weird."
"I have my hands full being a tutor," I say with a small smile. Lady Sorano sneers, and then jabs one of her bishops into the base of my wedge, threatening my back row. "And what's with these questions about your brother?"
"...Like I've said, I'm interested in learning about people." Lady Sorano moves her knight out to her front line, and continues, "...And you should know your family the best. Sometimes people let familiarity cloud their judgement…"
A typically sharp and simple observation for Lady Sorano, but it isn't issued with her usual confidence. "Learning about people is a good hobby for a member of the royal family," I say. I slide forwards my other lance, capturing Lady Sorano's other knight. She sticks her other bishop into the side of my wedge, and I almost give up right then and there.
"Six more moves, at the most. Are you really this bad?" Apparently. "Anyways, I think you're right about learning about people, but what I really want to know is why there's never been any push for me to learn about people instead of dead guys and treaties and all that boring crap."
"Well, you should set your own goals, then. There's nowhere to go but up when you start with nothing, isn't there?"
"The sky's the limit and all that, right?" Lady Sorano smiles, and moves one of her bishops a square, just out of range of my generals but at the right place to put my king in check. I close my eyes and sigh, and make the move that seals the deal on another shogi loss.
In terms of anxiety, this is right up there with my first meeting with Yusei. Who knew drinking tea could ever be so nerve wracking. I'm in one of the nicer yukata I bought for the mission, a black floral print one with a pink obi. I affect my best shy and polite smile as the daimyo and Lady Sorano's brothers take their seats. I feel Taizo glance at me and try to catch my eye, and I have to restrain my Killing Intent- even civilians can sense it if it's strong enough.
"How are your lessons going, dear?" Asks the daimyo as he begins the ceremony.
"Well enough, father. I actually rather enjoyed Miss Ruza's last lesson on economics." The one where she was building a theoretical addiction based rule? The small smile Lady Sorano slips me definitely doesn't help.
"And how is she as a student, Miss Hirawa?"
"Her mind moves very quickly-" Off-topic, I don't say out loud- "And she is very interested in learning the individual motives of historical figures." Close enough, I think.
"Good, good." Sho takes up the water, placing it on the portable brazier. It heats silently for a moment, and I still feel Taizo looking at me. I've not seen a tea ceremony done as the daimyo's family does it, each family member taking a turn in the preparation. To me the rather informal ceremony seems charming, actually. As Taizo scoops out the tea from the caddy he keeps his eyes on his task, in that very obvious "I'm not looking at you right now" kind of way. As he finishes he looks up, and I give him a neutral look before turning to Lady Sorano. She quietly waits for the water to heat, hands folded in her lap. This is the calmest I've ever seen her, and it's astounding. A few long moments later a few thin wisps of steam curl up from the kettle, and she takes it off, calmly pouring the water in with a practiced motion. She gives me the tea whisk, gesturing to continue. This is no small thing she's doing, and I look to the daimyo for confirmation. He nods, and I relax slightly, and stir the tea briskly. I make sure it's very well mixed before stopping, and looking back over to the daimyo. He nods graciously, and ladles the tea into the cups then passing them to us. "To good health."
"To good health." The daimyo raises his cup, and takes a quick sip. The tea is hot, but thankfully it has had a bit of time to cool. It's wonderfully calm and gentle.
"I've only seen you around a few times, Miss Hirawa," Taizo asks. "Where are you staying, if I may ask?"
"Your younger sister Lady Sorano was very kind to offer me her guest room; I am staying there for now." Taizo sagely nods, taking a sip of his tea.
"How have you had time to plan your lessons?" Sho asks. He greatly resembles his mother, Lady Shijimi, yet somehow managing to look masculine.
"I had several planned before I traveled here, but I'm adjusting them as I go."
"Which she has done a fair job of," Lady Sorano adds.
"When will she have her first test?" The daimyo asks.
"She's already taken it, and passed," I say, thinking back to the horrendous incident in the alley yesterday.
"Really?" Lady Sorano and her family ask all at the same time.
"Yes. Life doesn't tell you when your toughest trials are coming, so I think it appropriate my tests follow suit."
"Ah, I see…" Says the daimyo. Lady Sorano has narrowed her gaze on me, searching my eyes as if I've just pulled off a mask. Which, unfortunately, isn't all that far from the truth. "What was she tested on?"
"On general knowledge that a daimyo of the Land of Fire would need." I take a sip of my tea. Sho has a wistful look on his face as he watches his cup of tea, and I catch Taizo sliding his eyes up to my face when I briefly glance over to Lady Sorano before taking another sip of my tea.
Giving a well-practiced cough, Lady Sorano speaks up. "Father, if you would allow me to, I would like to sit in on the council the next time you hold court." An otherworldly silence settles over the tea room, and Lady Sorano's brothers and father look stunned.
The daimyo gives me an odd look, then turns to Lady Sorano. "Yes. Yes, I'll have you sit in on the council." While I may not have yet swayed her to Yusei's side, I feel like I've taken the first step towards Lady Sorano becoming a productive daimyo.