Something was obviously bothering the young lady as she all of a sudden stiffened. Ryuunosuke was concerned though. How did Touka know that they were being eavesdropped? Something was very strange, but Ryuu just could not understand exactly what was going on. The atmosphere had changed drastically and even Ryuu felt a bit unsettled. There was a small conflict going on, but not a physical one. Rather, it felt like a war of presence. Perhaps, Touka was skilled in the spiritual arts? That would make some sense considering where she was from and the history of her clan. Still, something was bothering her, and this was a problem. The last thing that Ryuu wanted was to offend a guest. So, he said "Although I do not know exactly what you speak of, I will believe you. After all, something is bothering you, and as the lord of this house, I refuse to have a guest feel perturbed. If you will excuse me..."

Ryuu then swiftly got up from his seiza position and walked over to the fusuma that led outside. He then swiftly slide open the door and there sat Kanaka, much to his surprise. She spent a lot of time at the shrine and rarely ever came to see Ryuu. The fact that she came to him meant that she wanted to talk to him about something important. Ryuu said "Kanaka! I am glad to see you, my dear imouto. However, it is unbecoming to listen on to the conversations of others." Ryuu then turned back to Touka and bowed. He then said "My sincerest apologizes, Hakurou-san. It appears you were right to suspect. This is my younger sister, Kanaka. I hope you are not too offended about this. I did not intend for this mishap to occur."

Deathmaker said
"Greetings, ojou-san. Pardon me for the inconvenience of having to share a single meeting room. If you don't mind, I'd be glad to allow you to meet with Mitsumine Ryuunosuke-dono first, before I would seek his audience." Kitsune nodded to the lady. "Oh, pardon me for my manners. My name is Hatamoto Kitsune, a visitor."

"My lord is most gracious to a mere keeper of books and numbers." Hana replied respectfully. This young man was interesting. Judging by the fan he carried and the retainers at his side, it seemed the heir to the Mitsumine was not the only young lord on these grounds. "My name is Hana, here to represent the Mitsumine Master of Coin Matsuran Tenzin. I thank you for your patience, but I doubt the words I bear are worth the same import as yours. If you so wish, I shall be the one to wait."

She had to admit, this was not what he expected the Boar clan to send to the new heir's coronation. Already she was beginning to picture the interplay of personalities collecting here today. Expecting the lord to assert his due precedence, she idly pulled out a stylus and a small vial of ink and opened her red-covered book in front of her to continue her musings on a new form of bookkeeping. Hana wondered if this lord would pay attention to what she was writing, and that it was in a cipher code unlike the usual forms of bookkeeping. Many lords saw themselves above the work of scholars and bureaucrats. Would this one think the same?

Touka narrowed her eyes at the girl in the hallway, bringing her own presence to bear. She was powerful, but not overwhelmingly so, and Touka felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Useless human body - the itch spread across her neck and shoulders as she tried to raise hackles that didn't exist. The pup lordling's obsequiousness was starting to grate already; the youngest child in the family, at least, had enough pride not to roll over and show her belly to the entire world, unlike the two grown men who claimed to be the lords of the land. "It's fine," she said, keeping her eyes locked on the girl's - Kanaka's. "If there's something that needs discussing, then by all means."

ruronihs said
Junkojuro projected his thoughts, his emotions, his soul, into the flame, and once the balance was just right, he snapped his hand shut. The sensation that pulsed from his palm would be utterly unnoticed by most mortals, but those with "the sight" would feel little else for a brief moment. His message was decisive, not ambivalent as was Kanaka's. He let his spiritual strength be felt, but did not intend to overwhelm; it was not so much like the forceful crashing of an ocean wave as it was the gentle pull of a wave's recession. There was a strong will in the message, one fitting a a creature that had spent 400 years protecting these lands, but there was not a shred of aggression. And finally, if this person was willing to listen, to absorb everything he had to say, they would find at the center of it all kindness, a warm welcome to compliment the one that had just been sent. He realized that the Hakuro wolf would likely be able to feel this too, as would any other hapless spirit that happened to be wandering by, but that was all for the better. Perhaps it would be comforting for the wolf to know that she wasn't the only Youkai in the Wolf's Den.

Though the signal sent by Junkojuro was calm and welcoming, Kanaka was nonetheless startled to realize that in making her presence known to the spirit conversing with her brother, she had inadvertently attracted the other, more powerful presence. She turned to look behind her to locate the source and find the being that had eluded her. But before she could, the door suddenly slid open.

Heyitsjiwon said
Ryuu then swiftly got up from his seiza position and walked over to the fusuma that led outside. He then swiftly slide open the door and there sat Kanaka, much to his surprise. She spent a lot of time at the shrine and rarely ever came to see Ryuu. The fact that she came to him meant that she wanted to talk to him about something important. Ryuu said "Kanaka! I am glad to see you, my dear imouto. However, it is unbecoming to listen on to the conversations of others." Ryuu then turned back to Touka and bowed. He then said "My sincerest apologizes, Hakurou-san. It appears you were right to suspect. This is my younger sister, Kanaka. I hope you are not too offended about this. I did not intend for this mishap to occur."

"Ryuunosuke-oniisama...! I...I..." Kanaka looked up, startled to see her brother, and a bit miffed at having been revealed and at having been interrupted, as she would now have to postpone her search for the other spiritual presence. She always spoke formally, even to her brother, especially to her brother. Her mind was one of infinite distances, of absolute boundaries, the preservation of the sanctity of the sense of self from the impure influences of the 'other-than-self'. It came as no surprise that when Kanaka joined the shrine and began learning magic, she excelled in the art of barriers. For Kanaka, formality was another barrier that established proper distance, proper definitions of self and other. Formality was protection, informality was exposing weakness.

RedSavant said
Touka narrowed her eyes at the girl in the hallway, bringing her own presence to bear. She was powerful, but not overwhelmingly so, and Touka felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Useless human body - the itch spread across her neck and shoulders as she tried to raise hackles that didn't exist. The pup lordling's obsequiousness was starting to grate already; the youngest in the family, at least, had enough pride not to roll over and show her belly to the entire world, unlike the two grown men who claimed to be the lords of the land. "It's fine," she said, keeping her eyes locked on the girl's - Kanaka's. "If there's something that needs discussing, then by all means."

Kanaka quickly collected herself and bowed to the guest. "I deeply apologize for my behavior. As the Daimyo's sister, I have taken it upon myself to become aware of spiritual matters and it came to my attention that the one speaking with my brother is one who...also possesses spiritual skill." Though Kanaka could sense that Touka was a spirit, Kanaka spoke in such a way as to imply that Touka was human, in case Touka didn't want this part of her being rudely exposed. "It was not my intent to eavesdrop, I merely wished to be present. Should my brother need to...confront spiritual matters...he will need me to...advise him. I also did not wish to interrupt your meeting, and again, I sincerely apologize." Kanaka bowed again, though she also meant that she was here to defend her brother against magical harm, whether from man or beast. "The knowledge of the level of involvement our father, the previous Daimyo, had in spiritual affairs has unfortunately been lost in his passing, so it is up to me to determine which spiritual influences are our allies and which mean to threaten us." This whole time, Kanaka maintained a very level voice, like a calm, yet very audible whisper, without showing aggression, but allowing the double-meanings of her words to come through clearly.

"Tenzin-sama? How interesting! You must be a talented and brilliant woman to be studying under him. Then again, your looks don't betray your talents." Kitsune chuckled as he fanned himself. "Mere keeper of numbers and books? Mere? Don't underestimate yourself too much, Hana-san." the young lad smiled as he drank more liquid from the elixir. "If you're studying under Tenzin-sama, then surely you must be a scholar? I've always fancied being a scholar, but some duties were holding me back."

Kitsune observed Hana again who had pulled out a stylus and a red book where she wrote on. The lad was interested in the strange writings she had placed in there. The reason why Kitsune was so interested in this woman, is because the Boar Clan didn't care much for knowledge and facts. In fact, Kitsune doubted whether the Boar had any libraries or such. The woman was so engrossed in her writings that she seemed to shine while doing it, or was it just Kitsune.

"Anyway, Hana-san, your words a scholar will weigh much more than mine, a mere guest. Trust me, my words do not weigh as much as yours." Kitsune chuckled as he knew what he was for... To train under the Mitsumine, which is outweighed by knowledge of course. "Besides, clans and eras will be different as time passes, but facts and knowledge, remain the same. Isn't that right, Hana-san? Worry not, Mitsumine-dono will be glad to see a woman of such great ability as you. I'll be walking around the place for a while; just to get a feel of the Mitsumine clan." Kitsune assured the woman as he motioned for his retainers to follow him. Together, the trio walked slowly; taking their time to enjoy a peaceful view.

Ryuunosuke could not help but sigh a little. This day was going to be rough. He could already tell. Ryuu walked back to his mat and sat back down in seiza position. He then said "Well, if we all are here, then let us at least take the opportunity to eat together. There’s no need to let the food get cold or go to waste.” He then turned his head back to Touka and continued to say “That is if you do not have anything you want to speak about only with me, Hakurou-san?”

The events that had just occurred were… unexpected to say the least. His first visitor is a young lady, who came from a clan historically known to be very spiritual. However, Ryuu had felt this weird aura coming off this young woman, and this aura has been amplified ever since Kanaka had arrived. The arrival of Kanaka was surprising as well. She was a very strong, independent younger sister. Therefore, the only reason that she came to see Ryuu was for relatively important matters. It was a bit embarrassing that he could not really take care of his younger sister due to her decision to join the miko at the local shrine. In fact, that was one of his regrets growing up. Only if he had been stronger, then she wouldn’t have to have been subjected to such a life. She only did this so that she could support her weak brother, a shame that constantly plagues him to this day.

Still, there was something going on in this vicinity that Ryuu could not fully perceive. However, at this point, he reasonably assumed that what he was experiencing was the radiation of spiritual will from very spiritual sources. Ryuu knew why Kanaka is able to perform this kind of feat, but this Touka girl… she was someone or something to be cautious about. There was much more to her than what meet the eye.

Junkojuro was too far away to hear the effects of his message, and it didn't seem like the original sender was interested in continuing the conversation just yet. Had he startled her? Was the power he showed her a bit more than she bargained for? He wasn't sure what this person's disposition was, but he was given a single clue: "oniisama!" That's right, Ryuunosuke had a priestess as a younger sister, and it seemed she had an affinity for her teachings. The girl had kept her voice too composed to be audible except for that one exclamation. It was impressive that she was able to regain her composure so quickly with two youkai breathing down her neck. But now that there was a lapse in their conversation, he had time to think about what his next move should be.

If she was planning to stay here long, he would inevitably be found out sooner or later. It would be best to come forward and reveal himself to her. But would she keep his secret from her lord and older brother? Perhaps it would be best to reveal himself to the young lord before it came to that. Then again, if he gained the favor of the sister first, she could give him a good introduction-- Junkojuro cut off that line of reasoning with a small chuckle. All his years among the mortals must have been rubbing off on him; he was thinking like a politician. This was all much simpler than politics. He wanted to have a conversation with the priestess, so that is what he would do, and he would do it in a way that has always worked for spirits long before even he was born.

Once again, the foxfire swirled about in his hand, but this time it dispersed into several tiny wisps that would be invisible to all those without the sight. The wisps floated in the air and hung just below the roof of the reception building, forming a dotted path to where the fox now stood. His invitation was laid out whenever the girl was ready. All she needed to do now was look for it.

"Nothing right now," Touka replied shortly, shaking her head. She grinned over at Kanaka. Finally, someone with an actual backbone! If only this girl had been made clan head; then the Mitsumine would be worth the continued respect of the Hakurou. As it was, though... the boy was nothing but bows and apologies. He had no fight in him. "I've said all I came to say and seen all I desire to see. Keep the cloth; that is a goodwill gift from my family to yours, but the blade was to be a present for you yourself, and I do not think you worthy of it." She spoke bluntly, meeting Ryuunosuke's dark eyes calmly. The blade she spoke of was visible inside the wrap of cloth; it looked to be a short chokuto, with a sheath and hilt of dark brown wood.

Ryuunosuke's right eye brow was slightly raised. The young woman had implicitly insulted Ryuu, but he would not take it personally. Rather what interested him more was the fact that she did not say what she wanted. It appeared that she only came to see exactly who Ryuu was and what type of person he was. Essentially, he was being studied by this woman and what she saw was not to her liking. Although he tried to make himself a likable figure, Ryuu knew that there was realistically no chance that everyone he met would like him. It just so happened that this person was one of them, which was unfortunate. However, he would rather die before he changed who he was.

Ryuu maintained his eyes on Touka's eyes and replied without blinking "Very well, if there is nothing that needs to be discussed, then this audience is over. If you wish to rest before continuing your journey, then feel free to stay for a bit longer. However, there are other matters that I must attend to." He then finally broke eye contact with Touka and said out loud so that the waiting servant could hear "Bring in the next visitor who requests an audience and remove the table that has been set up." Ryuu then looked at Kanaka and said "Kanaka, if you want, you can keep the silks. After all, it appears that the gift is more befitting to be granted to you." He broke eye contact with her, and then just said "Now, if none of you have anything that must be discussed, then you are all dismissed."

"Oh, perhaps the pup has some fangs after all," Touka replied, grinning. "Not too sharp, not yet. But you have some after all." That was good, at least. She stood, crossing the floor in a few steps to take the blade from the wrapped cloth, holding it by the sheath. She wasn't stupid enough to hold a sword by the hilt in front of a lord; maybe he was toothless, but his guards probably weren't. She turned back to face Ryuunosuke, sobering. “I came here from my family’s village to see whether or not you were worthy of our respect. My family believes in you, and are willing to fight to the death to protect you and yours. Are you prepared to do the same for us? Would you die for the sake of those who would die for you?" Without waiting for an answer, she turned and stepped out into the hallway, turning what she thought was the way back toward the entrance.

"My, my, what do I find here?" says Takeshi as he arrives to the scene where Touka, Kanaka and Ryuu just finished exchanging words, one hand upon the belt of his kimono and the other holding a letter "You must be the young Lady from the Hakurou, I just read about. Perfect timing, if you're done with my nephew perhaps you'd care for a cup of tea with an old man. My brother spoke highly of your people and shared many stories"

"Ryuu, according to Chiyo's words there are two people waiting to meet with you right now... with some other groups still getting settled. Perhaps you ought to meet them both at the same time? They are already sharing a room to converse while waiting for you" advices Takeshi "If it pleases the young Hakurou, I'll talk with her for a while before we face the other groups, nephew"

"Ah, Kanaka" says Takeshi, his face brightening at the sight of the young woman "It does me good to see you. I'm sure you'll find how to do the best for us with your own skills, niece. Either at Ryuunosuke's side or elsewhere"

"Now then, shall we get going, miss?"

Touka blinked, slightly surprised, but nodded. "If you like," she said, looking slightly up at the man. "Mitsumine Takeshi?" He had to be, since he was holding her grandma's letter. She flushed slightly. Hopefully he hadn't noticed the marks where she'd tried to pry it open without breaking the wax. "Have you ever met my family? I thought it strange that my grandmother asked for a letter to be delivered."

It was almost perfect timing that Ryuu's uncle and former regent had entered the room. It somewhat defused the awkward situation. Now was not the time to continue to talk with Touka. A respite was needed. From hearing his uncle's advice, Ryuunosuke nodded and said "Yes, I suppose meeting them at the same time will be fine. Will someone please go and bring them to the reception room? I will see both of them at the same time."

Hana lifted her head from her record book when she heard the maid walking to the guest room door to signal it was time for her audience with the new lord. Blowing softly on the ink to dry it, she closed her books and set her ink and quill back within her satchel, and took out Master Tenzen's letter.

"I am afraid Hatamono-dono has decided to take a walk of the manor." Said Hana as she rose when the maid stepped in. "He bid me to meet with Mitsumine-dono before him, although I would hope he may be found before he walks too far."

Guided to reception room, Hana took her given seat in the room, placing Tenzen's sealed letter in front of her with the seal of the capital branch family shown. And thus she waited.

Upon hearing Touka deem her brother unworthy, Kanaka clenched her hands on her knees as she sat there. Kanaka blamed herself for ruining this opportunity for her brother to preserve a spiritual ally. She wanted to get up, point at Touka and call her out for her insolence, but that would only exacerbate the situation. Yet it seemed that Ryuunosuke's calm reply made Touka change her mind. Touka's fire then seemed to diminish even more when her uncle came in. Kanaka chided herself for rushing into things unprepared. She should have asked her uncle for advice first. She was naive and inexperienced.

"Thank you for the silk," Kanaka said, first to Touka for offering it, and then to Ryuunosuke for allocating it to her. Then, to a maid, "Please prepare an offering of salt for Hakurou-dono." Salt was a commodity, and used as a currency in some spheres, so it would not be unusual to give salt as a gift, however, salt was also a common offering given at wolf shrines. Kanaka hoped that such a gift would be appropriate and be an acceptable apology, and would not be taken as condescension.

"Ryuunosuke-oniisama," Kanaka said, turning to her brother, "I apologize if my presence has soured your negotiations. I ask to be excused so that I may reflect on my ignorance and my actions."

"I actually have not, Miss Hakurou" replies Takeshi as he leads the girl away to an open room overlooking the gardens where he sat down. A servant was quick to serve the morning tea, of which Takeshi took a nice sip "When my brother, Daichi, ascended the peak to commune with the Gods, I was too young to make the travel... and too involved with my studies of the blade. I missed the trip and didn't get a chance to make one of my own. Even though my brother spoke very highly of his experience there"

---

Not long after Hana started her meeting with Ryuu, a servant would locate Kitsune and inform him that Ryuunosuke was ready to meet him if he didn't mind doing so with Hana.

Kitsune turned to the servant with a smile. The young heir looked at his retainers as the two warriors just nodded. Kitsune turned again to the servant as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Ojou-san, I would be glad to go with you... But if it's possible, I would just like to wait outside of the room until Hana-san has been able to complete her task; it would be disrespectful to her. I wouldn't want to trouble Mitsumine-dono with my plight so early in the morning." Kitsune grinned as he followed the servant; at the same time, he was surveying the blissful surroundings. The infrastructures were quite exquisite, and the people had happy faces. This scene was the total opposite of his clan. Kitsune also noticed that the Mitsumine household was swarming with visitors, and guests of honor. Due to this, Kitsune began to wonder whether the young lord would still be in the mood to receive him.

"Mitsumine-dono might be stressed right now. Then again, who said it was easy to take over a clan? I trust that the young lord has already anticipated these things; especially my clan's request which is quite humiliating really." Kitsune spoke to his retainers as the warriors simply nodded. The young lad saw a maid exit the room, and guessed that Hana-san was inside that area. Signalling to the servant to leave them be, Kitsune and his retainers took their spot outside of the reception area.

For a while, Kitsune was adamant in staying outside, and decided that since the meeting was on going... It would indeed be rude to intrude.

"Mitsumine-dono... I hope you don't lose your hair too early... Not that I've already seen you anyway." Kitsune smiled as he fanned himself, just for the heck of it.

Ryuunosuke shook his head at Kanaka and said “There is nothing that you should be apologetic of. After all, a negotiation implies that both parties were trying to come to a compromise of some sort. What was happening here was not a negotiation. You are free to go, Kanaka, if you wish, but once again. There is nothing for you to be sorry about. Just please, next time, have the maid interrupt if there is something important that you wish to talk about rather than just sit right outside the room.” After this comment, Kanaka left the reception room. Then his next guest arrived. Much to his surprise again, the visitor was a young female. This day was just strange and he could not tell if it was strange in a good way or a bad way.

To top of all off, the woman then simply placed a letter in front of him with the seal of the branch family brazenly displayed in front of him. Ryuu took the letter since it appeared to serve as an introduction for this young woman, opened it and read it. After a minute, Ryuu put down the letter and thought “So, old Master Tenzen claims that he is too old to travel and not too old to work? Very well.” He then turned to the woman before him and said “I am Mitsumine Ryuunosuke. You are Hana-san, correct? Tenzen-san spoke well of you in the letter. I welcome you to Genrouuchi. I am sure that you have had quite a journey, and to consider that you traveled alone. I am shocked that Tenzen-san did not have people to escort you. Is there anything that you wish to talk to me about or request, Hana-san?”

"TIs but the opposite my lord." Replied Hana, looking up to the heir of the Mitsumine with a keen eye. "I am here to serve you, and you may ask of me what you will. Master Tenzen sent me to ease you into the duties of being a lord, particularly the matters of finance and trade so you may focus more on more martial affairs. He understands you have been raised and taught apart from the world at large, and ordered me to....fill in any gaps in your learning should you wish it so. I am a most able tutor in the ways of the capital courts and records should you request, and knowledgable of the ways of traders of your lands."

Hana removed a small ledger book from her bag, gently treating the well-worn paper as she placed it as well in front of her lord. "Here is a summary of the holdings of the Mitsumine as recorded by the bureaucrats of the central branch, including my own assessments. In short, your land has its share of both wealth and debt like any other, but through the efforts of my master and my own contributions the holdings of the Mitsumine possess some strength in trade and commerce, and the treasury is in good standing. The details are mostly within there."

And here was the moment of truth, how would her lord treat this ledger? Hana kept her eagerness to see how he would respond to the affairs of numbers and trade behind her calm composure. While she had only just met the new lord, he was good looking and had the bearing of a warrior. But did he have a mind to go with it? That was the question Tenzen demanded an answer of her for.

Ryuu picked up the book and opened it. The very first thing he noticed was the use of a cipher to encode the content of a part of the book. He had read of people who made such intricate codes and ciphers that they could be considered to be their own language. Thankfully, Ryuu could make some semblance of her writing. It looked like she recorded each transaction twice for some reason, but he could not understand why. However, all the other information was spotless and organized. The ledger began with a summary of Ryuu's holdings and then progressed to show some of the valuations of the entries. The most curious part was her repeating some of the transactions.

Ryuunosuke couldn't help but smile. He then said out loud "Meticulous, the numbers and the details about each transaction. Your ledger leaves nothing to the imagination. However, I find it interesting. That at some point you seem to record two entries per transaction. There must be something you are trying to do. I doubt that you are just recording things twice for the sake of spending time. Still, there appears to be much more complexities that I cannot determine yet because of your special writing system. I must say. Who or how did you learn of this system of creating two entries? I can see that you truly are quite an expert at what you do, and it makes me curious. I have seen older ledgers from past years that were created by Tenzen-san, but he did not have a system like this. Thus, I have to wonder. As the apprentice of Tenzen, how did you learn this?" This woman in front of him was without a doubt someone whose mind was attuned to the world of commerce and numbers. However, why would the branch family decide to send this woman to him when she obviously is an invaluable asset to their finances? Ryuunosuke was wary. The branch family in recent years have been consolidating their power, so the fact that Hana had came from the capital... Ryuu couldn't help but suspect some sort of trap or plan. He wanted to find out exactly why this woman had decided to come here when her skills could easily find her a nice position in any city or under any lord.

Ryuu then added "Excuse me for asking so many questions, but may I also ask. Did you come here willingly, or do you come purely on the basis of Tenzen-san's order?"