Wedding at Fire Shrimp Village an L5R PbP

After being made a fool at the party, and not sure why he came here, the Otomo takes his path out of the castle into the nearest hole, which was... well... the name of the place. Wondering if it was open he moves to open door and step in.

Oh it's open and the drinks are flowing.

And not everyone knows his name... yet, but maybe they will?

Before the door would close behind him, whether he closed it himself or otherwise, a hand would catch it.

"Otomo-sama," she greeted, her other hand resting gently on her hip, offering a half-smile.

He turns around, still holding the sliding door and narrows his eyes, "Yoko-san."

His tone of voice is devoid of any clear emotions, if not sadness.

"Seems to me like you need a friend, someone to talk to," she said, with a casual smirk. Shaking her head a little, "And I'm not the right person for that, not in the slightest. But I saw you walking, eh? So, I'm here. Want the company for a while?"

The young man takes his hand out of the door so she could come in, and says, taking a seat, "Why are you not at the party?"

Following along she sat beside him, gave a little shrug, "I was, but now I'm not, eh?" she said as she glanced around a little. "But- well, maybe I should be asking you that one, Otomo-sama? Leaving the party up there to come down here is.. an interesting choice," she chuckled, shaking her head.

"My master was murdered. His plan has been successful and the it seems that shochu makes people forget easily what has been done for their benefit. There's no need for me to stay there anymore."

The boy looks around the Hole and shrugs, "To me, this looks like a better place to be."

"I'm not one to judge," she suggested, offering a shrug as she glanced around. "For what it's worth, I can say I won't forget," she said, and for what it was worth she spoke true but her tone was hardly somber, nor kind, in fact she might even be betrayed enough that there was a hint of steel to it.

All things to consider, but she'd give a wave toward a tender and see about getting some drinks placed in front of them, "Then we make a night of it here, eh?" she glanced back to him with a small smirk. "Can share stories, or just drink until it doesn't sting, eh?"

He takes a deep breath, and then nods, "It is acceptable, hai. After all, Yoko-san had tried to warn me about a problem with my master beforehand. I believe her stories ought to be heard."

Yoko looked pensive for a moment, glancing around the room as she tackled with the thought. A smirk, a nod, "Alright, so a story from me then, eh?" she shifted a little, facing him a little more directly.

"It's a rough story though," she quirked her brow, "hardship and hard choices. Sure you want to hear it?"

"Why not? Maybe it inspires me." He says, and fills her cup up to the rim.

"Okay then," she said, smirking as she gave her cup a ginger raise. Taking a drink from it as she settled in for the tale.

"A samurai found himself to be the attendant of a woman, a governess of a city, eh? She was.. powerful, in what respect matters. Earned the obedience of those under her with her care to details. Offered rewards for that obedience," she shrugged. "Yet.. he knew something that all of the court had come to realize as well. You see, the daughter of this governess was a- let's say she was a willful child. Often got into trouble, ran from the home and mixed on the streets with the common folk far more often than her mother wished. A story as old as any other, eh? Young children of the important folk being willful and disobedient at times."

"Well, what he noticed along with his peers were the marks this girl would often begin to wear after some nights. Marks that could only be inflicted with pain, eh? So, I leave the question. What does a good samurai do, in a position like that?"

“Ask the girl if he can be of help.” He replies, certain.

"If he asks, she replies that she needs help but doesn't know how he could. What then?" she looks to him, quirking her brow with the slightest curve of her smirk.

“Then he would ask who is inflicting her pain, when, and why?” He says, narrowing his eyes as she keeps creating a mystery of something so direct, in his mind.

"She doesn't say," she shakes her head a little. Taking a drink and setting her cup aside a moment, crossing her arms in the action. "But she looks to her mother, the governess, his superior."

The Otomo blinks a bit, not really getting why a mother would be so cruel. “Then this man should confront his superior, armed with compassion and loyalty to her own Family. Show her that her child is being abused and request that she help him cease it from happening again. If he is both honorable and smart, he would have this young girl under the care of a friend that has easy access to other parts of the Empire.”

"When he confronts her, he is rebuked and chastised for being too familiar with her daughter. The governess claims that her daughter is just fine. That a girl is supposed to learn, one way or another, how to behave. She threatens his career, his life even, if he does not return her daughter to her. Reminding him of his oath, that his Loyalty is being tested now and his ancestors are to remember his actions," she looks to him a bit more directly.

"He might have friends elsewhere, but if he looks to the other members of the court, he finds no one."

“If the master of an honorable retainer does no listen to pleads and keeps being cruel to their own blood, then the only way is to prepare a letter to the head of the Family asking for permission to sepukku, since the honorable retainer wasn’t able to show the true path to honor and bushido to his master.” He says, certain of the path.

"Sounds honorable," she said, a soft smirk. "Though I wonder what would become of the situation after that, of the girl. Would be nice to think that she would be saved, eh? That the head of the Family would step in. Honest, I'm not so certain that is how it would happen. Instead lies are placed toward his testimony, suggesting he acted to hide his own disgrace from having harmed the girl. Who else would ever stand against her again, eh?" she shrugged.

"But we get to the point of the story either way," she smirked. "A samurai has to think for themselves and act. Decide what is more important and what sacrifice is the right one to make."

Saudei narrows his eyes a bit more and shakes his head, “If the honorable samurai thought only of himself as Yoko-san mentioned, the child would continue to suffer from this cruelty.”

He puts it in another way, “A samurai must think of honor and act. Honor to one’s lord, one’s family and lastly, oneself.”

"With the permission to seppuku granted, he dies and the girl goes on to continue to face her abuse, has anything been gained?" Yoko collects her cup up once more, taking a drink from it.

“He might not have been successful, in that case. As many are not. Yet, he has been honorable. And his example will be carried forward in the girl’s heart. His spirit, if honorable enough, may protect and guide the girl, or worse, may haunt his previous master until she corrects her path or succumb a step in her next life time.”

The young man takes the sake cup that has been served to him, and sips.

"Suppose you can only hope that to be true by that point, eh? No one would be left to stand for her, at least in this life," she shrugs, looking to him with a short smile. Giving a little wave of her hand, "But I'm not the one to say what the right or wrong answer is. Just a story I've thought about plenty. Figure it serves as a good guide.. for," she gives a waves of her hand, "all of this, eh? What matters, and what doesn't."

She raises her cup up a little, preparing a toast, "To having something worth while to think on?" she suggested with a smirk.